The blended colors and patterns of the modern style are very forgiving for beginning quilters -- poorly matched seams and wonky quilting just kind of disappear. The emphasis is then on color and fabric -- which is sometimes fine.
I'm glad to see the influx of new quilters -- that ensures that we all have access to a dynamic and healthy fabric and quilt-stuff market.
But as far as magazines go -- I wonder how so many of them still stay in business. With as many quilt blogs and websites as there are, which are free, surely the demand for magazines is significantly down? I don't know, as I only read quilting mags if I can find them in the library (again for free).
RST