Okay. So right now I current retexture existing meshes with TSR's workshop. But I'm not happy with it... So I'm making this thread here with hopes that people could give me some advice.

Are there any other tools out there besides TSR's workshop for re texturing clothing?
...I've seen people retexture clothing and not include the mesh. So I know SOMETHING has to be out there. I have CAS Unitool but I can't figure out how to use it, can't find any tutorials on it, and it is - as far as I know - out dated.

Can you make a mesh in blender and texture it in blender - or can you only make meshes in blender?

Does anyone have any recommendations on what I should read / watch to begin learning how to mesh using blender ? I already have the photoshop DDS plugin for textures. Had to get that for modding oblivion.

Basically what tools are out there and what do I need to do to start learning how to use them? I want to navigate away from TSR's workshop.

Also...What / how do I convert stuff into .package and sims3pack files if they are not already .package or sims3pack files.... I can use the workshop to change package into sims3pack and delphys multi installer to turn them back into packages...But how exactly / what do I use to make sims3packs and package files without the assistance of those two programs?

The only two CAS modding tools out there are TSRW and CTU. CTU is currently outdated (there is an updated version, however it's still buggy and so won't be released until it's all working nicely), but it's still perfectly usable, and is certainly usable for retextures. Most of its annoyances relate to meshing rather than texturing. You can also, theoretically, create CAS content using S3PE: however it's a huge pain in the ass, and I recommend you don't overcomplicate things by trying it.

You can find CTU tutorials under Create -> SIms 3 -> Tutorials -> CAS Tutorials -> CTU tutorials (and some under General CAS Tutorials too, though those tutorials are mostly ones which apply to both CTU and TSRW).

Blender is only a meshing tool, it can't be used to create textures, and it can't be used to turn meshes and textures into functioning .package files. I don't know of any Blender tutorials, but hopefully someone else will.

Retextures which don't include the mesh can be achieved using aWT's method ("Linking" if you want downloaders to still see the original version, "Recreation" if you want your retexture to also hide the original version). You can also do this in CTU by opening the custom file in CTU, replacing all the textures you want to replace, Save As, then opening the new file in S3PE and deleting everything except the CASP and the _IMG resources which contain your textures. If you do it using CTU, also open the original file in S3PE and check that the CASP resources in the two files have different Instance numbers - since I can't remember which actions cause CTU to renumber the CASP, and if they have the same Instance then it won't work.

TSRW can export your work both as .package and as .sims3pack, other tools only support .package. Otherwise, switching between the two formats is done the way you're already doing it.

So if I make a mesh in blender how do I export it / what do I export it as to make it usable in the sims 3. Basically, what tools / addons ect would I Need to successfully make a mesh in blender and implement it into sims 3?

If you are planning use TSRW, you'll find the tutorials in this page.
There you'll find some manuals to make objects and clothing and how to impor/export the meshes.

You'll need this to import/export with Blender: http://www.modthesims.info/showthread.php?t=355471

Does CTU allow you to import patterns from package files or sims3packs to use on current projects? I want to use some patterns from TSR that are free to use...but their program doesn't support pattern implementation. Just curious.

Yes, it does. In the Designs tab, open the pattern browser and hit "Import Custom Pattern" in the bottom left of the window. All your custom patterns (including previously imported ones) will show up in the *Custom category, at the bottom of the list.