Border and background

In the last few days, I played catch-up with the black matte border of Petite Very Velvet. When I felt sufficiently virtuous about the amount I'd stitched, I decided to tackle the issue of the center tan background.

I had considered a decorative stitch for this area, but the more I worked elsewhere, the more I became convinced this wouldn't work. The center squares, with the black and white stitches outlining them, appear to me like patchwork appliqued onto a ground fabric. With each square a different design, and ultimately to be adorned with a ceramic button, adding any more to the background would make the overall canvas much too busy. I asked DH what he thought, and his reply was, "If you want those squares to look like they're floating, then you have to use basketweave on the background." Out of the mouths of babes! (And yes, he is still cute after all these years!)

I kept track of how much Felicity's Garden I used on the background so far, and was pleased to know I'd have enough "Peanut Butter" to finish the whole project! To celebrate, I finished the square on the top left--nothing fancy, just basketweave, because I felt the little medallions in the corners were decoration enough.

Next I'll have to play catch-up with the shooting stars in the background of the border. Working with the Kreinik metallic may be a welcome respite, as the humidity has spiked in the last few days. Stitching with silk/wool blends in this kind of weather leads to a "sticky fingers" syndrome!