I have not done a stack & whack, but I have read my book several times, most recently a week ago.
(respectfully disagree) I think the first one is much better. The bigger & bolder the more wham the stack & whack will be.
One drawback, is you need 6 repeats. In a pattern that large, you will need quite a bit of fabric. Do you love it enough to be willing to use your scraps?
According to my book, the fussy part is stacking 6 layers of fabric very carefully so the pattern lines up. Then you whack it all at once, fussy cuts on the 6 stack, at every place you want your pieces cut from.
It makes a very dynamic quilt. You do have to have a solid background so the pinwheels or whatever POP.
this is the book I own
http://www.overstock.com/Books-Movie...9/product.html