INMO, it is a little too "chaos-y" (love that word!) as well. I wondered about a single fabric sashing, but putting those black squares in the center of it to carry the black design across to the next block. Still thinking about it.
Carole, when you put yours together, did the blocks for the outer border fit? I'm thinking they won't, and another friend who got that far say they didn't as well.
