I have done quite a bit of free motion quilting and each time I start I get anxious about it. You just have to jump in. One thing I have found is that after washing the quilt, the puckering that occurs covers up mistakes. Instead of meandering I find it easier to do swirls in different sizes. STop with needle down when you need to reajust your hands at a natural stopping place, which for me is in the center of the swirl when I change direction. It does take practice and is much cheaper than sending out to a long arm quilter. Have fun and breath!