Learning QGIS
Here are a few basic tutorials on how to get to grips with the basics of QGIS. Each video has a written PDF associated with it that give the step-by-step methodology to help make sense of the video. Using both should enable you to create what is shown, or something similar. The examples produced are for areas around Cumbria but you can choose anywhere you like - the principles remain the same. Apologies for the occasionally somewhat shambolic narration!
(1) Introduction and making a shapefile (video) PDF tutorial