I usually have a plan and if I don't have a pattern to go by I'll take my idea into EQ7 and draw it out for reference. Then I'll play with the fabrics/color to see how it will look. The gent I'm teaching how to make a quilt did this. He picked out a block he wanted to try, I drew up his quilt in EQ7 and told him to color it the way he wanted. Printed out the pic and the rotary cutting measurements for him. I keep his pic on the design wall for reference while he puts it together.