I create a pattern for the person(s) who will receive my quilts. I then choose appropriate fabrics , for example I just finished a lap quilt for my landlord/lady who own an orchard.....I paper pieced apples, pears, plums and surrounded them with 12-patch greens. It's very colorful and was fun to do.

I do both - sometimes buy the fabric just because I like it so much and sometimes with a pattern idea in hand. I sort my fabric in groups - what fabrics go together to make a quilt. I have groups of two to 6 fabrics ready to use in a quilt. All I have to do is find the pattern I like for each group and then sew.

I also have a group of fabrics that are orphan fabrics, meaning they have no companion fabrics right now. I keep a small photo album in my purse filled with fabric swatches and I take it to the quilt shop with me to find companion fabrics at some point in time.

Right now I have groups of fabrics for 8 quilts. From them I will probably have enough scraps for at least 2 more quilts. This method works great for me.

I like to start with the pattern. If I can then use fabric from my stash that is great; if not, off to to the quilt shop I go......

Love the photo idea. thank you

I have the same problem, I buy fabric that 'speaks to me' and then don't know how I want to use it, sometimes cuz I don't want to cut it, LOL.

Ok....I'm new & recently converted to quilting ( this being my first post). Also: working on my first sewn quilt. Have to say I'm treating the whole process the way I work on collages. I'm crazy quilting using cottons and having entirely too much fun. The quilt top is already in use on a CalKing bed, but still working on it.....and will be for some time.

I have a person in mind, (family). I think of what kind of things they like, ask them colors, and have a pattern in my mind (not one found on the internet) Maybe pick up on an idea from the internet. I have to say the design comes first so I have an idea how much fabric I can estimate needing (with a little left over for stash)

I see a pattern that I love and either purchase it, make a note as to what magazine I found it in, go online and download it. When I go to Jo-Ann's to pick up thread or some other small item I always feel the need to check the fabric. Big mistake, of course there will always be one that calls out. As to the original question, the fabric is purchased with something or someone very definite in mind. Then I find the pattern that suits the fabric.

if i buy fabric that i know goes together for a quilt or another project, i always store it together then look for a pattern to go with it.....if i find a pattern i like, i buy it and go home and see if i have fabric fot it, if not, i go shopping for fabric.....it just depends....good luck

I like all of your ideas and it works fine with me (in my mind...) but I never know if I will have enough of the fabrics I have in my (small) stash and because I want to do it as per inspiration, I find it difficult to try to find the "match" to finish it because I ran out of a particular fabric. I don't have a good enough idea of how much of a particular fabric I need when I start and let my imagination go with the flow if you know what I mean...

I have tons of ziploc bags with fabric and patterns. It got so I couldnt remember why I bought particular fabrics. Now they are organized and giving me dirty looks.

Fabrics!!

Well I just saw some ship fabric in the clearance section. Now I'm not crazy about ships but my DH is. I got 2 yds of each - what to do with them? hmmm, came home and thought about it. A Mariner's Compass! Sometimes I see material and know immediately. Sometimes I just like it and then come home and think about what to do with it.

P.S. -When you don't have enough to finish a project, that's what the board is here for. Someone ALWAYS finds just the right amount to help!

Unless I am making it for someone who has requested a specific color, I just do what ever looks good to me. I am getting so many patterns (free ones on the internet) that I do have a hard time deciding on a pattern.

I also puzzle a lot over fabric and pattern, and what has worked well for me...or at least has sometimes....is to make a sample block and see if I like what I get. Once I even cut 2 1/2 inch strips of 8 fabrics to see if I liked them together for a Trip around the World. I just laid them side by side until I liked what I saw.

I am never positive I will like a quilt until I am done. I just can not visualize the finished product, but these two ideas have helped.

I ask the person what colors they like then I go from there.
I took my grandson to the fabric store with me and he picked out the fabric. He picked spiderman. that was easy. Im making it in panels, When I showed my daughter she said Mom thats how it was in the comic book.. I was soo happy, I didnt know that.. You could close your eyes and pick a pattern then you pick the colors to go with it.

I saw two panels with trains and immeditately through of my BIL who has Parkinsons and struggles to go to his beloved train shows. I bought those panels and made one walker caddy with one of them. He was tickled. I knew I bought those panels with a purpose.

I think this is the method I use. I find a pattern I like, think of who it is for and will they appreciate all the work. Then, I go pick out the fabrics for it. I do have matching fabrics that are designated to go into a single quilt someday. Since I love scrap quilts, very few are planned for specific fabrics, but it does happen. JUst go with what you like to do and enjoy your quilting.

I usually pick a pattern first. www.quilterscache.com is a wonderful site to find patterns. I look thru my stash and decide fabrics for that project or really have fun and go out and buy them. A design wall is a must for me. I use a 60" vinyl window blind placed high up in the brackets. I glued flannel to it and it works beautifully. When I don't need it, It rolls all the way up and out of the way. I keep a small hook in the wall at the bottom to hook it on when it is down. This is great to audition fabrics and block placement. I am still new at this; but this helps me. Good luck!

I have bought fabric because I love it and put it aside till I decided to make a quilt with it and other times I have bought a pattern then the fabric.

When I first started quilting, I bought the pattern and then the fabric. Then I started to buy fabric that I loved without benefit of pattern. Now I have a large stash, so I pick a pattern that I like and go through my stash to see what I think will look good in the pattern. I usually make a sample block (or work in EQ) to see if I like the way the fabrics look together. If I don't have everything I need, then I go shopping :).

Welcome to the Club!! But seriously study the fabric and a pattern for it will appear!

I read the pattern - see how many colors it calls for - then begin to match fabrics that would work together for the pattern - wahlah - next thing you know you've gotten rid of some of your stash and you have a beautiful quilt

Just a suggestion - that is how I do it anyway...... as my stash extends from my sewing room out to a big cargo trailer - so lots to choose from - all categorized in boxes whetehr it be color (solids, prints, batiks, etc) so just reach for the box(es) that you want... a fun way to "shop" in your own stash.

I have made many of quilts buy seeing the fabric first and hanging in on my wall until I get an idea of what to do with it. But I have the best ones on the wall so I see them each day. If I put them in the closet I forget about them. Try the disappearing 9 patch. good way to get rid of the stash and you can make it any size. just google that name. good luck

I would look for a pattern, then check my stash and coordinate from there

I have assessed my process. I get the desire to do a pattern then I fill in the blanks with fabrics I just bought and didn't have a chance to put away.

I like to pick a pattern first, go through my stash then go buy more fabric.

Fabric and then pattern....wait....pattern then fabric....oh shucks. I can't remember.

I'm often drawn to a pattern by the color palette used in the picture and I have been known to use similar colors.
However, my stash is so large, I never buy fabric for a particular pattern - I always shop from my stash