Awesome thread!
I'm preparing to make my first 4-patch and I do have a design on graph paper. It's just straight set but I did the values and that's where pattern and interest will come in. It'll be scrappy but if I run short I can always see what fabric I can get in fat quarters to fill in and keep my value and color placements looking good.
These projects pictured, and the links, will be great for my subsequent quilts as I start to branch out into triangles, set on point, and such. Thanks!