Welcome! You will find lots of information and inspiration here and on other quilting sites. There are lots of videos and tutorials for beginning quilters. Fat Quarter Shop has a beginner quilt series (free). I'm guessing you are learning just as much in the group you are working with, and there is no better way than through folks who are like minded.
There are quite a few very well known male quilters. Ricky Tims, Scott Flanigan, Rob Appel come immediately to mind, but there are many others. There was a member here a long time ago, I can't remember his name... He started off with a New York Beauty, I think, not realizing what he was getting into. Does anyone remember this? Fabulous quilts.
We look forward to hearing more from you.