machine quilting practice

I have been reading a lot lately about machine quilting. I have a Pfaff 7570 that is 11 years old. I love this machine. It doesn't have a stitch regulator; but I have decided that I will learn this skill. I had some prepared muslin (calico in Australian) quilt sandwich to practice. Boring! Instead I am now making little quilts for my studio. This is the first one.
I took a green fat quarter, sliced 3 times. Took the red striped fabric and cut  1- 1 inch piece and 1- 3/4 inch piece and did sew them to the background to make the trunk and branches. Added 2 little birds, 3 leaves; and a yo-yo. The yo-yo was cut from a circle using a US quarter (1 inch diameter, or 2.5 cm). I did the turn under applique method. Time to quilt. I prepared the machine by putting a  piece of "supreme slider" on the surface. This is a teflon sheet that helps the quilt to move smoothly. It makes a big difference when quilting circles. I quilted some "trees and grass, the leaves, and birds" It was fast and fun. Just had to trim the piece to 9.5 inches by 14 inches and voila! One little quilt for the wall.
I have read that it takes about 50 hours to get the hang of free motion machine quilting. Just about 49 more hours to go.
"I think I can. I think I can..."