My mother-in-law was in scenario #2 when she expressed a desire to quilt. She has made and designed wedding dresses and theater costumes, but had never tried quilts. I bought her a rotary cutter and mat set and a Craftsy class for Christmas. Shortly after she subscribed to Bluprint Unlimited classes and she quilts all the time.

When I taught beginners, I let them use my supplies until they decided which ones they liked. Then they could go get the things they wanted or liked.

Amen sister!

Ain't that the truth?!?

Smaller project to start with like the front of an easy tote bag to quilt, make blocks etc... or a quilted Potholder or Rug Mug or even a table topper. by using an easy pattern she could learn the basics and have a useful item to use before tackling a huge project like a King Size Quilt. Then she wouldn't be overwhelmed..

Here is a nice site for Easy Quilt Ideas, I get this in newsletter:

http://www.allpeoplequilt.com/quilt-...ck-easy-quilts

I am with Onebyone -start with a kit. I started quilting in the late 70's and had not heard of a rotary cutter. I bought a kit from Woolworth's which was really a bunch of squares, to make a patchwork quilt. (There were enough squares to make a king size quilt.) It was a good quilt to learn to match corners and sewing 1/4 inch seams. Is she going to be sewing by hand or a machine? My first quilts were by hand because I was talking it with me to work and other appointments. I bought a kit to see if I I like to do needle turn appliqué. The first decision to make is: what do you want to make?
Now I would recommend,
1.) good pairs of scissors (small and full size)
2.) a good thimble, with good pins and needles. Buy what you need not a package of a large variety.
3.) a good sized rotary cutting mat and and a good cutter. (Buy blades when they are sale so you have them when you need them) But don't buy them until you know you like to quilt.
4.) good thread.
5.) Good light in your work area
6.) buy the rulers as you need them. My preference are: the 24 in. x 6 in., and an 18 in. x 3 in., and a 12 in. x 6 in. It all depends on what you want to make but those are the three I use the most.
7.) not an urgent item, but I really like using a glue stick and the Clover Clips instead of pins. It sure makes matching seams a lot easier for me. And if you order them on Amazon it's a lot cheaper than your local shops.

If your friend likes quilting she will add to her supplies as she learns about them and knows how they will help her quilt easier. Just never be tempted by the products you find at the 99 Cents Stores - they are tempting and most often aren't really made for long time use. And don't do it all at once, it can break the bank if you are one a budget.

If I remember correctly (or approximately) - the first "real" quilting class I took was a hand quilting class.

It was a six block sampler quilt - a generous lap or crib size.

I think the supplies needed were:

Four or five different fabrics
Scissors
Template plastic
Pencil
Thread
Needles
Pins

And that was it.

The instructor provided the patterns that we traced.

We bought batting later after the top was completed.

I felt like I "cheated" when I sewed the sashing, borders, and bindings on by machine.

I'd start small too. Remember, a quilt is not finished just because you have a top done. It has to have a backing and batting and then there's the quilting and if you can't quilt it yourself, it can get pretty expensive. I know. I have 5 (at least) big quilt tops and have no idea how I'm going to quilt them or if they ever will get quilted.