My first quilt was a French Braid, and I followed the instructions in Jane Hardy Miller's book.
At the time, I was into making super-heavy-weight doubled-fleece blankets for the homeless population here in Minnesota. I bought the fleece as cheaply as possible, which meant using coupons from my local Mills End Textiles. As you might imagine, this was mostly a cutting and tying effort - with little room for creativity. And as it turned out, there wasn't much need for my super-warm creations in the homeless community!
One day, I was struck by a French Braid quilt top that was hanging on the wall at Mill End Fabrics. Under it was Jane's book. I skimmed it and was particularly taken by the words: Appropriate for a beginner. And I was a beginner!
I lucked out and produced a lovely twin-bed-sized quilt (though I'll never know how much the friend who did the quilting may have altered it in order to save the project).
On a wave of (presumed) success, I started to construct a more complicated quilt. Alas, I didn't have the knowledge/technique/experience/insight to see the problems before I got bogged down in them. (This quilt is still my dominant UFO.)
As a result of both my success and my failure, I vowed to take my time and learn quilting from the ground up. My guide has been Harriet and Carrie Hargrave's books, "QUILTING ACADEMY, Volumes 1 and 2." (I've recommended these books multiple times on the QB, but I want everyone to know that I have nothing to gain!)
Despite my initial conviction to do so, I haven't followed these books slavishly. While I've not leaped ahead in their curriculum, I have used the basics I learned in Volume 1 to experiment with bargello and tessellating stars quilts. Darned if the basics I learned didn't make me successful in these "outside" adventures ;-)
I should point out that, unlike many of you, neither my mother nor either of my grandmothers knew how to sew. And I'm 60 years old! To the degree that I know how to sew (use a sewing machine) goes back to a Home Economics class I took in 7th grade. To the degree that our children and grandchildren learn and appreciate the art ... well, it's up to us to teach them!