Hi and welcome from Quebec city, Canada. I had to laugh, you are so right when you say "remaining calm in the face of a mountain of fabric???"
I can tell you how I started and I have just finished piecing my third quilt. I started about 6 years ago and I am a slow quilter. I do not like to follow pattern either because I am afraid I will get bored. So I start with block patterns and I change as the piecing progress..
A site that I like is
http://www.quilterscache.com/QuiltBlocksGalore.html
and my beginning is :
http://www.quiltingboard.com/picture...ol-t98259.html
Have fun!
we were in Edinburgh for a week in 2010. Really enjoyed our stay!