About 11 years ago, I was working on a paper piece quilt for a very dear Japanese friend, with a pagoda, ginger jar, kimono, and lantern in each large "section", there was 1 lantern pattern that just did NOT want to be made, so as a result, there weren't too many of that pattern in the completed quilt. I luckily got it completed and to my friend for Christmas that year, but unfortunately she had just been diagnosed with a particularly aggressive form of stomach cancer and died in May, but I did get to meet her brother and family from Japan and it is now in Japan.
My advice is if the project fights you every time, put it aside for awhile, and do something else and come back later, and it will probably be willing to cooperate. LOL