One thing that really helped me was my design wall. Sometimes I just had to use a certain fabric for a block...it talked to me...and it didn't go in the order in the book but could always find a place when things got mixed up on the wall. Watching the values was still pretty new to me then so some of the blocks were indistinguishable....things all blended together...so that is something to keep in mind as you make your selections if you want the pattern of each block to stand on it's own two feet.