here's what i ended up finishing from the hotpad demo i started last week on wednesday night live. i started with all circle appliqué pieces (no strips) and tried random curves and free-motion (ish) circle quilting, but didn't like it so much, it just didn't look cohesive.
then i thought of anchoring the circle appliqué pieces with a continuous waffle stitch pattern, which i like better...the contrast of all the circles and dots with the straight lines looks more interesting to me. plus the straight lines are easier to stitch!
i still need more practice on mitering my corners - this one in front turned out perfect, the other three are a tad wonky!