Personally I much prefer stitching on linen. Some of the hand dyed luganas I've found quite dense to stitch on, especially the opals and particularly in 32 count. These days for a lot of Miras I'll use 28 count because, as Vanessa says, the beads fit better. 28 count lugana is also easier to stitch on in my opinion than 32. But a lot of people love lugana, and I have used it many times usually for the same reason you give - I'm looking for a softer colour than the linen. So I guess it all boils down to personal preference, and you won't know unless you try it!