I'm late in answering your thread, but thought I'd give my two cents anyway! So many quilters are scared of applique. It takes a little patience, but it really isn't difficult. You mentioned using fusibles. Have you ever done that? Have you tried machine applique? I've found doing hand applique with fusible web is very difficult. The edges are very hard to get a needle through and you have to use some kind of stitch to hold the applique edges down. And I've had trouble with fusible webbing fraying. I agree you should try some easy hand applique projects. One good thing to work on is a heart because it has both inside and outside curves. I can recommend an excellent book. Gives many different applique methods with good illustrations. And it is softback so not too expensive. It's THE EASY ART OF APPLIQUE by Mimi Dietrich and Roxi Eppler and published by That Patchwork Place publishers. Good luck!