Here is a link on applique info:
http://quilting.about.com/od/appliqutechniques/Applique_Quilts_Learn_How_to_Applique.htm
http://www.quilterscache.com/StartQuiltingPages/startquiltingfour.html
I googled and this came up
http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rlz=1T4GGIC_enUS259US263&q=what+size+of+needle+do+you+use+to+hand+applique