Iceblossom, I'm glad you figured out something that makes things easier for you!
I'm slowly closing in on finishing the pressing of clue 2 and sewing my sashing segments together.
My rough idea for the border is to make thin borders with prints that have both red and coral in them, thereby making the introduction of a coral border less abrupt than the examples I've seen. But, of course, that is a long way off. Soon I will be able to start constructing my corner units!