Kokopelli - New Quilt

I have a vision of a colourful quilt, with a whimsical Kokopelli appliqued at the center. I started making the background of the quilt with blue and green batiks cut in 5 inch squares. The question is how to applique my image, and I saw a quilt last week with topstitched, raw edged pieces, and it looked cool. I thought this could add to the mystical alure of the Kokopelli but decided to try a smaller image on a pillow top, just to see if I liked it.
I stitched it and machine quilted the piece and washed it to see how it would look.

I may also do one with a traditional turned edge applique to compare. This quilt will be queen size, so I want to make sure it is exactly like my imagination says it should be!