I am making a quilt for the 1st, time does anyone have a good pattern?

Answer 1

The rail fence, or four patch are always good beginner quilts.
Here are a couple of links to get you started. Look around on her site, she has lots of good patterns and instructions.
http://www.quilterscache.com/R/RailFenceBlock.html
http://www.quilterscache.com/B/BeginnersChoiceBlock.html

Answer 2

I liked emtb9's recommendations best. Currently, I'm working on a double feathered star quilt for my granddaughter for a bedspread. It will be the first large project I every tried - 12 large blocks and each one takes more than a week to cut out and piece. My technique is improving and I'm on the 3rd block now. Actually, I might just turn the first one into a pillow sham.
I bought a book with a lot of gorgeous easier quilts called "40 Fabulous Quick-Cut Quilts" by Evelyn Sloppy. If you don't like what you find here you might try buying that book.
Another option for you is to buy a QUILTING MAGAZINE - some of them provide very nice patterns. Skip stuff like applique on your first quilt. Enjoy

Answer 3

The best beginner's quilt is the rail fence. It is extremely versatile (check the first link for a bunch of pictures), it helps you learn to sew precise quarter inch seams, it teaches you how to use your rotary cutter, ruler and mat to cut strips, and it demonstrates shortcut techniques like chain piecing and subcutting. This quilt benefits from good fabric choices (okay, most quilts do, but you can make this simple quilt look amazing just by choosing great fabrics).

The rail fence block is just strips sewn together - usually three, but sometimes as many as six or seven. I'll use three in this description. Instead of making this one block at a time, you'll cut long strips from your fabric, selvage to selvage. You'll sew three strips together to create strip sets. Trim the end to get a square, straight edge and then subcut the strip set into blocks that are as long as the strip set is wide. For example, if you cut your strips at 2 1/2", then sew three together using 1/4" seams, your finished strip set will be 6 1/2" wide. Subcut the blocks so they are 6 1/2" long.

Now take your blocks and lay them out on the floor. Turn every other block 1/4 turn to create the stairstep pattern. How your quilt looks now depends on your fabric choices, so I'll say it again - choose your fabric wisely! You may decide to turn the blocks further to create different patterns, depending on your fabrics. Now sew the blocks together to form rows, then sew the rows together to form the center of your quilt. The rail fence has the added benefit of not requiring you to line up a bunch of seams when you assemble the quilt. The only seams you have to match are between the blocks when you sew the rows together.

I've mentioned the importance of fabric choice, so here are some guidelines. First, value is more important than color. How light or dark the fabric is in comparison the other fabrics will determine if your quilt "sparkles." A medium green fabric next to a medium blue fabric may look like they contrast close up, but from a distance the quilt will be boring. There are a few products out there that help you identify values - it's basically a piece of red or green plastic that you look through at the fabrics. It neutralizes the color you can only see light/dark. If the fabrics are indistinguishable from each other, you need to choose something else.

The next most important decision with fabric is placement. If you want a woven look to your quilt, you need to place fabrics with similar value on the outside strips, and a contrasting value in the center. For a stairstep look, use light, medium, and dark fabrics in that order. When you lay out the blocks, make sure the darker fabrics are at the top of the block and the alternate blocks are turned so the dark fabric is at the right (or bottom and left, depending on your preference). You can use only three fabrics in your quilt, or you can do two sets of blocks in different colors. You can go completely scrappy - use one strip of every fabric you have - just watch values.

Whatever you choose, this will be a great beginner quilt. Check out the last couple of links for more complete instructions. If you're looking for a good instruction book, try Eleanor Burns' Still Stripping After 25 Years. It has instructions for the Rail Fence as well as a variety of other blocks, both simple and more complicated. Her instructions are very detailed, with illustrations.

Answer 4

I just learned quilting myself, its a lot of fun to try to come up with your own patterns... but here are a few I've tried..

http://www.claudiasquiltshoppe.com/Absolute2BlueWinter.htm
http://www.quiltpox.com/patterns/Hugs/