I am at a point of deciding on a pattern for a group of fabrics I've had for awhile (one of many groups waiting). When I bought the fabric I had no idea what I would do with it, I just liked it! Now that I have picked the design, I have also discovered that I need to buy more fabric to fill in. I have found some fabrics that will blend nicely with what I have but I still don't know what I will do with the quilt when it is done, so I don't know what size to make it, which also makes it hard to know how much more fabric to buy. Like I said I have many more collections of fabric waiting to be used, in every color imaginable, not just colors that would match the decorating in my home. Am I crazy for wanting to start a project without knowing first where it will end up? Am I the only one who does this?

no.

No. I'm guilty too. Sometimes I plan a specific thing for a specific person. Sometimes, the recipient is "led" to me by what the quilt turns out to be.
At times, someone near to me sees a quilt I'm working on and loves it. I tell them okay, when it's finished, it's yours.

Plans? Quilters don't need no stinkin plans! :D

i've done tons of projects merely to learn or improve upon a technique.

these projects never have an intend place or person in mind.

most of them are donated to charity and some have found their way into mine or my friends homes.

the most fun about these projects is the unexpected results because i typically use a fabric that i wasn't fond of and then i just end up falling in love with the results.

i've found that my tastes in fabrics actually changed from doing all these serendipitous projects.

people plan ahead with their quilts for a specific person or thing?

Most of the time I have the reciepant (sp?) in mind, but not always.

I am guilty of starting out with one design and as I work on it, something else comes to mind that would add dimention or depth the piece. I have started to incorporate some fabric folding desings, as well as sashiko stitching in the blocks themselves or using it as enhancements on the borders. shiboridragon.com has some great stencils. I also have started on piece for a person, and before it was finished, I changed my mind entirely, as really didn't 'fit' the person! Anything you create will fit SOMEONE, just maybe not the original one intended.

Sorry. I'm guilty of knowing who my projects are for, before I start them. I know. You guys/gals used to like me and I'll probably be banned from the group now. But in my defense, I'm only working on my 3rd quilt. And yes, it's for my niece's graduation gift. I promise. The next one will not have an intended recipient. :wink:

I do something similar to this. If I do actually start with a pattern that's not one of my own, I typically end up making some kind of change to it. I have a hard time sticking to any one pattern. The majority of my quilts haven't had an intended home but lately they've seemed to end up in my own home. Now though, I promised a friend I'd make a quilt for when she has her baby. Perhaps I'll actually follow a pattern.

I think it is a good thing to KNOW ahead of time exactly what one is going to do.

I often start with good intentions, but sometimes a project seems to have a mind of it's own, and goes off in a different direction.