Greetings from Bristol, TN. If you can own only 1 book, I recommend BH&G Complete Guide to Quilting. The techniques are explained well, the pictures are great and almost any question you have is answered in this book. Perhaps Amazon has one at a reduced rate. The Sycamore Shoals Quilters are having a quilt show this weekend, 9-5 Thur-Sat, 1-4 Sunday/. Try to get there as the quilts are wonderful and they have a great guild also. Buy only basic supplies at first: rotary cutter, mat, 1 good ruler, a marking device of some sort, pins. You can go to thrift shops and goodwill to buy fabrics, let your church know, etc. Before you know it, fabric will be multiplying and dividing on your doorstep.