Ditto what JustaBit said. You might want to look into back basting. I have always wanted to do hand applique and did a bit of needle turn. I just could not get the hang of prepping the pieces! This is the tutorial that got me started on back basting..and I'm off!
http://sentimentalstitches.net/instr...hand-applique/
I am also working on learning to prep pieces...this is the method I will be attempting before I travel next month:
http://erinrussek.typepad.com/photos...ial/index.html
They are not in numerical order, but if you hover your cursor over the pictures, you will get the title and number. You can also search applique tutorial on the home page. (ps. be sure to look all over her page..she is doing a free Christmas BOM! If you want to the medallion, she is selling that , but all the blocks are free to download now.)