carolynjo

I recommend that you buy Better Homes and Gardens "Complete Guide to Quilting". The explanations and photographs are wonderful and you will never outgrow the book. Best wishes on your quilting adventures.

Quiltbeagle

Quiltmaker has been my favorite for a long time, but all the others mentioned are also good. You could go to a grocery store or bookstore look through the magazine racks to see which one you like best.

MacThayer

I like both Quiltmaker and Quilty for their explanations of the designs. I think these are two good magazines for newbies, although I still get them!

The book you shouldn't be without is :The Quilter's Bible. No quilter should be without it. It's awesome, better than any other "how to" quilting book on the market, in my opinion, and I have them all. LOL!

I am also working my way through the Quilter's Academy books. They're on Amazon, but I picked mine up in a 2nd hand store (Albris, on line) for cheaper. The Freshman book is focused on good piecing and cutting, and getting those two things straight has helped me with everything I quilt. I also have the rest of the books: Sophomore, Junior, and Senior Year Quilting, and I know they are working on a Master's level book. If you do all of the projects in those books, you will be a good quilter -- that's how I learned so much in a short time. I still refer back to books I've finished. Yes, it can be a bit tedious, but the premise is that each skill taught prepares you for the next skill to be learned. Repeating the projects in a slightly different way helps to "gel" the skills and gives you practice at them. You learn a lot about color coordination along the way. If you can do a "scant 1/4 inch seam", you can do a 1/4, or 5/8's, or whatever size seam. Learning how to consistently sew a specific sized seam is invaluable, and so helpful when you piece things together, because the blocks match. I didn't know Harriet Hargraves had a quilt shop, and I don't see advertising in this series, at least yet. Perhaps I'm oblivious to it, which is possible. The library might carry them, so that would be a good source to try them out cheaply.

Best of luck to you!

And write to the quilting board when you have questions! We love Newbies!

MichelleDenise

I just wanted to thank everyone that has replied to my question regarding quilting magazines. I am overwhelmed by the generous support. Also, I am amazed by the support by some to send me some of their quilting magazines. This has been an awesome experience that I have never encountered before on a hobby. I love to get magazines, so I am hopeful to eventually pick one, but I will take my time. Also, thank you for the recommendations on quilting books I definitely was to purchase books. I just have to decide which one I would like for Christmas. Thank you so much!

Fortyniner

I second carolynjo's recommendation. It is a pretty complete reference for a new quilter. I have purchased several books for beginners and this is by far the best I found. I purchase used books from Alibris lots of times and I have the Quilters Bible, but the BH&G book is the best reference. There are all kinds of charts and techniques. So far, I haven't found anything to beat it. It stays on the table where I work, while the rest are shelved.

WTxRed

IMHO - you have a resource here, at your finger tips, that is better than 100 magazines - this Forum is awesome. Lots of eye candy, helping hands, tutorials, tried and true methods, not swayed by advertisements, honest opinions - couldn't get any better!

Cybrarian

Quilting Quickly and Quilty are both excellent choices. Quilty is specifically for beginning quilters. Both have great content.