Some people buy kits and follow the instructions to the T. In the end they have a completed quilt and they are quilters. Others take scraps from their stash and sew them together in a creative way without so much as a sketch to follow. Once their layers are quilted, they are also quilters. Between those two extremes is a wide variety and there is room for all of us.
I sometimes use existing patterns with my own color choices or I adapt patterns. It all depends on the mood du jour.