What a wonderful gift. I love my Juki. Make sure you have it on a table that will support the quilt while you are quilting. Less fighting the weight of the quilt that way. I always used quilting gloves. I started with Fons and Porters gloves but found using gardening gloves with those little white dots worked just as well and were a whole lot cheaper. Most of all just practice and relax and enjoy the process.