Michelle--definitely go ahead and take a certification class--it will give you all the basics on how to use a long arm machine and while it would be nice to take with a dealer of the kind of machine that you might eventually buy, since you don't know that yet, it really doesn't matter--they are all based on the same principals (I've taken many long arm classes at shows and used a number of different machines other than the brand I own). Certification classes are a great way to start and find out whether you might actually enjoy quilting on a long arm. If you think it was a good experience after the class, definitely rent time to quilt one or several of your own quilts on a long arm. With each quilt you will gain more confidence and expertise and your design work will really advance. Down the road you may decided to take the plunge into long arm ownership or you may decide you hate it--but either way you will have made a wise, smaller investment on deciding about a major investment! And yes, you will learn more techniques on FMQ