That teacher sure is full of herself. I hope you learned something else in that class because the lessons you posted were bogus. I sometimes wash and sometimes don't. I sometimes pull my thread up and sometimes don't. I only use bias binding when working on curved piecing. Other straight pieces get binding cut length of fabric if at all possible. And if your machine works for you, consider yourself lucky and sew to your heart's content. Just enjoy the process and find out what works for you.