hi Becki;
I am also a beginning quilter. I have several great grand-children & have been making quilts for them. I have made princess quilts for the girls & different boy themes, including race cars. |I get fabric that has the theme I want & fussy-cut out the sections to the dimensions I want. I then do log cabin squares using the colors in my main theme. I alternate them until I find a pattern I like. Much easier than I make it sound. I also found a pattern for shining star quilts that I love. It is very easy & uses 1/2 square triangles. Color combinations are unlimited & they are so easy & quick. Hope this helps.
Peggy/granny(13 great-grands)