I love this board.
This has been the most wonderfully supportive, but helpful and thoughtful, thread. I feel all warm and fuzzy just from reading these suggestions to jcrow.
My quilts usually start with an idea that I have seen elsewhere, but then I draw it out on graph paper to incorporate whatever tweaks I am adding (yup, I am computer illiterate too). When I finally make the quilt (usually months or years after drawing it) I always end up changing my "pattern" as I go along (usually because I didn't have quite enough of that one fabric, so I need to add a thin border of this other fabric, so that the squares in the corners of the wide border can be the fabric that matches the ......you get the idea). What I am trying to demonstrate is that designing your own patterns can lead to its own frustrations (like possibly not having a very accurate idea of how much fabric you need, etc, and having to improvise every step of the way) which may ruin the pleasure you otherwise feel in your hobby. I would suggest that if you do decide to design your own pattern that you might want to start with a smallish project - if the process isn't fun, and you decide to set it aside, you won't have too much invested.
That said, you go girl!
Alison