Oh Miss Mouse, I only have 3 words for your ocean blue background----FAB U LOUS!
And as a side note, I hope you like your new method of embroidery first, but honestly I don't see anything wrong with the first block. I know how easy it is for someone else to say that ( we all find a lot more fault with our own work) so if you find something better works for you , by all means do it! Just keep us posted so we can steal your ideas....LOL...