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

What a great pattern!! You did a wonderful job--just look at those intersections!! :shock: Amazing for a first time quilter.

Congrats!!

I love that your hubby likes it. :D

I think that it is great. You did a wonderful job for a first quilt. Now that the quilting bug has bit it will be hard for you to get anything else other than a quilt done. I know that after my first quilt I started thinking of everything in quilts. I think that I even dream of quilts. Once again you did a great job. Thanks for sharing.

Nice work!!

Its a beautiful quilt. You did an awesome job.

I've wanted to do this too, but always have trouble thinking I'll pick the right colors.

You did a great job and it is beautiful! I don't blame your husband for wanting it!

Great job!!
Hope you get some great fabric from the site!

I love the colors. Thanks so much for posting your pics. It's fun to see a thread with a beginning AND an end!!!!!

It's beautiful! So cute that your husband has made claim to it, although I don't blame him a bit! It' s a wonderful quilt and I love that you added your touches. I did a sampler quilt from that site and got free fabric. Great work for a beginner. You must make more and more! :D

Great job!! And I love the vine you quilted on it. Beautiful colors. I can see why your hubby would lay claim to it.

You did a wonderful job on your quilt! You should be very proud of yourself :D I can't wait to see your next one and the one after that.... and after that........ :D

I think it is absolutley beautiful. And great work for a first time quilter.

Kyia

It's fabulous! I love the color choices. You are hooked, girl, I can tell!

Thank you all so much! As I said, I had so much fun doing this quilt. I had a hard time deciding what colors to use, but then I figured, "hey, it's my first quilt, if the colors don't turn out right I can blame it on lack of experience". :mrgreen: So I picked colors I like, mainly the blue and purple. (I chose the red and green because, well, I need four colors.)

There are some mistakes in it, but I really surprised myself with just how unnoticeable they are. (Few bunches here and there.) I was just happy it came out to the measurements it was supposed to. One thing about that though, it came out square and when I picked the pattern, I didn't really think much about that. That's why I added the border, because I wanted to make it a bit longer top to bottom, and less square. However, it didn't really turn out that way because I was changing and adding things as I went and had the backing material picked out and sewn together before I thought about adding the border. I ended up having to cut down the border on the top and bottom so the backing would fit, and the quilt turned out a slightly larger square than the pattern. :lol:

I'm actually working on a sampler now. I've got the blocks done already and have realized it's going to be a pretty small with only 6 6 1/2 in blocks. But hey, it's not really about the finished product this time. I wanted to learn the different types of blocks and that's exactly what this has done for me. So, I'm going to finish it and hang it up somewhere.

Again, thanks for all the kind words! It means a lot!

That is so nice! I think I might have to try that one too :)
I'm a very new quilter too, I just finished my first this week, and now I'm starting a baby quilt, but it's a jewel box pattern, a little trickier to wrap my little brain around.
I have lots of purple fabric and I think I'll put it to good use...

That is a beautiful quilt and your choices of colors are perfect! My first quilt was a railroad track pattern and I had great success, too. All I do now is design quilts in my mind continually......... Soon you'll have several started (like me), not finished but having lots of fun!

You did great!! I like your color choices just fine!! Sounds like the quilt bug has bit you for sure!! It is a lot of fun isn't it? Keep up the good work & on to the next project!! :D