The quilt-to-be on your design wall is going to be beautiful!
There is nothing wrong with giving yourself some time to get in the right frame of mind. Lynne Roddy Brown, who was a speaker at our guild recently, held up examples of lovely quilts that took her literally years to complete because she was waiting for that muse between the blocks and the borders. Unless someone is paying you to make them a quilt by a certain date, this is your hobby to enjoy on your terms. Instead of focusing on what you're not getting done, give yourself a pat on the back for the progress you've made already. Feel free to turn your back on it for awhile and do something else - whatever it takes to give yourself a sense of accomplishment. If you enjoy cross-stitch, why not make some designs in that that could be incorporated into a quilt? A few squares in a related theme, surrounded by sashing and cornerstones, and you'd have a pretty wall-hanging that represents both your hobbies. Hang it up where you can see it and tell yourself, "Look what I did!"
A lot of us have grown up being told to "color within the lines". Teachers and parents sometimes inadvertently set up a lot of barriers to creativity. It's time to "throw some paint" and see which splashes appeal to you and which don't. Cutting into the fabric is a way of throwing some paint. Just remember even if it seems ugly when it's done, it is not a waste at all - the cost and the time were investments in your learning process, not just learning techniques, but learning about what you like, that nobody else can discover or dictate for you.