I FMQed a quilt today following a pattern. I bought a stencil that was to be used with a pounce pad, but used a foam paint brush and cornstarch. That worked very well, but working with a pattern sure leaves a lot of threads to FIND and cut. Most of the other FMQing I have done has been free-hand, mostly circle doodles. I did a king size quilt and went from one corner up and down until I got to the opposite corner with stopping except for a bobbin change. That was fun!
BTW, I didn't think your FMQ was all that bad for a first (well, second) time. We all started there. The most important thing is to keep the needle down while you're moving the fabric or moving your hands.