FIXED! Thanks to blogging friends. . .

Thank you, THANK YOU to the many people who responded to my plea for some advice. I used a composite of all your ideas and some of my own and shown below is what I came up with. [Please forgive the bad picture - this little quilt is NOT wonky, but it sure looks like it in the picture. Drat. Quilt size 6x9 inches.]

MugRug for Kristen

The color absolutely needed to be spread around the surface. In addition to putting Blue on the Orange and Orange on the White, I put some White and Tan on the Orange. It sure is more balanced now. I had hoped to put an Orange flange/piping with a Blue binding but didn't have enough blue fabric to do that. Too bad, 'cuz I think a Blue binding would have looked good.

Just in case Kristen's desk isn't big enough for a MR, I put "Quick Triangle Sleeves" on the back:

Pencil shows the Quick Triangle Sleeves

and made her a coaster... it's orange - sort of, but has no puppies.

I think it is good to make ourselves work outside our own color box, you know, our usual comfort zone. This has been a learning experience for me and I'm grateful.  Thanks again to all my blogging friends who really helped bail me out of this design corner I had backed into! You are ALL so wonderful! Please go to this post to see the problem flimsy, and then read all the fabulous and helpful suggestions.

Until next time. . .
Quilty Hugs,