Alrighty, had a few spare hours this afternoon so I decided to baste it so it's ready to quilt and I can't fiddle with it anymore!
I appreciate everyones' advice and opinions; it certainly helped me get this top to a more satisfactory outcome than I could've done on my own. I have tried to take some pictures of my dilemma but they really don't show the difference between the shadings at all.
I have well and truly learnt my lesson about making sure you have ALL your fabric requirements before starting a project!!
Many thanks again and Happy New Year to everyone.