I agree with Mdegenhart. It depends on which part of the quilt you intend on hand or machine quilting. I'm a newer quilter myself, and work on patchwork quilts. I machine sew the pieces together for the top, and hand quilt the finished project. Start with small projects and try both methods. Make a few place mats. Hand quilting is a slow process, but very rewarding as it seems to be a lost art. Both methods take practice, but I find that machine quilting is harder if you want to do a free motion pattern because not only are you controlling yourself, but you need to learn how to control the machine. If you are going to stitch in the ditch, you are just following the lines created by the pattern of the top, and much easier to machine quilt. Remember to relax as you go, breath, and enjoy. Your first quilt will not be perfect, but, it will be fantastic because you made it.