Bevanger

Welcome Leigh from Wa State. I too am a beginner and just finished my first quilt. There are alot of beginner patterns online and alot of videos to get you started. Mine was a simple 9 patch.... Good luck and let us see your finished quilt. We love pictures..

Butterflyspain

Hello and welcome from Spain. This is a wonderful group, lots of help and suggestions when you need some, donīt be afraid to ask questions we just all love to help.
:D :D
Elle

Roben

Welcome from Iowa :D Having the quilting bug means that you'll fit right in here! Starting out, my first instinct was that I had to have *everything*, but luckily common sense prevailed. Look through some of the threads here; you'll find many good ideas and resources to begin gathering supplies and fabric.

I got my Joann's flyer yesterday; if you have a Joann's close to you, they are having an excellent sale on quilting books, cutting tools and Fons and Porter Notions. I tend to not buy any of those unless I find a sale 40% off or better. Joann's also has Eleanor Burns' quilting books and rulers; I have found those to be excellent as a beginning quilter myself.

Here is a great thread on 'must haves' for a sewing room:
http://www.quiltingboard.com/posts/list/7456.page

Here is a link to a great source of how-to videos:
http://www.quilterstv.com

We're here to help and enable any way we can :lol:

amma

Welcome to our group :D :D :D You will find that many of us here have been bit by the quilting bug and are obsessive quilters now! :lol: :lol: :lol: If you have any questions please ask, there is always someone here with answers :D :D :D I found trying the block of the months a good way to get my feet wet and it helped me with different techniques. It is also a small project so it did not intimidate me, and I am saving them and will put them all together into a sampler quilt. You could check out some quilts from the era that interests you, they have a lot of reproduction fabrics now too, there are others here that could help lead you in that direction if you are interested. :D :D :D

quilter1962

Hello Leigh

Welcome from Nottingham in the UK, I'm a newbie also (7 months).

Don't be afraid to ask any questions, the ladies are wonderful always ready to lend a helping hand. Your sure to enjoy it here. :P

Izy

Welcome!!!

You will never be without help, advice, inspiration or support as long as you visit here....everyone - you will LOVE it!!!!! :D :D :D

Butterflyspain

Roben, I am always so glad to see someone from Iowa pop up on the board. Things look so bleak with so much rain and flooding. Stay safe.

Elle

Deb G

Hello from Minnesota. This is a great site to learn from and share with.

A few of the first things I'd suggest you'll need are a large cutting mat, a medium size rotary cutter, small sharp scissors for cutting threads, seam ripper (smallest one is the best) and a clear ruler. I like the one with the lip on it so it doesn't shift as easily when you're cutting. If you have a JoAnn Fabrics or JoAnn Etc., watch for their 40% off coupons. I'm on their mailing list but we also get a flier in our Sunday Newspaper. I don't buy anything unless I use a coupon or it's on sale for 30% off. JoAnn's, for example, has sets you can buy that include a matt, ruler, and rotary cutter. Walmart has the large cutting matts that are about half the price of other places.

A 1/4" foot is really nice to have and good lighting. I like to sew by a window during the day, I like natural lighting. For evening sewing, having a good lamp is important to reduce eye strain. I get headaches so I can't use a regular lamp, I have a sewing lamp. And you'll need an iron and ironing board, one of those small ones will work fine.

There are alot of other things you can buy but I'd say these are the basics you'll need. And the quilting board has alot more info to read about "must" haves for quilting.

Happy Quilting.....

Skeat

Welcome Bubba's mom!!:))So glad we can snatch up another addicted quilter!!:))LOL You will find great info here!!:))Do check out Jenny Beyer...one of my favorite hand quilters of all time. She has a book to hold your breathe over!! She's also online...wealth of info from her! Also, fav. mark at: www.allpeoplequilt.com for they have freebie projects and videos to watch:))Yea on free!!:))Skeat

adyldrop

Welcome from NY!! There are a few great tutorials right here on the board for beginners. Check out these two:

lesson 1: http://www.quiltingboard.com/posts/list/6460.page
lesson 2: http://www.quiltingboard.com/posts/list/7358.page

ShellyQ's lessons will help you get your feet wet. As for tools and such---a rotary cutter and mat are your best friends. Maintain a sharp blade by changing it often. Use good quality thread--cheap stuff clogs your machine. I gotta get some nice stuff too---hee hee I should take my own advice!! :lol: :lol: A pair of small sharp scissors to cut small threads is great. My favorite ruler is from the Martha Stewart craft line. It is super long, hang on I'll check it.....24"x5.5". i love this ruler!! Hmmm what else...Oh I have a great tutorial on how to get your fabric with a straight edge--very important when cutting strips and pieces:
http://www.purlbee.com/rotary-cutter-tutorial/

That's all i can think of for now. Let me know if ya ever need a tutorial for anything else....I probably already have it! :)

Good luck and welcome!!