I think the center patches seperated by white look too much like your 25-patches, and make it a bit confusing. I like your second option because it's a solid cross not alternated with white, but rather surrounded by white. So the crosses are set off and look different from the 25 patch blocks. Does that make sense?
Another idea may be pinwheels in the centers, or square-in-square set on point... or anything different from the 25 patches.