I never took a class either. I have bought BOM quilts that were supposed to be classes, but they let me buy them outright as a kit.
I think that there could have been easier ways to learn/do things, if I had taken classes when they became available.
You see ... I began my learning by watching a Georgia Bonesteel video checked out from the library in 1989. Not that I was piecing quilts so very much though. I started by hand piecing and you had to use templets to trace onto your fabric and cut it out by using scissors. That wasn't half as much fun as todays methods. That's for sure.