The key issue is whether you are trying to design the house or create construction documents - two very different goals. Many homeowners tend to think of the "design" of a house as a "plan" when, in reality, it is just one of many ways to help someone to visualize the actual design and it is not always a very good one for complex designs. Plans, elevations, details and schedules work well for builders because they aren't trying to evaluate the overall design, only build the house one piece at a time. IMHO nothing compares to SketchUp for preliminary design at any price (SketchUp basic is free, SketchUp Pro is $495, the Student version of Pro is $49/year and a trial version of Pro is free.) Since it is unlikely a homeowner will have the knowledge to draw a set of construction documents I would suggest sticking to preliminary design and hiring someone with the proper experience to do the rest. A SketchUp model can be easily looked at in plan view especially with the Section Tool shown in the link below. It doesn't take a skilled drafter much time to enter the information from a SketchUp model into a 2D CAD file because the drafter can use the tape measure tool to find all of the dimensions (if they are not already labeled in the model) and it is possible to import a 2D version into almost any CAD program (Pro has DXF export and the free version will need a plugin script that is available free online.) SketchUp may seem intuitive and for a grade school student it is but for a house designer it has so many valuable features that it requires taking a course at a school or online to be used effectively. You should study and experiment for a month before starting to design your house. There are books available at Amazon and online courses from SketchUp and from SketchUp for Dummies/aidanchopra.com. When I open a SketchUp model from 10 years ago I am surprised at how few of the features I was able to use. There is never an end to learning with any CAD program. Each new version of the software adds incredible features. SketchUp view inside model

design your own cross- stiched sweater This is a pretty neat site. You can design your own cross- stiched sweater send it as a Card download it or print it out!! http://kcaiholidaycard.com/ Here is a link that might be useful: Design a sweater

Well, thanks a lot, I just spent about $50 on various test samples and fat quarters! I was just spouting to someone about how fun/easy it would be to find cool fabrics in "sample" sizes and frame them for cheap, colorful artwork. Well, that's what I'm hoping to do with some of what I ordered. I got a few for my crafty DD, too. I haven't even looked at the option to create custom fabric, but that could be really fun. I saw one fabric with Lego heads that I wish I'd seen a few years back when my DS was really into Legos!

As a chronically starving artist, I'm always looking for ways to recycle things. I got the tail end of a roll of newsprint, years ago, from our local newspaper office. It's not ideal for patternmaking (tears easily, isn't see-through) but it was free and as I also do a lot of sketches (and like to let my little nieces and granddaughter draw, when they come over) it has been broadly quite useful. I've also used it, lots, for applique--I cut shapes out of it, pin pieces to it, iron the edges over it, sew the applique pieces down, about 7/8 of the way around, and then since it tears so easily, am able to take tweezers, reach under, and pull out all the paper, then sew down the remaining edge. For something also free, this is what I've been using for drafting smaller pieces of patterns (also good for my applique work): I buy those flat, large desk calenders, and when the months have expired (or if there are months I haven't used), I save the sheets and use them, back side up, to draw on. But I'm going to look into getting some Tyvek, for larger, durable pattern pieces. (You can see some of my applique work at my site--along with some of my jewelry designs, and thanks!) Here is a link that might be useful: Heron Moon Designworks, on Etsy :)