I'm self taught too. I loved watching Simply quilts and often saw pictures of quilts I would have loved to make. I was inspired but still didn't start making quilt tops until I watched Eleanor Burns one day and saw the many short cuts she is famous for. I decided to go for it and the rest is history. I had already collected quite a bit of fabric, so my dilemma was how to use it.
What has struck me about being self taught is just how many mistakes one can make to learn from. Between great books, TV shows (now defunct), YouTube videos, web sites, and the wonderful information from this forum, I think I have become pretty good at making a quilt top by piecing, and now have to expand onto paper piecing and templates.
I do a big thanks to Fons and Porter because I now make a great binding!
Diane