I bit the bullet and pieced the background. It took hours, at least it seemed like it. I went ahead and pieced it in two pieces. After major pinning around the edge I moved it to the guest bed, drew up a chair, and started the applique. I'm about 1/4 done around the circle. If I work on it during the week I should be ready to come up with the final floral and vine applique by the weekend.
Then starts the real time consuming work!
I finally got a picture that shows the shimmering "pearl" of the fabric.