I have boxes of patterns that aren't even opened, 3 shelves of books, that I look at for techniques, and more magazines than I'll ever know what to do with. I love to look at the pictures, they give me inspiration (or pass the time when I'm procrastinating doing the bindings). So, do I use patterns? Not unless it is a specific layout or pattern that I want. Otherwise I just use one or two blocks, and create from there.