When I start a scrap quilt I throw all my darks and medium on the floor... Then stand back and see what "grabs" me. I then toss what really stands out as a "stinker" into a seperate pile. I them take lights and toss on the floor next to what is to be the darks /mediums and throw the lights and toss the stinkers with the stinkers. This may take a few days of me walking by ...toss ing a few back in ....tossing a few more out till I have my pile. I never judge what makes it .. from close up .. always at least 4 feet away. Then I figure out a pattern taht goes with the most efficient use. What happens alot .. is the pile of "stinkers" is its own quilt and I like it more than the original scrappy.
The era or style makes little difference to me its mostly all about the color range.