Antique chair back cover

This photograph does not do the piece justice. The colors are a lot brighter. I'm not an "embroidered basket with flowers type person" but I love this one.
In years gone by the chairs in the best parlor were used to display pieces like the above. Not only were they pretty but they were also practical. They could be washed thus preserving the integrity of the chair back from sweaty heads and oil plastered hair :)
I think this piece might have also been used as a table runner.

An experiment - Spiral Rose

I have a lot of applique quilt block designs in my folders and books. I was looking through them and thought it might be fun to try and embroider some of them instead.
Here's my first attempt using 3 strands of variegated DMC floss #48 and basic running stitch.
I like how the plain side is turning out but at the moment feel that the block side design is overpowering the stitching. I'm also having issues getting the stitches to stay even on both sides.

The design is called "Spiral Rose" and can be found in "Machine Applique A Sampler of Techniques" by Sue Nickels.

Current project

Just finished up the cross stitch part. The fabric will be on the back of the project.
The pattern can be found at (I'll add the link when I can get it to work).
Used 28 ct. evenweave, 2 over 2 of DMC 913 and 3716.