By George, I'm Getting There...

This is what my design wall looks like today.
Yesterday I had done the reverse applique and couching on the black linen. All those small colorful spirals do not work (photo below). I had thought the red color and mass of them would dilute the focus on that bright orange block near the center of the top of the quilt. Wrong! They are too much ... too busy ... they end up fighting for attention.
I also added a posy to the corner of my block as well as cutting off the top section and adding a triangle of the red side of the upholstery fabric (part of the frame around the center section). I like how the red suede strips runs into the partial spiral. Also how an implied horizontal line runs across from the top of the light blue fuzzy background block. PLUS that triangle of muted orange extends the orange over into this corner of the quilt in a subtle way.

Since small spirals didn't work, how about larger ones with little color? I cut a piece from the same discharged linen I had used in the center section. Now, that's more like it. A partial spiral peeking out from under the orange block does soften its edge. The size of these spirals are similar to the that of the posies ... a nice repeat with variation. How would it look if there were more of them?
I photocopied a section of that fabric. Cut out paper motifs are pinned in place. This number and size of spirals play nicely ... they fill in the area, they're similar in size and color to the posies which helps to integrate them into the whole, plus they're a repeat of those in the center panel. Also, their size creates a transition between the big blue and red spirals to the one in the corner block.
I need to play a bit more with the distribution. I like more of a spiral peeking out from behind the orange, but I don't like that it's lined up even with the big blue one. I'm also pleased with one of these spirals completing the partial shape in the upholstery fabric.

Now to find that particular stamp and get out the soft scrub to discharge additional spirals where I want them to be in this area.