This does not look good...
 

I am doing this quilt for a friend. She is giving it to her niece as a gift. She picked the fabric and the pattern but said she is flexible. I don't think this is working - but everything is cut. Any suggestions? Sashing maybe? It just seems too busy to me but I generally like a lot of white to frame my blocks and that was not the look she was going for....

What can I do to make it easier on the eyes?

I do not see anything wrong with it is a very modern looking quilt

I don't see a thing wrong with it. I like it.

Why not show her this picture and ask her opinion? Looks fine, to me. I generally prefer color, to too much white.

Very nicely done. I might add a dark border to the outside to unify the whole.

Looks good to me. It is a contemporary looking quilt. Her niece will probably love it. I would put a border around it the same width as the borders in the block.

Hi Cminor
It can be hard to work on a quilt with someone else's fabric choices - not because we are such aesthetic princesses, but just because it is hard to tell when something looks right. Here are my 4 suggestions'
- I wonder if the bright white is just creating too much contrast. Maybe you can soften it with a bit of medium gray. If you are committed to the already cut fabrics, it will limit what you can change.
- If you have access to a quilt design program (like EQ or QuiltPro) try changing the colors and placement around a bit. Sometime the smallest change can be effective.
There is an online quilt program called MyWebQuilter.com - it is user friendly, free and doesn't require much to register (email and create and confirm a password). Not a substitute for a full featured program - but it might help. It bailed me out last week when I was choosing a color combination.
- Show your friend what you have at this point and tell her why it doesn't work for you - maybe it's fine with her and just what she expected.
The design is really not that bad - like you, it is not my favorite, but it doesn't hurt my eyes and I honestly think this is a question of personal taste.
Hope the piecing and quilting is more fun than the design part.
Lefty - in Philly

I think maybe a different layout, maybe one that is less scrappy and more intentional. Like all the same colored squares in a row or column

i think it looks ok maybe a darker border hard to sew or quilt for other people!

It looks great! You are just out of your comfort zone. :)

I think the quilt looks wonderful! Keep going with it. :thumbup:

I agree with others who are essentially telling you that while this may not be your style, it looks good. I would not add sashing or rearrange the blocks much if at all. If anything, a dark framing border, though I personally would skip any border.

I like it!

It's working for me and looks easy on my eyes, but I would use the mottled black and gray that you have interspersed through the quilt as my border.

I like it, but modern quilts with high contrast are my style. I would let her preview it to see if it is what she had in mind, and if so, go for it. I bet the niece will love it.

These are good suggestions and summarize what I was thinking.

I'm sure that once it is finished and quilted, it will be lovely. I've made a few quilts that I thought were, shall we say, doubtful, but after quilting and binding turned out nicely.

I would do some minor rearranging of blocks if it were mine, but other than that I think it looks great. Try moving some of the blocks around a bit and see if that "feels" better to you.

if she likes it, go with it!

I like it a lot!

I'm with everyone else. Just move on and finish it. If you don't want to use a border then bind. The only thingout of my comfort zone is bargellos and starry points!

My only suggestion would be to separate the lightest tan fabric blocks and the busy print (black and tan beans?) blocks a bit so your eye travels over the quilt. My eye wants to stop and get stuck on those. Other than that -- and it's only a suggestion -- this looks like a great modern quilt to me. A young person should love it!

Thanks everyone! I will keep going. This is only a quick sample and there are more of one color than the other. I just wanted to get some going so once I get more done it should look a little more balanced. At least that is my hope :)

It might be exactly what your friend wants! I think you should show her before you change anything. (This is why I have so far refused all requests to make a quilt for someone else, to their specifications. I think I would lose the joy in this hobby if I were doing quilts to other people's tastes.)

I really like it as is. I think you are doing a great on it. I wouldn't change a thing.

Looks great to me! Use a narrow white inner border and a four inch dark blue border to finish it. Your quilt is an eye popper as it is. froggyintexas

I like that. It looks really good. Really, you just need to ask your friend.

Lovely quilt! I like it.

Looks great to me! :)

I like the quilt. I don't see any problems.

It looks great! When you have all the blocks finished, you will probably lay them out in one spot, and be able to sprinkle the different colors as you wish. I really don't like all that white in the modern quilts, but you have just enough of it. It breaks up the other colors.

As for borders. I like Froggy in Texas' idea. But someone else suggested the gray print for the wide outside border. That would be good, too.

Have fun and enjoy the trip. I'm sure it will be loved.

I like the pattern.

I think I might try darkening it up by replacing the two lights - the cream and tan with something darker - just to see what that looks like. the light pieces sort of "stop" me when looking at it.

as others have said - show the picture(s?) to your friend - for confirmation or further suggestions.

I agree that making something for someone else can be stressful.

If it was mine IMHO, I would take the blocks and stack them in like colors and then arrange them in a rainbow type effect. going light to dark at an angle. Or If there is enough blocks of like colors start with lights in middle and encase the lights with a darker and so forth till I get what I like. I'm not much on scattered blocks unless each one is completely different.

I like it.

I really like it just as it is. I love the way the colors play together with just that little pop of white. Remember, it is her quilt, not yours.

I think it looks good too. I am thinking maybe a white border around the entire quilt, then a black narrower border to enclose the design. No idea for the binding though. Ask her what she thinks also.

Perfect as is, I like it a lot!

Looks good to me.

I think it looks great as is; just relax and enjoy the process.

I like it. Show it to the person you are making it for and get her oppinion, after all it is she you have to please.

I like this quilt, needs a border in a dark color to make it perfect. Ask her what she thinks.