Contest - Sublime Stitching

My design is finished and completely stitched now just to get it sent off to be judged. I ended up using pieces of four designs by Sublime plus some details added by me to tie it all together. I used some hand distressed fabric around the edges to frame it a bit but I haven't decided what to do with it as a finished item. It always frustrates me when I get a bit of gathering in the fabric where there is heavier stitching. I have tried numerous methods of stabilizer but in general whenever I use a lighter fabric as my base(which makes for easier stitching in general)there is always some puckering. And my obsessive gene rears its ugly head.