My first FMQ was on a bag we were making in a class. I wanted the bottom quilted, so I just started making loop-de-loops and was quite pleased with it. I think I practiced for all of 2 minutes. I still like the bottom of that bag, and now I have been doing leaves in the borders. One leaf points to the left; the next one to the right. Fun. Most of my quilts are loop-do-loops or back and forth lines to fill in a space.
As for quilting gloves, I couldn't do this without them, but you don't have to spend a lot of money on them until you are sure you like this process. I started with Latex Gloves: a box of 100 costs a buck or two. And it doesn't matter if they have holes in them, just as long as you have "sticky fingers". LOL They are even more comfortable after the hand part is mostly gone. Just be sure to wash your hands well after using them, as bacteria builds up inside them after a while. I was surprised to hear that you need to wash your hands after you take gloves off, but ask your doctor friends about that.