Getting my Ducks in a Row and Adventures in Applique

Until now, I have only made one project with applique. It was this Pony Tails Quilt that thus far, has only been pieced:

I added the applique by hand and didn't have a clue what I was doing. I took it in to Jackie for quilting. She is learning to custom machine quilt and said she will soon be ready to tackle customer quilts. I told her she was more than welcome to practice on mine. I don't need perfection. My applique is certainly no where near it, but I still think this is an adorable quilt and I will have no problem making more like this. The pony's are too cute, and even though there are no pony tails in the quilt, the name stays.

So now, that I have fallen in love with Cheri's baby quilt patterns, I am attempting to tackle them. Barbara over at Cat Patches was my mentor when she shared this detailed post about fusible applique. I am on a quest to learn all the methods, but this is the first one I need to master.

First lesson: follow the instructions. I know. It's obvious, but I guess I just seem to learn things better the hard way.

Do not cut out the middle of your applique piece while it is ironed onto the fabric. Cut it out before! Barbara did mention to engage our brain. I must have omitted that part. Thus I had to wait for my next trip into town in order to resupply my fusible.

Lesson #2: Buy more than one yard or you will run out in the middle of your project, and you will have to wait for your next trip to town...again :)

So now I have beakless ducks:

These beaks are awfully tiny and I am intimidated by them. I'm not intimidated by the ducks. Just the beaks. How in the heck am I going to applique those teensy little things?

Another quandary I found myself in was that the ducks are yellow and the blue water shows through their little tummies. I tried putting the ducks under the water, but they looked funny.

I raced to Barbara and asked her advice and she steered me down the right path. I have a horrible sense of direction so steering me is often required. I got lost out here on these ranch roads the other day and I imagine it'll be a very long time until I live it down. I came out a different gate than he did and he said, "Why are you coming out of THAT gate?" "Still, it made DH's eyes twinkle so I'm fine with it. :) And in my defense, it was horribly overcast and I could not see a thing.

But Barbara suggested I add another layer behind the ducks. Thanks Girl!

I think I will sew around everything three times to make it look like a child traced it. Barbara shared that in her tutorial and I have seen Erin use that for her adorable birdie projects and I am smitten with those little birds!

Should I use black thread to give it a sketchy look or matching thread? Today I am leaning towards black. I think it will help give detail to the ducks and their little wings will show up better.