Yes.. you picked a very challenging block to tackle and you get major KUDOS for that! If I were to give you the best advice I could give it would be to find someone who gives beginners quilting classes. I started out like you.. .tinkering with smaller projects, but I quickly got frustrated as I was wasting good fabrics with my mistakes not to mention my time.. not to mention some projects that I wouldn't share with ANYONE...lolol.
Finally, I took a class from a local woman who is well known for her fantastic beginners "sampler quilt" class. Basically, the class spaned a 5 month period (meeting every other week). She took us through every step from fabric choices to different techniques on each block and hand basting or pinning for quilting completion. What I loved MOST about the class was that I didn't get the opportunity to get bad habits started. I learned the basics correctly from the get-go...and that has saved me mucho grief. On a funny note... my BF was a self-taught quilter who had been quilting for years. Her hand work is stunning! Anyhow...she took the class with me because she wanted to make SURE I kept up with the lessons and stuck with the class - start to finish. When we were done she announced she had learned sooooo much in the class she was surprised.
A basic class from a good traditional quilter is a VERY GOOD THING! I have since taken several classes from the same woman and I am always soooo thrilled with the tricks and tips I gather.
♥