Patterns?

As I was reading through the growing list of blogs this morning, I was struck by the number of references to designers and patterns and kits. As someone whose embroidery interest ISN'T cross stitch, I suppose I wonder, why? Now, to confess, my other big craft hobbies are patchwork and scrapbooking. With patchwork, I have ever only made one quilt to a pattern designed by somone else, (bought as a BOM), Moonglow by Jinny Beyer. I always found that the commerical patterns never quite used the right colours or right patterns or styles for me to make a quilt using them. I always tend to use the magazines and books more for inspiration, a starting point and I think this practice has brought itself over to my embroidery. Even when not working on an historically inspired piece, I always make up my own designs.

So I suppose my question to all those cross stitchers out there is, do you ever design your own designs? Why do you think cross stitchers rely so heavily on other people to design patterns to use? Am I wrong? Do lots of cross stitchers design their own works but are too modest to talk about it? Do designers give people a common frame of reference? A common language?