Thanks everyone for all of your great and informative responses. I actually enjoy hand applique by using the Karen Kay Buckley way of starch and templates - it is comforting and soothing. I also enjoy using 100wt silk thread! That is why I have been so very pleased with my small straight stitches :-D (okay bragging a little bit here). So based on those things I am pretty sure that I could do this one but I showed both of the quilts to my husband and he really liked Sindy's Fiesta quilt design (fatcatpatterns.com) a little better. So that made the decision for me to purchase that one and if I do okay with it I will progress to the Fiesta de Talavera Quilt. Not sure about using the dark background but that will be a challenge in itself too. Thanks again for all your help.