I know you are frustrated. Two suggestions Put it away for a while. in the mean time do something fun. As you progress in your quilting you will learn more and new techniques. Then it might go easier or make sense. Secondly, without seeing pics and not knowing the pattern i would suggest bordering the small blocks to bring them up to larger size(use background or similar fabric.). I personally find F&P patterns from magazines to be a definite challenge.
I agree with cjr. Sometimes when you are a beginner quilt, you find yourself with a more difficult project. It would be like me trying to cook a Julia Child's recipe: definitely outside my cooking skills .
Put everything for this project away and start on something else. Then when you have added to your knowledge, then go back to it. I had a MAJOR problem with doing yo-yos in a F&P magazine. When I used their template, the yo-yos didn't come anywhere near to the size that was displayed in the pattern in their magazine. Went to look to see if there was a error posted and was amazed with how many mistakes were listed !! All I could think of was the old carpenter's saying, measure twice, cut once. GOOD LUCK and hang in there.