OK my two cents becasue I love to do needle turn applique - like Julie said, you don't need to cut away the background unless it will show through the applique piece - and sometimes you get an interesting effect if it does. Yes you may find the hand sewing difficult with all the seams so be sure you have a comfortable thimble (ask me how I know THAT....). And last - what i do is make the applique shape out of freezer paper without seam allowances. I iron it onto the right side of the applique fabric I want. Then I rough cut about a 1/4" seam allowance around the shape. I then either pin, use a very light basting spray, or hand baste the applique piece to my quilt. I can now turn the edges under right up to the edge of the freezer paper so I get a nice clean line. I peel the paper off when done. I find that the freezer paper piece can be used about 3 times before it refuses to stick. Heres an example.