Progress on Judy’s Challenge

I decided to stop after 6 units. I was having so much fun making them but didn’t want this piece to be too large.  I still have all kinds of components on hand in case I decide to make a companion piece.

Now the layout.  That’s the hardest part.  I was pretty sure that just joining all the units would be busier than I would like but I tried a few combinations and photographed them:

Yes, too much energy.   So I separated them a bit on a piece of neutral batik:

And now I am faced with the dilemma: do I want a horizontal or vertical orientation.  I like the background fabric but its bland.   Now I need to add back some energy.  One of the prints used in the free-piecing caught my eye because of the circles:

So I cut up blocks of it and spent a good deal of time rearranging them.  But I am still not satisfied.

I think the blocks might be too big.  And too regular. Maybe I need strips?  Time to leave it on the design wall and revisit it in a day or two.  In the meantime I am wide open to suggestions.