Keep trying. I told myself for years I couldn't machine blanket stitch applique pieces because my brain is not good a picturing things and I was afraid I wouldn't be able to know how to position the applique so the needle would fall in the right place as I went around the applique. Well, I tried a straight stitch inside some flower applique blocks for a quilt I was making. I had trouble keeping the stitches the same width away from the edge of the applique. Frustrated, I decided to try my machine blanket stitch. I had two practice pieces to work on. You know what, it was a lot easier than I thought! The foot I was using had an opening and if I kept the edge of the applique straight in that opening and went slowly around all the curves, it worked!!! So keep trying and practicing. The more you practice, the more confident you will feel and I bet even like it. If during practice you get uptight, then leave it for a while. There's no law that says you have to do it well all at once. Have fun. Believe me, I am going to experiment with more machine applique!