It was a while before my rulers and I became friends. I found using them awkward at first. I am assuming you have a ruler base on your machine. You can't do ruler work without it.
My go to ruler that I use for almost every quilt for SITD is my 6" x 2" straight ruler. Unfortunately WillowLeaf studios quilt producing rulers so it is no longer made but any 6" x 2" will do. Some have little tabs on them so you can correctly line up for your hopping foot but really, after doing it a bit you be able to eyeball the distance pretty well.
I also recommend Ronda's curved rulers for curved cross hatching. They also come in handy for doing soft curves around applique. I have her medium and large crescent and the medium double S (could be large, I am not home to check)
http://www.quiltersrule.com/template...dasRulers.html
To me circle templates are a must. However you have to be careful as many manufacturers don't allow for the hopping foot so when you buy a 4" circle you are actually stitching out a 4 1/2" circle. so keep that in mind when buying. All of my circle templates are like this and I have adapted so I don't mind so much. I find they work just fine. I have them in 1" intervals from 1" to 11"
Again my favorite circle templates are no longer made. Gadget girls seem to have very nice ones but very spendy. Deep Blue has them for a VERY reasonable price but they aren't laser etched with as many registration marks as the more expensive ones. They only have a "cross hair" centering etch and then a small etch at 45 degrees.
http://www.deepbluetemplates.com/default.asp
My willow leaf ones also have 1/4" interval etching on one side which is VERY handy.