To paper piece or to not paper piece

I have had a hexagon quilt idea in my head for a while now.  I am going to use Lizzy House's Castle peeps and 1001 peeps and make a Civilization inspired quilt.  geeky I know. so I have been waiting for the 1001 peeps to come out.  I got my self a hexagon ruler yesterday.  to cut out lots and lots of hexagons.  for this quilt to really work I need big hexagons.  I thought about using Amy Butlers Sexy Hexy Love pattern, but the 8 inch finished blocks are a weird size when I look at them on the castle peeps fabric.  The ruler I got makes 5 inch finished blows if I go with using it to cut out the fabric.  the other option I have been thinking about is using it to for a freezer paper template and english paper piecing and then I could make the block half an inch bigger.  Both the 5 and the 5.5 inch finished blocks look better than the 8inch blocks with this fabric.  So I guess the question comes down to do I want to hand sew the top or machine sew it.  I can make the two compatible sizes.  I have a little bit of time to make a decision as I have to finish one of the quilt tops currently on the table before I can start a new project.  With the wallow fire as bad as it is in Arizona  we are still saturated in smoke.  The bebegirls is spending another week with her grandparents cause really why expose her to the smoke unnecessarily.    it means I have an extra week to get more quilting done.

when we have a smoke free day and I am not at work  I will take the finished yellow fairy quilt out side to photograph.  it is really stunning.  I did finish a shawl this week. and I will leave you with a picture of it.