I make most of my quilts for donation to veterans. I never meet them, so there is no way to decide how to make or who to make what for.
I almost always try to put one "kid" block in so that when baby girl comes to visit Papa in the veterans home, she can say, "Oh, Grandpa! Look at that cute little kitty!"
And, they will have something to talk about.
I looked at your pictures and realized you had placed them on the very answer that makes the difference between a spazzy quilt and one that looks absolutely planned for - - the background!
If you specifically plan for the sashing, the spazzy blocks aren't so much, any more ...
I empathize with your scrap bin that is getting to overflowing! I grab those old scraps and start whipping them into shape .... and, GLORY BE!
The bin is now fuller than when I started, and I am through three quilt tops!
I don't know how to explain it, but I think clean air has something to do with it :wink:
you might enjoy the quiltville.com website ... Miss Bonnie does some amazing things to get those scraps into control ...
http://quiltville.com/
Keep stitching on ... if you get one block a day completed, that is one less bit of scraps to fill that old bin .... <g>