Since I began as mostly a self-taught quilter (you should have seen my hand quilting-one stitch at a time), my first class was one to learn how to machine quilt, after making several quilts, so I just fly by the seat of my pants, telling myself that I can do it, so I mostly make intermediate to somewhat challenging quilts. I generally use a pattern though, and occasionally I'll have to read and re-read the directions many times before I get it, so just do what you are comfortable doing.