To answer this question from Lourilli -
. . . I have all my blocks made for a crazy quilt also made with silks and some velvets but now I'm kind of stuck, not knowing (or waffleing?) on what stitch or color thread to use where. How did you chose and can you offer any advise?
I had an aunt who when she died left me so much embroidery floss I have been hard put to use it all up.
I just pulled out the ones I thought I would like for this and then used what struck me as I did each square.
For the most part they blend nicely or are accent colors - all earthy and soft.
I tried a few brighter ones or put white on a dark area and then took it all out.
I think it is a matter of taste and I have a hard time with high contrast, plus this was meant to be elegant and not too wild.
In some cases the floss was identical to the fabric and so it disappeared. I like that but tried to avoid it for the most part. Some contrast is good. I also used some of the same colors for each square without introducing too many new colors.
On a different square I used a different group, but always with repeats of some colors.
I used only 2 strands to avoid large raised areas that might get rubbed or torn more easily. In a few cases the stitches were so thin I did use 3 strands for better impact. I repeated a lot of patterns too that I made up as I went, so that there was some continuity throughout. Some stitches were new to me (from the books and websites I referred to) and I could not do them well so I avoided them.
I hope this helps a little...