Karen, has just completed this Purple Palm Designs canvas and it is spectacular.  She played with variegated threads and how to stitch with them to get different effects.   Karen stitched with the variegated thread as it came off the skein to get the "striping" effect that we all know, she also separated the thread and turned every other strand to give her the tweed effect.  Her last usage of the thread is in the background where she again used the thread as it came but started basketweaving with it and then she began to "dance with the thread" as she calls it.   She did a basic basketweave to start and then began to skip a few threads and move ahead a few threads.  You have to pay attention to how the thread is "pooling" together and if it pools too much, you need to move around.  This all takes a good bit of practice and patience.  Your backs may not be as neat as usual but the end result is amazing.  Karen is quite talented and loves florals and animals as she really plays with stitches and threads.