Would suggest that you also check out YouTube for flamework demos, you'll notice that they work their beads well out into the flame.
I have been working with the small torch and MAPP tanks too, and wear protective glasses - point being that if you also wear glasses, the flame will look different than with "bare" eyes (you'll not see the yellow) and have fewer visual clues for the sweet-spot you need to work in. I've learned to listen and note the difference in the sound when working in the quieter sweet-spot instead of the raggedy sounding too close area (and muddies your colors).
Another process I use to be aware of my flame is to light my torch with a wooden kitchen match, keep the match burning, then turn down my torch until it reaches the minimal gas point and goes out, then turn it up slightly, and re-light it with the match. This gives me a consistent reference point for my MAPP gas feed. The MAPP gas feed will be different if the tank is full, cold/warm, and even if the air environment changes (hot muggy day is different than below zero and dry). If I use a welder's sparker, this is a fussier process than with wooden kitchen matches.
Last suggestion, consider making up sampler beads from the same rod of glass; some 1.5 inches out, some 2 inches, and so forth - this will calibrate your concept of the sweet-spot.
And, as a side note, don't let yourself get hooked into the big/small torch deal - your goal now is to learn to work comfortably with your existing tools and materials and to develop YOUR passion. That passion will lead you to other tools and materials. When I started out, I was collecting bottles and breaking them for glass, mixing in anything metal, ceramic, or otherwise for decoration and (here's the point) then analyzing what the result was and how to reproduce it or change it. In your analysis, hold on to your right to determine what is great and what is otherwise, you are always at choice to determine your own meanings.
Enjoy, be brave, share.
Iris