Hey Vicki,
Quick trick to hide any flaws in your quilting is to match your thread to your background fabric, using the same in the top & bobbin. Using a finer thread and needle will hide flaws even further. Only because this is your first attempt at FMQ, I would advise against echo quilting; any irregular rows will be immediately obvious.
Speed and stitch consistency will come with practice, so hang in there and keep practicing. A quick FMQ technique that has great results is doing loops. They do not have to be round, you do not have to worry about not crossing over the stitch lines, and you can easily change directions to quilt an area you have not yet gotten to. To add more texture, you can also vary the size and density of the loops. A great way to practice these is by stitching cursive lower-case "e's" one after the other, in varying sizes and widths.
Hope this helps you get started easily into the wonderful world of FMQ!!! :D Let me know if this doesn't make any sense.