I think the trouble is that the detail on the focus fabric is on such a delicate scale, but it is surrounded by large areas of solid color (that is, they read as solid from a distance). Though it might seem counter-intuitive, you might get a more balanced result using more fabrics like that second purple and that green and beige floral (which I think works better than the others with the focus fabric).
I also did a quilt using Asian fabric and a modern quilt pattern. I was surprised to find that I needed to surround the focus fabric with busier fabrics than I would have imagined, in order to get a good effect.
Last edited by joe'smom; 09-24-2014 at 06:36 AM.