I've only been quilting since 2010, but I've come a long way in that time & now am trying to improve upon my actual quilting skills. It's all muscle memory! I don't have time to practice much except on the quilts I continue to make, so I have to practice on those! I have purchased some stencils & they work nicely to mark your quilt tops. More often I go to my library of quilting designs. (4 books so far). I can't draw for beans, so I have to photocopy designs I like & then I pin them in the proper areas & quilt right over the paper; after which I tear it off like doing paper piecing! By all means, get the Quilting Dot to Dot book by Cheryl Barnes & the 501 & 502 Quilting Motifs by Quiltmaker Magazine. They are well worth the price!! I just do a lock stitch at start & stop, but some use the quilter's knot & bury it in the batting. I've taught myself, so prefer the lock stitch & have had no complaints to date! :-) By all means, just jump right into it because it's a lot of fun!!! Don't start on a special project though, just use a large muslin quilt sandwich and try it out. My knees were knocking so loudly the 1st time, I'm sure they could hear them in the next county!! LOL! It came out beautifully though!