Tailspin

I finished the tail!!!!!! Well, maybe…

This is the (maybe) finished tail — taken with poor lighting. I stitched what looks like a woven pattern into the dark blue. Though it’s a little silly in the very small sections, the other 2 parts of the dragon have large sections of the dark blue, so I like that this pattern will work for both

Now, the reason why I’m not sure if the tail is really finished or not is that I decided to try backstitching over the diagonals in the scale pattern. I started a small section, and I just can’t decide if it adds or detracts from what was there before.

In the photo above, the backstitching is on the left side under the spikes. It’s very subtle in the picture. I chose to stitch it with one strand of the medium blue used for the vine stitch boarders. So, here’s my question: Should I continue with the backstitching?

I also need to figure out what to do with the background, but that will have to wait until I decide how to finish the piece (3 pillows, or one framed piece with a mountain drawn onto the matte, or another way someone wants to suggest??).

Any suggestions/voting backstitching or finishing would be greatly appreciated!