I give away most of what I make and I do NOT ask what they would like. Igive to friends, family, and charity. I am currently working on a queen size quilt for my oldest daughter.
She actually asked for one is a certain color scheme - tiffany blue and brown. I mailed her scraps of fabric in blues and brown and asked her to send back which ones (if any) were what she had in mind.
Once I got back the appropriate scraps, I bought fabric in that color family but not necssarily in only that 'value'. So I have very pale tiffany blue all the way to a dark version. She gets no input into pattern and she is OK with that. She knows that my enjoyment comes from choosing fabrics, designing and constructing the quilt. If I don't enjoy it , it won't get finished.
Most people get no input. I recenlty made a wall hanging for my mother. She was redecorating her bedroom and mentioned that she was looking for a large picture of daisies but couldn't find one for a price she was willing to pay. So I made her one a wall hanging with white and yellow daises - 36" x 28 ". She actually put it in a frame and it is hanging on her wall.