1. This is from someone who has never quilted in her life. But I really think quilting is becoming very popular lately. I get a lot of people coming into my shoppe asking about quilting fabric and accessories so I thought I should talk a bit about it. 
   

The first site I went to is Wikipedia which is an online Encyclopedia created and edited by you. And when I say you I mean anyone. Entries are changed and corrected by the community. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_quilting

Quilting (stitching together layers of padding and fabric) is as old as ancient Egypt if not older and whole-cloth quilts were very common trade goods in wealthy circles in Europe and Asia going back as far as the 15th century. Pieced quilts made up of cut pieces of fabric sewn in block form with the blocks then sewn together to make the quilt is a more recent development. Pieced block quilts, often called patchwork quilt, did not become the dominant form of quilt making until the mid-19th century, and still is not the traditional form in Provence, Wales, and parts of India. 

A good place to start might be Quilting for Kids http://www.essortment.com/hobbies/quiltingchildre_tvkt.htm

About.com has a great site that lists the steps to start quilting and they also have some free patterns to get you started. http://quilting.about.com/od/stepbystepquilting/a/make_a_quilt.htm

I would also suggest going to http://www.quilt.com/ they have been Serving the World's Quilters since May 4, 1994 they are The World's Oldest & Largest Quilting Site.

You tube has some free instructional videos on quilting. http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=quilting&search_type=

If you're really serious about starting to quilt you may want to try Quilt University http://www.quiltuniversity.com/ they have online classes for quilting starting around $27

You can also join a quilters circle in your area. Sometimes these are posted on your local bulletin boards, in laundromats and libraries. Its really great to learn from people who have been doing it for a while. 

You can also ask your local craft store. A lot of times they know their customers personally and can get you in touch with a group.