different people learn at different paces- there is a learning curve.
if you relax- and practice it will get easier/better with each practice piece you do- some people quilt for years- and are never happy with it- some people jump right in and are doing quilts in a few hours-
everyone is different- but it does take practice- and patience

I bought my Handy quilter at the quilt fest in Houston last year. My 19 year old neice just walked up to the machine and just started quilting. She does not sew at all but loves to quilt material. I sometimes think the older we get we tend to over think things. Sometime you just have to jump in with both feet and not be so hard on ourselves. Relax and enjoy the project and don't over think things.

I search the remnant bins for pre-quilted fabric to practice on. I got pretty good fairly quickly doing a meandering stitch so I used that on all my beginning projects. Then, when I wanted to learn another pattern, I practiced only that pattern on the pre-quilted material and then did it on the project. Some patterns I could learn pretty well, others I just stunk at no matter how much I practiced, so I stick to the ones I'm good at.

Different machines, different speed, and different people. As to how long it takes :?: Just practice, practice and practice some more, if you want it YOU will get it. Good luck

The more you do, the better you will get! :-)

I am just starting but I find the height of the machine works better to be lower than I piece at.

practice, relax and practice, have no expectations for a while, try different methods...stencilled designs, use fabric panels (great practice) and work your way up to total free hand free motion quilting, practice on a consistant schedule (20 minutes per day) and you will get there...just not overnight be patient.