I'm not young by any stretch, but did just start quilting. Of course, everyone learns differently, but I bought a book - Hip to Be Square, by Boo Davis. It has very cool patterns, and great step by step instructions. I started by just making potholders out of the book to get a good idea how to put blocks together. There are several good beginner books out there, several mentioned already. The only thing I didn't like in the Hip to be Square book is the machine binding process. I personally think that to do a good job on that, you have to be a more experienced sewist.