I feel terrible for you. I have a relative like that and it took me awhile to learn to push back.
Am I right in guessing that the reason you had trouble placing your original blocks was that some of the blocks had the light/dark inverted? I'll bet you could have come up with a pleasing arrangement on your own in a bit more time.
What,,exactly, do you have now? Did she take all the blocks apart or just a few? A "trip around the world" is a classic quilt design that you can find online. Did she leave you with a drawing to help you proceed? Did she figure out if you have the proper number of squares to do it?
Maybe your original design can still be rescued, and you can design your own trip around the world from the beginning another time. That would be much easier, I think.
Hugs,
Charlotte