These are two of the best "how to quilt" books that I have found. I couldn't decide which one I like best, so I'm recommending them both. The first one is All Things Quilting by Alex Anderson and the second is First-Time Quiltmaking by Landauer Publishing. Both books are great beginners' guides to quilting and both are good reference books for quilters of all levels of expertise.
The most common question I get regarding my quilt block tutorials is "How much fabric do I need to make a ______ (insert size) size quilt with this block?" While I would love to be able to answer every one of those questions, so much depends on what the layout would be, size of borders, etc.
There are so many threads to choose from - how does one decide? What about all those pretty specialty and decorative threads - will they work in my machine? If you have questions about thread, here's an article for you.