I had some time with a LQS that was OK almost.

Then I did decide to go to SLC for the HQ University and loved it. To me it was worth the expense.

However, now there is a local HQ group that meets once a month and has hands on work at a LQS. If this had been in place back when, then I definitely would NOT have gone to SLC. The local group is relaxed and we can contact someone here when we have a question. Because we know each other over a longer time span it is really fun.

If you are a learn at home type of person HQ also has some great dvds available. :)
I love taking classes but if I can get a class on dvd I have to weigh out having the dvd that I can watch as often as I want or taking the class (and for longarms that means sharing practice time on the machine so you aren't getting as much hands on time as I'd want)
When I had purchased a framed machine (I now have a sit down machine) I was told to load some junk fabric/batting/backing and start writing the alphabet, song lyrics, poems, doodling, etc. When you get to the bottom you can either start over in a different color thread or move on to a quilt. Chances are you'll be ready to quilt just about anything by the time you get to the bottom. There's lots of free videos online as well.