It's great to learn something from each quilt we make. For me, it's the imbalance between blocks with white around them and blocks without. Or maybe that some have it on a few sides but not on others . . .
I've gotten to be a fan of Jen Kingwell designs. She does a lot with a variety of blocks with more random placement. I'll admit I don't typically like her fabric choices, though I love the patterns.
I do a lot without patterns, and most of them don't really turn out like I was hoping, but I learned a lot in the process. And so far, there has always been someone that loves the finished quilt. I know that I missed the mark I was aiming for, they only see a nice quilt!