What a great question! I started quilting in the late '80's and thought I was doing pretty well although I stuck to a lot of simpler blocks. Then about 3 years ago I started going to quilt clubs at the quilt shop. I'm quite surprised at how much nicer my blocks look now vs. before the clubs. First of all there is homework every month so I was forced (although you really don't have to do the homework if you don't want) to make different blocks every month. A lot of the blocks are complicated. There were 12" and 6" blocks and the littler ones were hard for me at first. Then, secondly, I learned so much from the demos every month where others pointed out little tips for piecing and pressing the blocks as well as fabric choices. Lots of times I'll make multiples of the blocks just for the practice. So I guess the answer for me, anyway, was to challenge myself and practice.