I start however and wherever my "Muse" directs me. Sometimes I begin with a pattern and go in search of the right fabric, whether that be in my stash or in the store. I've learned it is more than "OK" to get just enough fabric to work on the center, and not even think about the borders. Chances are, if I pick up any additional fabric with the first buy, it will end up in my stash. I'm not thinking about batting, backing or binding either. Sometimes the pattern ends up with a completely different border, or sashing is removed or added, appliques appear, etc. Sometimes I'll play around with quilt blocks until I come up with a combination I like -- block and color combination -- and that turns into a quilt top, and then I think about borders, or not, and what am I going to do about the backing? What is so wonderful about the quilting process is that if you just let your creativity loose, you can come up with the most wondrous creations. Of course, not all of them turn out the way you want. I call those "practice pieces", and I know when they're not working, so I stop. It's like writing a story, and you realize it's not working, so you stop writing. But when the writing is working, it's awesome! So yes, I can follow an outline, and do technical writing, or I can let the creative Muse loose and write fiction. To me, quilting and writing are very much alike.