I was asked by jdavis to post the quilt in my avatar, so here goes.
This is a small quilt, about 36" square, which I finished in March. I found the design in a Judy Martin book from 1985. I loved the design, but was intimidated by the directions. I've only been quilting for 3 years. This pattern was written for templates and inset seams, two things I had hoped to avoid forever.
The four blocks surrounding the center square (just above, below, right and left) were the hardest. I found a neat method for using freezer paper that helped to piece those blocks. It's explained here:
http://www.geocities.com/quiltfrenzy/3dtriangle5.html
I decided to use traditional paper piecing for the snail's trail blocks. The geometry of the whole thing was a challenge. I learned is that it's not always easy to reproduce a pattern in EQ6, and quilt patches don't always have nice measurements.
Altogether, I look at this quilt as a very humbling learning experience.