my first real quilt was a wall hanging size hunters star. it was easy. I would just take your daughter and pick out four fabrics and then go from there. most of the time the fabric will tell you what pattern it likes the best. (i know I sound nuts) but some fabrics lend themselves better to certain types of patterns. and I do agree that most of the carol doak books are wonderful for a beginner. (which I still am, have not been quilting for a year as yet.) if you want to get free patterns you could always look at the site
http://www.quilterscache.com/QuiltBlocksGalore.html
or another site would be
http://www.jinnybeyer.com/block-a-we...g.cfm?axis_v=2
the next quilt that i did after making a few hunters stars was one from two blocks off the jinny beyer website.
as long as you have pics showing how things go together i find that most blocks are relatively easy to go together as long as I pay attention to what I am doing. you will have to share the journey of the quilt with us. and ask away with questions. this place is the best for getting advise and opinions on quilting.