I made 5 quilts for charity and practiced on them. The last one looks the best. You could also do a sampler type quilt and try different motifs (sp) on each block. I just finished a quilt with FM roses and took into my LQS where I bought the fabric and she told me that if I had paid a LA to do what I did, I would have paid over $200. So its worth quilting your own IMO.