When I first started to quilt I virtually inhaled quilt magazines and quilt books. It didn't take long until I was under water (glub, glub) and simply could not look through all of them to find a pattern I liked. So I went through my magazines one by one and tore out the pattern and directions for all that appealed to me -- all different kinds. Now when I am looking for ideas, I get into my box of patterns (and some of my books) and generally find something good right away. I may not follow the pattern exactly, but I usually use one as a jumping off point.