You should be able to quilt those small projects you plan to start with on your machine. If you plan to do just some straight line quilting you really should not need to change to the darning plate/foot. I am able to do straight line quilting on my machine with my regular piecing foot. That said, I did recently invest in a walking foot for mine and it does make life much easier, lol. The throat on my machine is a bit larger than yours and I was able to quilt a king sized quilt. Granted, there was lots of pushing and pulling of the quilt but it was doable.
You will need to adjust your stitch length when quilting the sandwich. You may need to adjust tension as well. Make up a practice sandwich to test your settings before working on your 'real' project. Use the same fabrics/batting for your practice sandwich.
If you plan to do free motion quilting (FMQ) you may need to change feet/plate. I have no clue on that front but someone will be along shortly to advise on that aspect.