Holice

There appears to be more than one question in your post. It would be helpful to see the picture you were given to be able to give good suggestions.
You say you have a picture and need to let the person know how much fabric to buy. That should not involve any copyright issue. You can calculate the yardage bases on the size quilt to be made.
Then..it sounds like you want to write instructions for the quilt since you have not been able to find them.
Then...you say you are interested in designing patterns and publishing them. This last is to me implied in your post.
For me important to know is where did the picture come from. Does it appear to be a pattern, from a magazine or a photo taken at a quilt show or some other source.
I believe these questions are important to be able to give informed answers. Otherwise I would be speculating.

I once saw a traditional lone star quilt in a magazine with the copyright statement. I called the publisher and asked how it could be copyrighted. I was told the copyright applied if the quilt was made exactly as the one in the magazine with exact fabrics. In many cases of patterns using traditional blocks, it is the instructions that are copyrighted and not the quit itself.