Hi, I have been doing this so long that I have changed my MO a dozen times. I currently have a queen size quilt I am handquilting. I have also been making a number of Linus quilts on the machine. My stash is enormous but I always have room for more. A friend of mine is the chairperson for our county's Linus project. She told me they need more quilts for boys. That gave me an excuse to shop for more male oriented fabrics. Just yesterday I hit our local Joanns and came home with 5 peices of fabric suitable for the male persuasion. I like to use flannel on the backs so I found some good bargins in that department also.
I will admit I tend to purchase patterns I like but rarely get around to using them. I local pattern maker Zebra Patterns has some really great little projects. We had her as a speaker for both of my guilds and she gave us a great price on her patterns. I think I purchased 7. The only one I have used is a pattern for a chairback cover that has a birthday cake. Her pattern calls for a pink ruffle around the edge. Since I was making it for a grand nephew I made the color scheme more primary rather than on the pink side and eliminated the ruffle. It turned out really nice. The applique on it was fused and satin stitched. I had forgotten how much work that took. I was very pleased with the result.
I have some other patterns that I am getting up enough energy to execute. In the meantime they look nice hanging around my sewing area.
One of the things I like most about the Zebra Patterns is that each piece to be appliqued is drawn seperately and to scale. I have purchased patterns in the past that had lovely designs but were merely a line drawing inside that I would have to break down into seperate pieces. I am not willing to go to that much trouble.
In general I let a fabric dictate what the design will be. Simple four or nine patch designs showcasing a print or graphic makes a stunning quilt with a few contrasting borders. I have all of the fabrics to make one of Mimi Dietrich's faux Baltimore Alblum quilts. One of these days I will settle down and do it. I sometimes use my embroidery machine to make simple blocks like square in a square featuring the embroidery. The quilt currently on my bed is one I made like that.