First of all don't give up, this gets better.....
May I suggest first of all, put this quilt aside for now. Make a small baby quilt, a quick and simple, and learn on it....will be some much easier to learn on....Yes, you start in the middle, and you do need to use some kind of gloves (even clean garden gloves work) practice, practice....maybe try some FMQ (free motion quilting) go to Youtube watch every video you can find on machine quilting.... There is a class being offered now on Crafty for this subject. I believe it is 10 lessons for $25-30, this may be a good idea for you also.....
IMHO you are starting TOO BIG ...............