I have been working on the drawing for Pear Duet for awhile. I did several sketches and tried out different combinations of water-soluble pencils to paint the design. There are about 5 or 6 layers of water-soluble colored pencil used for each area, then just a little water is needed to dissolve the pigment. I just finished the pears and copied the design to Transfer Artist Paper (by Leslie Riley) which I will then irone on to 18-count canvas in the same manner as Leaf Collage.
To create the background framework I will use a "string" pattern such as that used to a framework for a Zentangle (see my other blog: http://terrystangles.blogspot.com. 
Tomorrow and Monday I plan to pull a palette of threads to "audition" from my stash. I will post again when I have most of the first pear stitched to show what I have in mind.