I headed up an employee quilt show. Today I was in the gallery and welcomed a couple young ladies to the show and we started chatting. They both expressed interest in learning to quilt, and judging by their questions in the couple minutes we spoke, they would need info from step one.

What web site, book, etc, would you recommend for these young ladies? I have their email address and planned to send them some info.

I of course am going to recommend this group as everyone is so helpful, and there are alot of great tutorials here.

I also plan to tell them about our local guild.

But, what easy access info, web sites, etc, should I also include?

Thanks for your ideas.

I think the Eleanor Burns books are great for beginner's to get the basics down.

Whenever I am going to do something new, or something I haven't done in awhile, I have my old stand-by book to go to.

Better Homes and Gardens Complete Guide to Quilting. Love the instructions and the pictures. Can get it on Amazon or at JoAnns with a coupon.

Log Cabin Book by Eleanor Burns is a great jumping off point.

I secone the Better Homes and Gardens book.

I would recommend some hands on learning. If there is a quilt shop or group offering beginner lessons I would highly recommend it. Sometimes it is hard to "wrap your head around" something if it is too foreign to you. And also seeing it is worth a thousand words. And the instructor can see what it is they are doing, if they aren't getting "it" or there are nuances that could make a difference.

Or if that isn't possible some of the video tutorial like those at Mississippi Quilts (I think that's the name) that people here have posted.

As a relative newbie myself, I would recommend:
NO triangles and; something that does not require much seam matching; and, use busy prints, not solids, but not directional prints.

I have not seen the Better Homes and Gardens book, but I have and use 'Quick Quilts from the Heart' by Fons and Porter.

BH&G isn't a pattern book, it is a reference book for how to do everything. Fons & Porter has one too called Quilter's Complete Guide. I have both but prefer BH&G.

http://www.kayewood.com has good short how-tos (free). Most of them are in her books but some of us need to see it done and watch it several times.

The Quilter's Academy books by Harriet and Carrie Hargrave are excellent for beginners. That's how I learned all the basics. While I sometimes use shortcuts, these books teach all the fundamentals, so when things go wrong I know what to do to correct things. They contain LOTS of projects, starting with the most simple and becoming gradually more complex. Can't recommend them highly enough!

Sushi