Start with some small quilt sandwiches and quilt those. Another good way to see what you want to do is to buy a piece of plexi glass. Sometimes you will find plexi in inexpensive frames at a thrift store. Lay the plexi down on the quilt and doodle or draw designs you are thinking of using on the plexiglass. You use an eraserable marker and just wipe it off with a piece of batting. This way, you can get an idea of what looks good on your quilt without having to pick out stitches.