Layout HELP!
 

I am a little caught up in the OCD of the layout and have lost sight. I have tried SO many different ones, and can find something wrong with all of them. The blocks run Red, Pink, Yellow and Cream with a few (literally) misc ones that tend to be more cream colored, but have darker colors in them. I keep trying to vary the colors and patterns but keep crossing them. Here's the latest one. Please give me some advice. I know you're going to stay step away and come back to it, but I've done that. I've been trying to figure out a layout for a week now! ugh! TOO much time on it, I know.

See that red just POPS and it's annoying me. lol

What is missing is your borders. If you use the darker colors, reds, pinks, they will help balance your lights/darks in the middle. Before committing to cutting strips for your borders, just fold and lay them across the top and sides. Let your choices "rest" for a couple of days, then change and study them again. You will get lots of good opinions and suggestions from this group of helpful quilters, that's for sure. Take each suggestion and give it a try. I'm glad you haven't sewing your blocks together yet. When it comes together, you will be very pleased.

I like the lay out and agree the right borders will pull it together!!

You might want to take a photo, each time you change it. You might just like the last one and not be able to do it again. i think it will be great!!

Ok this is the border I had bought, based on the fact that it was her favorite fabric of them. It doesn't look good does it... :-( UGH!

Oh and I AM taking photos. I just thought I'd save you all the trouble of having to go through them. Maybe I OUGHT to post them...

1st
 

This is the first one I tried. (The original one I posted was the most recent)

I think it's more the row of blocks. Do you have enough fabric to add 1 more row on the right? I think the bottom left and top right should match. If you can understand what I'm looking at. I also agree the addition of borders will make a big different. The pattern is lovely though!

It's 7 across and 10 down. I've used all my blocks. I did try 6 x 10 but it looked weird.

6x10
 

Here is it as a 6x10 (vs the 7x10) but it ended up being too repetitive in color. Idk.....

Is it possible to concentrate all the darker blocks in the middle? Then let each color fade to the next.

I'm in the same place as you. I've been letting a bunch of blocks "rest" on the design board. So far, nothing looks right to me.

Let us know what you end up doing.

I like your first one better, and I like your boarder fabric but it lacks the POP. Do you have a dard red that you could frame with a narrow boarder BEFORE the light boarder?

By the way I have one on my board today too. Took pics aso I could compare, and I think I am going back to the first one LOL

I like the 1st one you did

THE FIRST ONE I LOVE. It just needs a dark on the border to repeat the darks in the quilt. It will look really good.

I like the first one, too. The popping red is what gives it life! And I also like the red blocks laying in the same direction. I get confused looking at the photos where they are laying in both directions. :)

I also agree with getting some of the dark red in the border. And some white. That will make the whole thing come together. It's a lovely quilt!

Do you have enough of the darks to make an on-point square in the middle? If not, I like the first one best and think a dark inner border might work. Please show us when you decide!

WOW, this is FUN! Love all the ideas. I prefer the way you scattered the reds in what you said was your first layout and tend to agree with someone who suggested a dark border; if you want to use the light flowery one, I'd put it outside a darker inner (and more narrow) border. Been through this process so many times myself!

Did you see that the lower right block in the first photo is turned the wrong way?
My eye "sees" 15 darker blocks, do you have enough fabric to make 3 more? Then all the darks could be in the diagonals you have going in that first photo layout.

Well, kind of what I was doing was red, pink, cream, yellow (though not always in that order) but I was trying to not have any of the same colors touch, though they annoyingly had to touch corners. Lol. I have less red than any other. I can totally go get the red for first border though! When you guys are saying you like the first one, do you mean the first one I posted here, or the first layout tried, which was the third picture I posted. Lol

I like the idea of using the darker blocks nearer to the center. I would also add a darker inner border and binding. It's pretty!

Haha, youre right it is turned wrong! Lol thanks! Yes, I actually do have. Ore of all te colors. I accidentally bought two layer cakes and this quilt is one. So I have all of the otner one I can borrow from...

My thoughts exactly, narrow red followed by your border fabric, then maybe bind in red.

I like your jewel box. I also like the border you showed, but I think you would do better to use one of the darker colors as well, dark then light. Try it out and see what you think.

I like the diagonal line of darks every other row that you started-try that and see if you like it. You would need to fill in the middle diagonal with 2 darks and one in the third diagonal.Good luck in your difficult decision I'm sure it will be beautiful no matter what

I will be different, I like the second layout best and I agree it needs a dark red border. I do like the red scattered around.

i like this one

Revised layout
 

Ok, I saw that I was off with the 7 blocks x 10 blocks as it was a difference of 3, and the majority are a difference of 2. (The comment about adding a row made me look at that.) so instead I took out the bottom row, making it 7 blocks x 9 blocks. Also added the reds to complete the red 'lines'. Is this better? Better to have the reds in a row rather than sporadically laid out? It does seem easier to look at this way, but I did like the randomness of the red also.

Well, I have to say that I think you still need to add a row in width from the picture in the post just above mine. The pattern is uneven and feels unfinished. You have lovely white diamond cut-outs that remind me of paper snowflakes, but then they end in 'X's' on the right hand side. I would say, make the center 8 x8--that would give a balanced pattern left to right and top to bottom.

I agree that a deep red narrow inner border would look lovely and really make the white pop.

Ooooohhhhhhh I see what youre talking about. Dangit. Lolol

I like the picture of the first layout better, the red seems more scattered throughout the top. I would make a narrow deep red border then additional wider border.

IMHO the first one you tried balances the red out and will be lovely with a darker border.

I like the very first one too and with a narrow red boarder and the pink outer border it will look amazing.

I like the last layout, but I think it needs a red in the top right corner and bottom left corner to be balanced. It also needs the red border next to the quilt, then the border fabric you are showing, but putting that fabric next to the quilt, might wash it out. You have a very pretty quilt in the works, but it would probably be in your interest to put it down for a while longer, then go back to it..............just my humble opinion :o

like the quilt but not the border fa. do solid before the print shown or keep the print for binding. like the pops of red?

This is me, too. Do a thin border, do the pink as a standard border, then bind with red. I LOVE the first layout (on the first page) because it concentrates the red here and there, but the overall "feel" of the quilt is the pink.

I like the last picture posted. It's very balanced and pleasing to the eye. A dark red border would really make the red in the blocks pop.

[QUOTE=HillCountryGal;5538912]Is it possible to concentrate all the darker blocks in the middle? Then let each color fade to the next.

How about putting all the dark blocks together in sets of 4? You could put them in the middle as the above post suggests and work out from there. Also I think a narrow inner border before the large one might bring the quilt together more to your liking.

This would look good if you use the darker red as a narrow inner border, then add this lighter one.