Just do whatever makes you happy and comfy! Personally, I love the "old" patterns; the older they are, the more I like them. It feels as if I'm going back in time, joining my quilting ancestors. If you want to design your own quilt, maybe you can just cut some squares and triangles, then arrange them in different patterns, on your cutting table. You could even do that with craft foam . . . or just pick up a bunch of tangrams and make designs with them.
