I've been trying to decide just what pattern I want to do for my first quilt. I've looked over so many over the past few weeks, they've all just kind of blended together in a fog. :lol:

However, thanks to this site, I found a link to a stepping stone quilt that looks pretty easy, even for someone that's new to sewing in general, like myself. (The link was this: http://www.quiltindex.com/SteppingStones.aspx) Is this a good one to start out on? Any helpful hints for this? Things to watch out for?

I'll be getting the fabric either tonight or some time this weekend and will begin once I have it. I haven't quite decided on the colors just yet, but I'm thinking something along the lines of softer blues, pinks, greens, and yellow. (If it turns out nice, I can give it to my infant son...)

That looks like a good pattern! I think your choice of fabric sounds nice too. You'll have to post some pictures when you get it finished.

I might just make this too. I'm curious to see what free fabric and pattern you get.

Good luck, and we'll be here if you need any help. :)

I think that pattern looks very new quilter friendly. The only thing that may be hard if you are very new to quilting is cutting the strips straight. I sometimes have to cut my strips only half the width of the fabric or they get wonky on me. I like your color ideas, too. Good luck.

I made this particular pattern for a quilt for my son. I needed something that was fast and easy. And this definitely was. I did it with batiks and it turned out gorgeous and my son loved it. He actually has it hanging on his wall as an art piece.

I'd say this is a pretty perfect quilt for a beginner and you've chosen wisely.
~Tiffany

this is a really good tip. i got this tip from a friend a couple of quilts ago and it makes a huge difference. i still buy 95% of my fabric by-the-yard, but when i get ready to use it for a quilt, i divide it into fat quarters before i start cutting.

thanks for the reminder, bj. :P

Wow! I never would have thought about doing that! I bet it saves a lot of head aches. (I was wondering why the irish chain I did cutting each piece individually went together better than when I have done them in strips :oops: )

Thanks BJ and Patrice!

The rail fence is also an easy one to start out. I instructed a friend through her first quilt, who has almost no sewing skills.

For me, I find cutting the fabric down into sections usually leaves me with less fabric then needed for a block or quilt. I think I would try this if I had plenty of fabric but usually I'm trying to make every last square inch count so cutting it up beforehand would be problematic for me. I do have some friends I know that will greatly benefit from this piece of advice and I've passed it on to them.
~Tiffany

I finished it! I added some of my own touches to it. I added a border and when I did the backing, I used a main section of white in the center and used the blue and purple from the blocks on each side. So, one side of the back is blue, the other is purple, the center is white. It came out pretty nice. More important, I had an absolute blast doing this! I've already started a sampler and am looking to do a log cabin. (This could get out of hand with me getting more patterns and fabrics than I have time to work on them...:shock: )

My husband, who wasn't sure about the colors when I was choosing them, has staked his claim to this quilt. Whenever friends or family ask what I plan to do with it, he always jumps in and says, "it's mine". (This from a man who doesn't really get excited about my hobbies. :lol: )

Here's some pictures (I hope I post them right...) What do you think? (Please be honest!)

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f2...e/P3110059.jpg

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f2...e/P3110060.jpg

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f2...e/P3110061.jpg

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f2...e/P3110062.jpg

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f2...e/P3110063.jpg