I am also in your category, a newbie. I love many of her books and I think that Egg Money and Log Cabin are great books to have and use for years to come. They are relatively simple. Don't buy them in the store. Go online to a fantastic site called Better World Bookis, whose prices cannot be beat. I have bought so many books from them and the shipping is free. At the same time you are helping literacy around the world. You can compaire the prices and will see for yourself. I have bought used books and when I got them they looked brand new.
HAPPY QUILTING.