Just yesterday I was discussing these machines with a friend. We had both opted not to get one because it takes more fabric, you have to cut pieces before putting them in the machine and we do not sew that way. Now for appliques and such I think it would be ideal but when I make a nine patch I do not sew all little squares together. Both of us use rotary cutting techniques where we sew parts together and then cut. It reminds me a little of using templates. I do think one might be in my future some time if I can no longer rotary cut due to medical reasons. I would probably then go for the studio. You are taking the right steps thinking it through. It helped me a lot to watch videos online to realize for now it is not for me. Something I do use a lot is the June Tailor shape cutter.