If at First

After fighting with looping the lightest green on the last mound on this panel of Harmony, I had decided that I was going to rip it all out and put something else there.  In fact, I spent a couple of hours rummaging in my thread stash to see what might work in its place.

And I brought the contenders downstairs with the idea that I'd audition them in the margin of the linen. But before I started that, I decided to try the loops one more time.

And this time it worked.

I think I may know why. I think this spool of silk gimp may have been wound in the opposite direction from the other two shades.  I worked the first two from left to right. I worked the last one from right to left, so the thread was wrapped into its loop in reverse from the others.

I can't tell any difference in looking at the mound.

 And, of course, my photo cuts it off. Figures.

However, you will notice that I have another motif worked. I need to make a needlelace slip to sew over the purple flowers., but at the moment, I'm leaning toward doing all the background stitching, then have a needlelace-making marathon and attach them all in the same stitching session.

We'll see if that happens.