How Do You Design a Quilt??

Okay, I am a bit of a quilt perfectionist. I want to make a vegetable garden quilt, but nothing is quite right. I want to make my own but I just don't know how!

After a lot of internet searching, I thought I would merge two patterns: Quiltmaker's Garden Patch (cute layout, but the veggies are a little simplistic and it is only 23"x30") with Ruth McDowell's pieced vegetables (very cool veggies but no setting instructions or suggested layouts)

Garden Patch Quilt

Pieced vegetables

...but it is very tough. I figured out that the Quiltmaker pattern very cleverly always has the same sashing size throughout, even though the sashing is in little fits and pieces. So I tried to layout something similar on my computer, but it just isn't working. Ruth's blocks all have sort of whatever dimension's she felt like, so there aren't consistant proportions and I kept being left with weird sashing gaps.

My attempt at a layout in indesign.

So I did some looking on the interwebs and did find this very nice interpretation by Patrice Creswell:

Now I love this, but it looks like a lot of vegetables, not a vegetable garden. So I am stumped. I could try to design my own applique quilt, I definitely don't know how to design piecing patterns. Well heck I don't know how to design applique quilts either! I could also do an applique quilt that basically incorporates elements of, for example Susan Powell's Victory Garden Pattern, available on the Glorious Color website.

I love the applique blocks (I would use VERY different colors!), and I could maybe set them in between something more vegetabley than sunflowers and grapes (like bean pole or pea stalk or a tall tomato plant...there would also be no angels in mine!)

But I did already buy both the pieced vegetables and Garden Patch patterns, so maybe I should use those instead of buying a whole additional pattern? I just don't know what to do!