Not your grandma's quilt

Quilt in a Day. This is a series of books, $10-$15US, each with a different pattern. The method is straightforward. (Disclosure: I learned the method from someone who walked me through it, so I didn't actually spend a lot of time with the book itself.) http://www.quiltinaday.com/, http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0922705984/metafilter-20/ref=nosim/ Tools I got/borrowed: -sewing machine (but not one for specialized quilting) -thread, straight pins, scissors -rolling Olfa cutter and mat for that cutter (they'll have this at a sewing store; you can get by with scissors but the rotary cutter is really a major functional improvement, makes the project easier and gives better results) -fabric (the book will help you calculate how much you need) -batting (to fill the quilt)

And you will need to iron fabrics as you go, so you'll want an iron and ironing board.

Stick with plain blocks or strip style quilts until you have done a few projects, they will go faster and you'll hopefully feel encouraged by how easy they can be. I really like variations of http://www.flickr.com/photos/pennylaynestudios/3703745476/" quilts. I recommend hand tying to start off with, hand quilting can take a long time for a beginner. After you buy fabric, wash and dry it in the dryer before you use it...that way if the fabric shrinks a bit, it will happen before you piece the quilt. The staff at quilt stores tend to be very helpful if you have specific questions about fabric (ie. what kind of white fabric to use for the quilt you linked). Have fun! Quilting and buying fabric can be incredibly addictive, but it is also very relaxing.

There are quilting videos on youtube. I could not understand how to bind a quilt until I'd watched a few videos about a hundred times. Also, they do have special templates at craft stores, but for the quilt I made recently, I went to a hardware store and had them cut me a template for the exact quilt block size I wanted to make. It was about a dollar and was easy to use with my rotary cutter. (I made a quilt made up of little squares like the one in your picture.)

Seconding Quilt in a Day. I recommend the "Log Cabin" quilt - it's really easy strip quilting and it offers a variety of patterns once you've assembled the blocks.

I'm currently using http://www.modabakeshop.com/2009/02/stacked-coins-baby-quilt.htmlto make my first quilt. (I didn't use the charm pack they advertise, I just got fabric I liked from the local store). Very easy to follow instructions for every step - instructions for basting, binding and quilting are linked to at the bottom.

How about something like http://purlbee.squarespace.com/sunny-tied-quilt/? I made a crib sized (roughly 45" x 60") quilt by sort of following but modifying somewhat the instructions for that quilt. It was very manageable and turned out pretty well for my first attempt at quilting. There are http://purlbee.squarespace.com/the-purl-bee/category/quilting about quilting that might be helpful. I found that having read a few tutorials for different quilting projects helped me understand the basics so I could tackle that project more efficiently.

The two best tips I ever found for quilting (after sewing for longer than I'll admit): Lower your ironing board so you can use it when you're sitting down. Put the board and iron in a position so you can twirl around and use it without getting up from the machine. Works for me as I use an office chair for sewing. From Threads when they had a quilt artist giving tips: for applique, back the shape you want with very light weight fabric or interfacing, the limper the better. Sew around the shape, cut out, slash backing fabric, turn and press. No more fiddling with 1/4" turn unders on complicated shapes. Makes it a lot easier to add a flower or two to your design. My best tip: figure out how to get a 1/4" seam every time, whether using a special foot or settings on your machine. No guessing. And, because I hate puckered quilts and surprises after I'm finished, prewash/iron and colour set if necessary. I got a book on how to do rotary cutting. I'm good with tools generally, but have an irrational fear of cutting off a finger so thought I'd learn properly. Amazing what you can do with a cutter, mat and ruler. See if you can find the Australian Quilters' magazine, even back issues. They have some of the most cheerful looking quilts I've ever seen. Most of the patterns I've seen are basics, but they turn out different somehow. And nthing Quilt in a Day. I have an old quilting how-to book; after reading it, I can very much appreciate new tools like rotary cutters & mats. Marking and cutting each piece one at a time is a joy killer. BTW, did you look at Hawaiian quilts which are usually one big applique? Or Seminole Indian quilts which are sewn together strips recut and sewn again into what looks like a complicated design? They are so much simpler to make than they look and can make a nice border.

I like http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1592531520/metafilter-20/ref=nosim/ and have made the Plain Spoken quilt (easy and colourful). There's even http://www.flickr.com/groups/mqa/.