Hi Rachel,
Only semi-serious about straight stitching. The only time I used any fancy stitches is to seal the edges of pieces placed on a CrazyQuilt. That particular quilt is pieced on muslin, one scrap over another and the free edges are blanket or fine zig zagged stitched to make it all stay put (and look really cool). Other than that, the stitching on my Bernina is front to back (or back to front). As you get more comfortable with your machine you will expand and get to know how to use it for other things.
BTW - That Crazy Quilt is five years in making and not even close to being finished. I use all the scraps from my other quilts I have made so it's kind of a history of my quilting career. It goes a lot slower than you think.
tim in san jose