I just started quilting in January 2007, and I thought that I would share a few tips with people on the things that I read about and discover on quilting.
I started by purchasing a learn to quilt package. This included:
cutting mat
rotary cutter
pattern for a cat quilt
acrylic ruler
pins
needles
thread
thimble
I separately purchased fabric. I bought the fabric from Michael's, who has fat quarters in sets of 5 coordinating fabrics. A fat quarter is a piece of material that is 18" x 22".
Here is my finished quilt. Quilt #1. I used pink, purple, and green fabric.
General tips:
Buy a beginnger's quilt package. It makes it easy for you to start and finish your first quilt, and you don't have to worry about missing supplies, and having to go back to the store.
Buy a coordinating package of material, so that you don't have to worry about which fabrics go well together. That's something that you can learn as you become more experienced with quilting. The fabric from the fat quarters at Michael's are very hight quality, but the selection is pitiful. The fat quarters from Joann's gives you better selection, but their fabric quality is questionable.