Mystery Quilt Top / Quilting Options

A couple of weeks ago I completed my first Mystery Quilt.  It was put together by Heather Spence and Missouri Star Quilt Company and benefited Cancer Care.  Like most people these days, cancer has afflicted loved ones and I was more than willing to make the suggested donation.  I had a blast quilting along with all the other participants and watching the quilt top come together over the course of 6 weeks.  I'm thrilled with the finished top! 

Now it's time to baste this puppy and get quilting!  I am planning on hand quilting with sashiko thread and hand binding.  I'm a little torn on how I want to quilt the top though.

This was my original idea.  I thought it would be really cool to emphasize the diagonal motion by following ribbons across the top.  It does create some rather large areas that won't be quilted, but it's still under the suggested quilting distance for the batting I'm using. 

When I woke up today and was pressing the top before making my sandwich and basting, I had another thought.  Maybe the answer was more simple.  So my second option is just to do vertical lines 1/4" off the seams.  It's much more streamlined and should be a little easier. 

I like both options, but I can't seem to settle on one.  What do you think?  Feel free to offer a different suggestion.  I will be preparing it for quilting today but I need to make a decision soon so I can finish it and start binding (I'm very slow at hand binding).  Help a quilter out!  Please vote in the comments.  Thanks!