I've been trying to figure out why for a long time. Finally, the other day I paged through an issue from cover to back, looking at every single page, and I think I figured out my problem. I don't care for most of the quilts in the magazine. Whoever selects the quilts now doesn't have the magic touch, IMO. My reaction to most of the quilts was blah, and some I found not even appealing from an artistic or historical standpoint. Even the readers' section disappointed me.
I'm thinking the change in the magazine comes because it is no longer run by someone who actually loves quilting.