I used to rent time at a local shop. We used a pentagram and the shop owner was there to offer help if needed. She had 2 Gammells (sorry about the spelling) and was usually working on a quilt while I was working on mine. It usually took about 4 hours to do a lap quilt. We used zippers to load the quilt and had to buy them before we could take the class. The zippers made loading the quilt pretty simple and quick (no time spent on that--money saver). The quilt we worked on was donated after we finished and was provided by the shop. I think there were 4 of us in the class and we each did one row of the pentogram and the shop owner bound the quilt and then donated it (probably Linus Club). I enjoyed the whole process, but the shop closed and there isn't another near my house. I would love to own my own machine, but I don't think it is worth the cost, so I recently bought the Westalee template set. I think that was a good purchase and certainly worth the money. Good luck, and I think it was worth taking the class and I don't think you will be sorry.
Sue