oh Kitty! How wonderful! I just know you are going to enjoy doing the free motion quilting. It is kind of like learning anything new. Just give yourself permission to play at it at first. Kids never dread or get scared when they learn something new. They think it is a game!
I bought this book on line to learn machine quilting and I like it very much. It talks about threads, types of quiting and other really good information to get started. It is called, "Machine Quilting Solutions", by Christine Maraccini. I like it very much. (I couldn't get into a class because it filled up in hours of opening sign-up) But, I found out the book they were using and got it. Mine came from overstock . com and I paid less than the girls in the class did for thiers.
I know one of the gals here was doing some free motion quilting and she had commented in just a week of working with it how she had gotten so much better. So it takes a little practice. That's all.