I did a nine patch with a theme block (in his case camping/fishing) in between and my son loved it.

I started my daughter off with 6 to 7 in blocks. She chose which fabrics she wanted and the placement. To say the least her blocks wouldn't line up (which I knew they wouldn't) so I put sashing in between the rows so you couldn't tell. I showed her how to do stitch in the ditch and knotting (or tying) the quilt. She was frustrated in the beginning because she could see the puckered fabric here and there and the un-straight seams but that didn't last long. Because at her friend's baby shower everyone thought it was beautiful; she was very proud. I told her that is what's great especially when you quilt for people who don't; they don't see the imperfections; just the beauty

Rail Fence is also a great beginner block. Very forgiving on matching up seams and can be strip pieced.

check out http://www.quilterscache.com - if you look at the list of their blocks they show the difficulty of the block by the amount of straight pins it has next to it

This brick quilt that I made is pretty easy. I'm a beginner as well and it took me one night to cut my fabric and I sewed all the pieces together and started quilting it the same day.

http://www.polkadotchair.com/2010/08...-tutorial.html

And the best part was that there were no seams to match up, perfect for when you're just getting the hang of a sewing machine.

I love D9P or Take 5

http://www.byannie.com/media/images/...s_patterns.pdf



Easy and free

If her son has a special interest and she could find a fabric featuring that interest, then a quilt with blocks of that fabric, really small panels, against one solid color such as white or black makes an outstanding quilt. Nothing has to line up, it is very graphic and is personalized to the interests of her son. We have had some pictures of quilts like this in the pictures sections.

I would suggest 'Warm Wishes' or 'Square in a Square' for a beginner. Don't do like I did & start with Maple leaves. Ha!

Love this idea, going to mention it to her! Thanks, everyone for all your ideas!