Embroidered Collage

This 6"x6" piece was inspired by the paper.  I was shuffling through my bits and saw the burgundy with the gold leaves and wondered what would go with it, and came up with the printed yellow and the natural looking beige.  I thought they'd make a nice banded composition and I would do a leaf outline on top.  The green shape was a last minute decision to add a little color, and then while I was placing it I decided I wanted the outlined leaf to be off center within it, just as an experiment. 

I outlined the shape with backstitch and then went back in with needlelace, to get more of an organic feel with a hint of imperfection.  I thought about leaving it that way, but the shape just didn't stand out enough so I went ahead and added the veining that was part of my original idea.  Now the needlelace is a little lost, but it still adds texture to the piece.  The leaf didn't look quite right so I started adding fly stitches around the edges, thinking to integrate the shape a little more, but then stopped partway through so it was more of a shadow effect.  The stitches kind of blend into the background but they made a big difference in the overall visual impression.