Something of a Quandry

I'm working on Bella's Beauties this week.  I want to have it finished in time to send it to her birthday later this month.  I may not make it, and that's ok, there's always Christmas.

I started with an idea and a pattern.  The idea was to gather up fabrics of things she likes, pink and purple, music, puzzles, ladybugs, butterflies and all that princess and fairy stuff.  The pattern is Falling Charms from the Missouri Star Quilt company
 I started auditioning background fabric back in May, and had a really hard time deciding.  Did I want the lavender with butterflies and flowers?






Or lavender with Stars



Or Deep purple batik?

 

 Ok, so the deep purple didn't work so well, and I chose the lavender with butterflies and flowers.

I put it together on the design wall and realized I had the pattern wonky - try again.

And the inside of the top is done.  Now I'm looking at borders...

I know the deep purple has to go in,  But do I want the bright pink with flowers, or the marbled light pink?

 

Ick - neither one!  How about a pieced border?  Piano key sounds good and fairly quick and easy... But do I want...



With the background mixed in?

or not?

Here's where I ended up last night - with the piano key gone and 2 3/8" squares - like a Chinese coin.  (ignore the pink, it's left over from the audition process, I haven't put it away yet.)  But still I need it longer - so maybe a 2nd row with the border fabric repeated on both sides?  I'm still trying to decide.   Before Borders it was 44 x 50.  Add first border it's now 47 x 53.  I want to get it up to at least 60" long so that she has room to grow with it.  Did I mention she's going to be 7 this month?  According to my son and her mother she's between 4' and 4'6"...


I'm not sure why this one is such a struggle.  Maybe its because her grandmother was also a quilter who painstakingly made a quilt for her as a baby that was 'put away for good' and she doesn't get to use it.  Maybe because I want her to love and cherish it AND use it! for a good long time.

I am open to suggestions.