I found that meandering my first few quilts really helped me practice. Also, I recommmend getting a piece of cheater quilt fabric and work on that. It is cheap and once done, can be given to someone. I made my MIL a small cheater quilt for her couch that was a double wedding ring. It allowed me to design what I wanted to and allowed me the practice that I really needed. Don't worry about keeping your stitches exactly even, because it won't happen right away, just have fun with it.