After sewing on a nice sturdy machine, I will hazard a guess that a lightweight super-cheapo machine will drive you crazy.

You could try a Janome Gem though. They're about $300 and lightweight. I used one of them a little and thought it sewed well, "drove" quietly and felt fairly sturdy for as small as it was. A friend got one to take to all the classes she goes to and really likes it. It is lightweight (12 pounds I think) and has basic stitches. Nothing fancy.

Can you arrange a space so that you don't have to haul around your Bernina when you want to sew? That might be a good solution if carrying it from closet to table gets difficult. I had a super-heavy anchor of a machine that was really hard to move around. I never noticed how hard it was to wrestle around 'til I got my Viking. Still sturdy, but so much easier to get out and put away.

Good luck finding something that works for you! :-)

I agree. These new plastic cheapo machines are junk. If you do get one, make sure you keep your metal Bernina, or you'll be sorry. Even if you only sew a little, there's no comparison. I made that mistake years ago. I wasn't sewing too much at the time, and I got rid of an old metal Kenmore in a cabinet to get a cheap, lightweight Singer. It sewed terrible, something was always wrong with it, and it was nothing but a piece of junk. That went in the trash very quickly :)

I love my old Singer 6233. I purchased it used, 15 years ago for around $75 maybe? I don't think I have ever put oil in it (oops, need to do that one of these days.) And, it was my only machine for about 10 years. You can probably pick one up for less than $150. It sews everything -- I even made an extra heavy oiled canvas duffel bag with it to bring my fly rod on an airplane. Has a free arm and does a few different stitches -- including buttonhole (just about all you need for small projects.)

(I also own & use regularly a Viking Designer I and a Viking 533.)

-Celeste

I'm with shadylady -- donated my Kenmore 90 in order to "upgrade" to a Kenmore with 24 built-in stitches. What a mistake!
That's what started me on my present "sewing machine addiction", as I began collecting vintage machines while searching for a Kenmore 90 to replace my original. bggs

I sew every day, and make large items as well as small. For a spare "traveling" machine, I bought a $99 Singer from Target, and I love it. Of course it doesn't compare with my big machine (nor would I expect it to), but it goes where I go..including on airlines...and it does a wonderful job with just about any fabric. I hauled it to Florida last year after the storms, and made a new awning and chair cushion covers with it for my DS and DIL! Ran like a charm, and it was on a generator for the first day or two! It makes buttonholes, has a walking foot, even makes a nice topstitch!! I made a padded case for it to travel in, and it even stitched that up itself!! :^)

A friend has a Viking Husquvarna machine - very inexpensive and it sews beautifully.