Dear noveltyjunkie - I commend you for not giving up. Like many, I too admired what others had pieced/quilted and was scared until my DH asked me one day if I knew the stores had more fabric if I ruined some. That sort of clicked with me. But it was not until I got a pair of gloves with rubberized fingertips that I actually saw progress. And, as GGinMcKinney mentioned, I am going to try a sponge in each hand since my gloves are about to wear out. The sponges sound a whole lot cheaper than gloves.
Anyway, photo here is one of my attempts. Please try one for yourself. For hours upon hours, I traced my freehand vine with a pencil. Then I went to the machine and dared it not to do what I had been doing on paper. lol Over and over, I tried to follow my previous stitching. So, here I am approximately two years later and still learning the ins-outs of FMQ.
FMQ is fun and I know you will enjoy it too. Just play like you are in grade school art classes (er-r-r-r, do schools still have art classes?). May have dated myself there!
Good Luck.