Wish you were right here in Sunny Southern California with me and I'd say we meet at Susie's on Thursday evenings and Rosie's or Nancy's 1-2 Saturdays per month and everyone is a beginning quilter except me and one other lady who occasionally meets with us and I am teaching the ladies for free and we have a WONDERFUL time sewing, fellowshipping, encouraging each other and potlucking. (Quilting and food and fun just all go together for us). Such an awesome time every time we meet and you are just the kind of person we are looking for. But.....we started with simple blocks like all the ones mentioned above and Eleanor Burns instructions are clear. Rodale Press has an excellent book that is I believe The visual guide to quilting or something close to that. My copy is at Susie's for the girls to use. It is easy,covers a lot of subjects at an introductory level and is set up like a dictionary in alphabetical order so you do not have to puzzle over under what category do I look up what bobbin work or inset seams belong? or where would I find a scrap quilt? I highly recommend it as a starter book. After a couple of years and a great deal of confidence building and several quilts for the Soldier's Angels projects and a few first and second quilts we are starting our first BOM (block of the Month) using the Underground Railroad quilt this month. It will take us a year or so to finish and each ladies fabric choices are anything but traditional but they are all excited. Soon you will be sewing and oh so excited as well. HAVE FUN and ask here. There are lots of helpful folks.