I tried to learn from a book, after years of dressmaking, almost to the point of also doing tailoring,and it was an exercise in frustration. There was nothing wrong with the book. I didn't like the inaccuracy. A year or two later three local quilters advertised "make six gifts before Christmas." We started in Sept. When I went to purchase fabric for the first class, a couple of cheater blocks and fabric, the shop owner asked me if I had the rotary cutter, etc. I was totally dumb and had no idea what she was talking about. She demonstrated. I spent another $100 on the necessary mat, ruler and cutter plus a square up ruler. This was my kick start. This was back in the early 90s and the instructions were for templates and scissors. Eventually the book was rewritten for rotary cutting system. We learned a different method, and sometimes more than one, per item. That was my Kick Start and though I have taken just a few more since them they ended up being a social outing and I ended up doing my own thing. Despite having quilted seriously for nearly 20 years I am still learning from forums, reading and just plain trying.