I am glad I had the encouragement of my quilty guild sisters, but there is a lot of encouragement right here. I agree about starting small and simple.
www.quilterscache.com has a great many free patterns, all rated as to difficulty. there are lots of good tutorials on the web, especially on you tube. Be sure to feel free to ask questions as you go along. yes, quilting is addictive! In 2000, I moved to a new town. My neighbor informed me that I would be a quilter now. I did not think so, but 500+ quilts and lots of blue ribbons later, I am very glad she was a little bit pushy.