Peckish: I just saw your question and I will post on it later. I will show you some magazine covers and some taupe projects. My avatar is a hand-pieced and quilted sewing case that I made following my favorite magazine's instructions.
meanmom: I do not know of any Japanese quilt magazine in English. I pick whatever project I like and read it through multiple times before I attempt it. There are a lot of photos and diagrams, but a tremendous amount of detail in most projects.