Here is the final piece (approximately 19″x19″), all pinned (ouch) and ready to be anchored with some preliminary stitches. I will remove the pins as I meander around the surface of the fabric (feed dogs dropped, free-form embroidery foot in place, variegated pale green thread), and will then tackle the primary edge-stitching. This is done 1/8-inch from the edge or perhaps a bit farther in, depending on the nature of the fabric. Tighter, higher thread count fabrics don’t ravel as much, so the stitches can be closer to the edge. I’ll post a few more progress pix as I go along.