Originally Posted by Jerse
I really like the wedding ring quilt. Recently I saw an easy version; does this sound like a good one to begin with?
I would avoid doing something with curves to begin with. Start with something small- like a baby quilt- that has a simple, straight-edge pattern. Squares or rectangles would be simple. Don't overwhelm yourself with a complicated pattern while you're trying to learn the basics of quiltmaking.
As far as color, a fun way to figure that out would be to just browse through some fabrics until you find a print that you like, that has at least a few different colors in it. Then pick some fabrics based on the colors that are in your original piece of fabric. For instance, say you chose a floral fabric that consisted of green, purple, pink, and cream- you could then look for some fabrics that coordinated with those colors.
Two hints about that- first, try to find fabrics that are not all the same value. Meaning, mix some variety of lights, mediums, darks. They don't have to be extreme opposites, but try to avoid all pale shades or all darks- having some variety in value makes it more interesting to look at. Second, vary the "busyness" of the prints- If all of your prints are super boisterous, the quilt will look very chaotic. And if they are all solid colors, it will look flat and boring. So mix it up a bit.
Sorry, didn't mean to make this so long, hopefully I haven't overwhelmed you! The main thing is that it should be FUN and just view every project as an opportunity to learn something new! The more you do it, the better you'll get. Just jump in and have fun! : )