I think you get to do what you want. If anything....I would have used a fine blending thread for the pebbling in the background. To me the blue and thicker thread distracts a bit from the motifs. As I was looking at, while it looks fine....I was thinking...how would some more variegated thread look? I was thinking maybe a variegated blue greens for the greenery and maybe some red/orange/yellows for the flowers...I can see quite a few color combinations.....might be fun to do a couple more practice pieces and just vary the thread combo's to see which really strikes your fancy. what is the finished project going to be used for?