Hi:
At my local quilt shop I found a book called Skillbuilder Companion for Machine Quilters by RGA Design - rgadesignquilts.com. In addition to the book, I purchased a yard of fabric that is a template of various quilt designs to practice with. The clerks told me to make a quilt sandwich (fabric, batting and this practice piece). By using regular thread in the bobbin and wash-a-way thread in the machine (or vice versa) you can keep using this template over again to practice the desgins using your sewing machine. They said just dissolve the water soluable threads and pull out the stitches. This template was used in a "real" baby quilt and the results were very pretty.
I haven't tried it yet, but I look forward to improving my quilting skills, too.
Judy