Being a newbie myself I agree with simple and fast to start. My first quilt was a baby quilt so it said. But I use it as a lap quilt while watching TV. The patten was A Kwik Trip and it was 3 1/2 inch blocks strip pieced. It went together in a matter of hours. The boarders and quilting which I did stitch in the ditch took a little longer since I work full time, but it was completely finished within 2 weeks. All of it was done on my regular sewing machine.