Hi from Happy Valley in South Australia, this site is amazing you will get plenty of help here. Before you go buying too many books and magazines check out your local library first they may have a good selection on Patchwork and Quilting. I, like you was very enthusiastic when I first started and bought just about every magazines I saw cos I liked everything, but when you look at all the lovely quilts on this site a lot of the ones in the magazines pale in comparison, also very quickly your tastes will change with experience. Check out web sites of fabric manufacturers they quite often have free patterns. My favourite designer is Jinny Beyer check out her site
http://www.jinnybeyer.com.