I've been following the patterns idea for quite some time now, basically since BruceAnderson started his work on the "architecture handbook".
I use patterns in a course on software architecture at the university of Utrecht [1], and try to apply them in practice via the Software Engineering Research Centre [2].
I've run some (small) workshops to learn more about how to model/design with patterns. Together with a student I'm going to look at a pattern-centered design environment.
Any tips, suggestions and comments are welcome. Just drop me a line.
Gert Florijn