Lugging the heavy home machine has always been a reason I hesitated to sign up for classes....I felt like I was moving with every class. So, this last summer, I bought a FW at a very good price. So this spring I will try signing up using it, see if I feel less encumbered. But in hindsight, if I were to buy another "classroom" type machine, I would look for one that has a blanket stitch too......along with zig-zag...for those quickly fusible appliques some classes involve..