You would be surprised at how you improve, Shem - just as the DJers did. Lots of fear and trepidation to start with, now they are all pros, and PPing/Appliqueing doesn't seem to hold any terrors.
The same thing would happen with the AOTH quilt. I'll have to have a look to see if some of the blocks seem to be easier than others, and perhaps we can start with those first.