Taking a beginning class will save you lots of time. You'll learn how to chain stitch, what foot to use when, what threads you can count on... and all sort of things. Also, consider buying an overall quilting book. I've been quilting for more than 10years but still go back to "Quilting for Dummies" (yep, one of those big yellow books) because, if I haven't done something for a while I can be very unsure of how to do it.