my beginner class mentioned doing drafting of blocks, and the beginner class I teach does that by teaching common block units (HST, FG, strip piecing, DP) and have them "design" their own block with those. I use both graph paper and EQ8. While you can pull blocks or quilt lay-outs from their libraries, you can also design your own. Because it uses a CAD type program (simplified you really are drafting out the block or quilt--just on a computer. I'm looking forward to taking EQ8 classes online at the QuiltCon so I can get better at using it for designing modern quilts.