2wheelwoman, when I first started every word you wrote was me! I never could figure out how to see behind the machine - so (since the quilt police aren't staring over my shoulder) I keep where I am going in front of me. If I get in a tricky spot, I stop (needle down) and rotate a bit so I can see what I'm doing.
I think you really need to play with different ideas to find out what works for you; it is a very individual thing, and what works for one may be Latin to the next guy. I was working with someone a few weeks ago, whose meandering first time out looked pretty good - but she was nervous and wanted a line to follow. I'm the opposite; I prefer a blank piece to play with, since I can get paranoid about missing the line :wink:
sunnyhope, I started out just stippling and meandering all my quilts. There are even stencils for marking a meander or stipple on quilts (who knew? LOL) I don't know how everyone else does it, but I concentrate on learning and practicing one design family at a time (stipples, loops, curves, etc.) I figure the longer I work at it, the more complex my quilting will become.