I started on a sampler using this book, The New York Times Book of Needlepoint by Elaine Slater.  Ms. Slater teaches the new needlepointer 10 different stitches.  She includes lots of diagrams of the wrong as well as right way to do the stitiches.

So far I've marked my 10-mesh canvas for 25 square blocks, picked out 5 colours from the DMC 3-ply Persian wool (3 oranges and 2 greens), and I've done my two squares of brick stitch.  I followed the directions for the first block:

And then looked at Ms. Slater's various examples and did the second block in my own simple design:

I turned the canvas a quarter-turn to work the block as Ms. Slater advised rather than trying to work it vertically.

I'm finding it harder to work with 3-ply persian wool then it was to work with the Appleton tapestry wool I used on the Plums canvas.  Ms. Slater has the learner use 3 strands for all vertical/horizantal stitches so I have to keep the 3 strands as flat as possible for the stitch.  I guess I'll get better with time - practice, practice, practice.