As I mentioned in my introduction, I recently became obsessed with wanting to make my first quilt. I have 4 coordinating fabrics, 1 1/4 yard of each. I want to learn how to make 1 or 2 different types of blocks. I could probably pull out another yard or two of an additional coordinating fabric from my

I was thinking I could find a couple of block patterns and just make as many as I can using the fabric that I have and then piece them together when the fabric is used up, but since I've never done a quilt before I have no idea if this is a good plan.

Can anyone point me to an easy quilt pattern for a beginner?

There is a pattern called "Take 5" where you need 1 yard each of 5 different coordinating fabrics. It's super easy to cut and piece. It' goes together really quickly.
I used that pattern for my first quilt, and I loved it!

http://www.shorelinehandwerks.com/se...-Take-5/Detail

Here's a good site for blocks. http://www.quilterscache.com/QuiltBlocksGalore.html

Also try blankquilting.com, they have free patterns for quilts.

My first quilt was a sampler. Took a class and each week we learned a new block. Then we put them all together. I think there were 9 or 12 blocks. The pick 5 is a really nice start, but if you feel that you want to try some simple blocks for a sampler quilt, go for it! www.quilterscache.com is a great site. Go 1/2 way down the page to where it says "Where do you want to go today?" and click the arrow and choose, Quilt blocks galore.

Good luck and don't forget the pics!

Note: Guess Sewnsewer2 and I were posting at the same time. It really is a great site! :P

Rail fence is a good first quilt. It's all sewn in straight lines and looks really good finished.

Darren

A basic nine patch made with three different fabrics or a four patch made with just two can be very good practice and still look great. Both of those blocks can be strip pieced and are hard to mess up. You can use unpieced blocks in between the pieced ones and simple borders to make the quilt larger and limit the amount of piecing. Let the fabrics and colors talk for the quilt.

Thanks so much for the replies. The Take 5 quilt looks great, as do the other ideas. I have a question, though...let's say I decide to do 9 patches with solid squares in between. How would I decide how much fabric to set aside for the border? I'm thinking I could use three of my four fabrics for the blocks, while keeping the fourth for the border and then I would need to go out and buy or dig through my stash for a 5th fabric for the backing and binding?

I found the Charming Baby Log Cabin an easy first quilt. The pieces are big and easier to handle. Sherry McD