I think you are doing great, Debbie! Your designs will look great on a quilt.
I wanted to learn to quilt feathers, so I started out just drawing them over and over and over. Then I put on a practice piece and quilted them. They were getting better, but I still wasn't totally happy with them. One day I decided that the only way I was really going to get good at quilting feathers was to start putting them on quilts. The first quilt was an easy pattern I made just to practice my feathers and I use it as a lap quilt on my couch. I don't mind that the quilting isn't that great, I still love it. I have now quilted several quilts with feathers and am (generally) very happy with the results. I guess what I am saying is, don't be afraid to quilt your designs on actual quilts. Matching thread really does hide a multitude of mistakes and you'll see a HUGE improvement after each quilt you complete.