From a fellow "newbie" as far as free motion quilting, "Don't give up!!" I have been really working on my fmq, and what has seemed to really help is quilting smaller projects, like I am making the calendar squares from Connecting Threads, they are about 12" squares...I also use basting spray, only 505 brand...I have now moved up to lap quilt size, and while I may have to pick out a few of the stitches, for the most part it looks ok...we are usually our own worst critcs, so please keep that in mind...my quilt "sisters" from my group had told me to quit taking my stitches out, and leave it alone!! And, actually they were right...Lastly, I have several quilt books, but the best one I have found is: Show Me How to Machine Quilt, a Fun No-Mark Approach, by Kathy Sandbach. It is a great book, has actual pics of free motion quilting done by the author, and you can tell they are free hand...it also has lots of design ideas. Latest prices I saw on Amazon were 4 to 10 dollars...that is where I got mine.
Take care, and good luck to you...