I want to make a lap size quilt for my father for his birthday. I still consider myself to be a beginner. I've been quilting for about 18 mo. Do any of you have any suggestions for an easy and fast pattern that a male would like. I know he will love whatever I make for him just because I made it...
Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

Log cabin. One of my favorites for easy and fast. :-)

any simple block, churn dash, nine patch, or just squares. or rows of fabrics would do. just in "man" colors. browns, blues, greens.

There are several "man" fabrics available now days. Look into getting some that interest him (fishing, hunting, dogs, etc) - then just a simple block featuring the focus fabric with sashing and a corner stone make for a nice quilt.

Turning Twenty is a favorite, fast pattern. The directions give you alternate sizes. Just use "manly" fabrics.

I made my husband an Irish Chain out of earth tone batiks... He loves it.

If you have a fabric that has his favorite things on it==fishing, hunting, reading, carpentry etc.
You could make an attic window by fussing cutting the above fabric for the window and using complimentary fabrics for the sides.

If the fabric is a big print or has a scene that is fairly big, cut the fabric scene into fourths and use these as the panes, and use coordinating fabrics for the frames. The overall look is of a paned window showing the scene outside. Sounds mor difficult than it is.
Good Luck.

I did a Attack windows last year for my son and used blue jean fabric and brown flannel and he really liked it a lot.

I've made a few BQ quilts for different males. They always come out nice and the pattern is a snap. In one I used Asian taupes . Wish I had taken a picture before I sent it out but it went a friend ( a guy) back east.

Simple blocks, woodsy/earth tones, no floral prints, are usually a hit for most men :D:D:D

Even more simple is the Jelly Roll 1600 quilt - done in browns and taupe's it would look stunning.

I made my 83 yr old dad a quillow, it is the perfect size for him. I used a military print and the pillow was the Army seal.
He is a WWII vetran.

He though I had invented the moon after he saw it.

;) . I just hand tyed it and did quilting on the pillow part only. It was fast easy and fit him perfectly.

I did one called "Bricklayer" - just squares and rectangles so it goes together pretty quickly.

Disappearing 9 Patch quilt is super fast, uses as few as 3 fabrics or more, and comes out looking great. Go to SEARCH here and look for D9P, and you'll see lots of examples.

I do Turning Twenty in homespun fabric. My sons all like them.
They are really fast and the guys like the masculine look.

Here is one I made for my dh. KathyAire helped me recreate a quilt I had a picture of. I'd be happy to share the directions.

http://www.quiltingboard.com/t-122602-1.htm

Thank you for the picture. I really like that and I think that would be perfect fort dad. I have some homespun fabric in similar fabrics that I was thinking of using for him. This really helps seeing a quilt with similar fabrics

Thank you all for your suggestions. I have decided to do a turning twenty with some homespun fabric I have.

Take five, log cabin D9p are all easy

I was thinking the same thing. I have some navy blue fabric with steers and anchors and have no idea what pattern to use.

Some one just posted a lovely chinese coin quilt made out of Civil War reproduction prints. Very classy looking. Either that or one made out of patriotic colors if he likes that.

http://www.quiltingboard.com/t-142281-1.htm

Tradewinds by Cozy Quilt Designs. Uses 2 1/2 " strips and goes together quickly. Very nice for a man (or woman).

Any quilt with stars is great for a man - just pick "manly" colors - but be sure to put in a red or bright green or something that will make them pop. Make the stars large so you don't need as many blocks. I did one out of scraps of dark blues, browns, dark greens, but made sure I had read in every block somewhere - it was dynamite!!

A couple of weeks ago I showed my parents several lap quilts I've recently made. My Dad fell in love with one, a black and grey one-patch quilt. From top to bottom I had inset a 15-inch-wide strip of soft purple dragon fabric with freehand-curved seams. I would have never guessed that would be the one he'd choose!
I made a friend a green quilt as that was one of her favorite colors. She thanked me warmly, but I felt the warmth was for ME, not the quilt! So I took over a half-dozen quilts and told her to choose whichever one she liked best...and she chose a brown-toned one with leaves and leaf-motif quilting I had made intending it as a 'guy' quilt! She loves it!
There are just NO rules!

I made my husband a rag quilt using different golf flannel. He loves it - he won't share.

How about a Yellow Brick Road? I made one for my Dad years ago and he liked it. It's an Atkinson pattern and those are always fun and easy to do.

Disappearing nine patch is easy and can be done in any colors that the man likes.

You could do 10 inch squares to the size you want. I just made my dad one that is 30 x 60, 3 across and 6 down. I then added a small border and it looks great. A fun quilt for a man or woman is the take 5, but it is bigger than a lap quilt.

I made my dad a John Deere quilt and I made a lady a music quilt. The music quilt could be for a man though. Here they are.

I also like snowball blocks with plaids for men.

Have to go with log cabin as well using earth tone colors. My DH loves his.

I made a broken dish pattern for my stepson - it's totally a man-quilt. It was originally a mini-quilt pattern (16" square), but I just enlarged it by making 6"finished HSTs instead of 1".

Ditto on the log cabin, Ihave made 1 for 21 yer old grandson, and working on another for son. I used denim and old mens shirts.:)

What are his favorite colors? Warm Wishes uses 4 colors, works up quick and can be made any size. Very attractive too! I'm enjoying putting one together right now!

Oh that is a very nice quilt...very "manly"...thank you

great quilts...thank you...

Oh I really like this one also...I have a long "quilt bucket list" lol, so I would like to try this quilt also...
Thank you for sharing

cjomomma made a wonderful man quilt. I've already collected all the material to make one--for me! I love, love, love plaids and stripes. It is easy to do also. The first two links show the quilt in progress and the finished product.

http://www.quiltingboard.com/t-48868-1.htm
http://www.quiltingboard.com/t-48529-1.htm

The tutorial: http://www.quiltingboard.com/t-49878-1.htm

My dad is a flannel and jeans type of guy. A couple years ago I made him this quilt using the Courthouse Steps pattern (in the Log Cabin Family). He loves it and it is very snuggly since it has mostly flannel materials in it.

(First time posting a pic...hope it works!)

I made my 85-year-old dad a memory quilt. Used fabrics that I collected from web sites and stores that featured his interests and jobs - fire fighting, farming, gardening, different sports, camping and RV's, foods, etc. Simple 8" squares and 4" x 8" rectangles. He loved it!!! Now, I "have to" make my mom one!