Many yrs ago I took a quilting class at an Adult Ed. The write up said to bring 6 9"squares, which everyone did. DUH - should have been 9 6"squares. All I learned was to make a pillowtop and decide that quilting was something I could never do. I even bought a quilt at the Kutztown (PA) Fair for $300+, figuring that would be the only way I'd have one. Yrs later, the "bug" hit again and I took a lap quilt class. Learned a lot, but was required to do everything by hand...no machine piecing. Did a "snow-bird" in FL that winter, and about 1/2 mile from our campground was a quilt shop. Beginner classes were free as long as you bought all your materials from her. Made a different block each week, as long as you brought your finished block in for show n tell. I learned so much, joined a guild back home and have been quilting ever since. One of my favorite places to take a class is QuiltUniversity.com. I'm taking one right now on reversible quilts. Excellent instructors - many very well known in quilting circles. Give them a try. For classes, I'd suggest LQS, a guild, QU, and some fellow quilters. Enjoy the wonderful hobby!