Made some changes...need opinions again....
 

I changed things a little from the pics I posted last week. Still trying to decide on colors. What do you think? Which one do you think looks best?

First one. :)

I'm voting #1

I like the first one best, but they are both pretty. The one with the black pops more.

I vote for #1

I like the first one best too. However, I'm not keen on all the centers of the nine-patches being the same color. It turns the single Irish Chain into more of a nine-patch.

I also think a single Irish Chain works better when the background fabric in the large squares and the background fabric of the nine-patches are the same fabric. The second photo is like this, but the fabric print is too different in feel from the batik chains to be effective, and also does not offer enough contrast to be effective.

I would take some nine-patches to the store and lay them against several different background fabrics to find a better color combo. For example, I'd try the nine-patches against various batik creams and tans, or perhaps a bright steel gray, and plan to make both the large background squares and the nine-patch background squares that fabric. Also, I would keep the chains random. Random bright colors against a batik neutral would look fab, in my opinion.

I wanted this to be an Irish chain. Am I correct in thinking that going with the black one will mess up the chains? Would the top one still look like a chain since the colors in the big square and the 4 little ones are so similar?

The black one definitely interferes with the Irish Chain pattern. I personally prefer all one background fabric (but the middle photo does not offer enough contrast with the chains). For the random chain approach, I would not have all the middle pieces of the nine-patch the same; that is more suitable for Grandmother's Flower Garden or plain nine-patch. My 32 cents (accounting for inflation).......

p.s. I really think you need a neutral of some kind for the background fabric in order to set off the chains. For me, there's just way too much blue when blue is the background.

Prism99, I'm not following what you are saying about the middle squares in the 9-patches. For a single chain, don't they have to all be the same as the large squares? The top 2 pictures are deceiving as far as color. The bottom pic is much more accurate.

Number 1, then number 3.