You can't go wrong with Carol's books. The 9 patch stars has the best tutorial of them all as far as I'm concerned. She also has a yahoo group where you can ask questions, participate in block swaps and lotteries. She also posts free patterns you won't find anywhere else. My advice is to choose a block with only a few pieces to start with, then go for blocks that have more pieces per section.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CarolDoakQuiltingGroup/
I almost forgot, there is a database on the group where you can find big sisters who are willing to get together with newbies to help them learn.