I got my sewing machine back from repair today, and it is much better. I finished machine quilting the focal points, and I’m pleased with it so far:

This is the piece so far. The black strips are sealing the edges of the velvet, to stop it fraying. I like it, but I will need to,include black in the hand stitching, bring the hand stitching over the edges, and go for a monochromatic border to balance it up.