Moira in N.E. England

Try watching some of Jenny Doan’s videos - just google her name - or her company, Missouri Star Quilt Company.

lindaschipper

Blondie~...I'll second your idea of a seam ripper. The basic Clover brand seems to be the best for me, and I get one with a JoAnns coupon every couple of months just to have stock-piled! LOL

juliasb

When I first started serious quilting I didn't have a clue. First thing is a rotary cutter. Get one that feels good. (reminder always keep a sharp blade on it). Second good cutting mat. If you can only afford a single ruler get the ruler that feels the best in you hands that you can manage. I started with a 12" x 6" ruler only because I couldn't manage the 24" x 6". However you may get more bang for you buck with the 24" x 6" ruler. The other thing that I can't emphasize enough it a good iron! Every piece you make, every block you do with need to be made square and between your ruler and iron they create success! As so many have said there are so many good tutorial out there.
Also make good use of the block library here. They are clearly marked for the level of skill. I want to here how these quilts come out. Send pictures! Happy quilting!

rjwilder

They need a good friend to help get them started. I would invite her to my house, show her all the stuff she needs and give a quick demo of how to use it and explain why. Then let her ask questions and go from there.

illinois

Quilts can still be made without the bells and whistles. Scissors and cardboard patterns still work but most of us enjoy a rotary cutter, rulers as recommended here and a cutting mat. This person certainly has grand expectations to be a beginner wanting to make all those quilts by Christmas! I'm somewhat reluctant to recommend a quilt shop to a beginner simply because of the cost involved with high quality fabrics before knowing what they are doing. Perhaps there are classes at JoAnns that will help get this person started and the instructor can point her to "acceptable" fabric for a beginner. I would have a beginner start with a small project and perhaps borrow supplies for that, discovering if she really wants to delve into this. Some have the idea that it is quick and economical. (Ha--Learning in progress!)

Onebyone

I am against using poor quality fabrics for the first quilt. I did and regret it. My first big quilt wasn't perfect but my DD loved it. The fabric was cheap and started to fall apart. I think pre cuts are the best for a beginner. All the colors go together and less cutting means less mistakes.
I would insist on a cut resistant glove or other cutting safety device. That would be the single most important thing. I would never start a beginner to using a machine that did not sew flawlessly. A machine that causes frustration is worthless.

toverly

I send people to Missouri Star tutorials and precuts. Some use specialty rulers but not all of them.

bearisgray

It makes sense to use "decent" fabric and a "working properly" machine -

fruitloop

Quality fabric gives the best results and fosters confidence. Quality tools make all the difference when learning. I have taught beginner quilting and it does make a big difference using the good stuff. I bring high quality tools of different brands and many students show up with lousy ones. After using theirs then mine they understand the difference.

MicheleC

I was kind of the person in scenario 1 when I started quilting. I had lofty goals to make three quilts for my nieces and nephew for Christmas. My friend and teacher was a quilter and she showed me the MSQC tutorial for a jelly roll race quilt. I thought since it was something fairly straightforward that I could do as a beginner sewer. She took me shopping for my supplies which included:
-Sewing machine - I spent approximately $250 on a Brother Simplicity SB700T. It came with an extension table and was labeled for quilting.
-Extra machine needles
-Rotary cutter
-Self healing mat
-Rulers for cutting
-A basic sewing kit (scissors, pins, pin cushion, seam ripper)
-Fabric from a quilt shop to include borders and backing for the quilts I was making. I was shocked at the price at the time.
My thinking was “It can’t be that hard.” I was half right. It was fairly easy to start sewing but more difficult to see accurately on the first go. What I wish she had done at the time is give me a reality check as suggested and encourage me to start with a smaller project. When life happened and then she moved away, I didn’t sew or quilt for a long time. I wasn’t confident enough to do it on my own at the time and my work schedule and some small social anxiety prevented me from seeking a class. It wasn’t until a few years later that I started looking online for information on how to finish the quilt. That was when I learned that it was possible to finish a quilt completely on a domestic machine. I learned about so much more than she had the opportunity to show me. At the time she intended, once the tops were finished, for me to rent time on a long arm to quilt them. I had no idea what that was and assumed that was how it was done.
All the tools she suggested have been incredibly useful for the craft. My 6.5 x 24.5 creative grids ruler that was my first purchase is still my go-to ruler.
In retrospect, what would have been helpful was a beginner quilting class and to test drive more machines. My little machine got me started but it was a struggle to sew a nice straight line compared to my new Janome. Those first quilts, that I’m just now quilting the last one, very clearly show what a novice I was.