Silk piece under way

I've made a start on my dyed silk piece here.  I basted a cotton lawn piece behind it before I hooped it, so that I could couch onto the silk without overwhelming it with weight, and it's really a good feeling to work through the two layers.  

Here I've established the basic contours of the piece, partly following the dyed shapes, partly departing from them, in couching with gold thread, and a kind of shiny translucent thread and floss,and a lot more will happen before it gets away from here. 

 I'm thinking of beading (why are you not surprised) and some trapunto work, but not in the same areas.  Adding in the cotton backing is what makes the trapunto possible, so I'm capitalizing on it.

About the colors: these are not my favorite part of the spectrum, but I dyed pieces when I taught the silk workshop to appeal to all tastes since we had about 15 different people attending.  This one wasn't chosen, and it's good to depart from your favorite colors now and then and see what happens.  Art's not about doing the same old thing and expecting different results!

I've been dying to get to this piece, but I have a neurotic need to finish things as I go, so I had to do all the other projects that had priority for various reasons.

You'll notice I've added a badge to this blog (I will have to redo it in a less explosive color, but it looked calmer at the site of origin) and have been having a great time with responses and discussion of all these embroidered bits over there, with much encouragement from highly decorated embroiderers, including goldworkers.  But I will be faithfully in here, too, never fear.  

Oh, nearly forgot: that piece with the pearls and couching and all sorts of items that I couldn't figure out how to name?  I was thinking it was like the inside of a geode, but that would be a dorky title.  Well, Faye, one of my new friends over at Stitchinfingers suggested Tide Pool! Yes!! just right.