Welcome, Candi and Lucymae, congrats on that new grandbaby, we will forgive the lack of caps, LOL.
I will be happy to try and take pics of how I do my needleturn for those who haven't tried it. As for machine applique, I think the best advice would be to put stabilser behind as you stitch - I have a huge roll of tearaway stabliser I bought on ebay ages ago - it will probably last me the rest of my life, but it was a LOT cheaper to buy it in that quantity. Also, with the machine stitching, I think I would either fuse the pieces on, though that would result in a stiffness that would be good for a wall hanging, but not so good in a lap or bed quilt.
If you want to fuse, but want your quilt to remain soft, then I recommend using Elmer's School Glue. It will hold your pieces in place whilst you machine their edges, (iron to set it), then at the end of the day, you will be able to soak the quilt and the Elmers will be removed. Make sure it's the School Glue, not any of their other products.