I am a quilt teacher and do find that some people get more out of the class by doing what you propose.

One of the neatest purchases I made was a wheeled carrier about 20 inches square and 36" tall. I found that by putting a piece of plywood in the bottom for my machine, I could stack fabric around the machine and get the whole kit and kaboodle to my classroom with no trouble. A few clothes pins made it easy to organize my fabrics by hanging them on the outside once I arrived at the classroom.