Nanna, again, pressing makes all the difference. Wonderful!! I have said so on this thread before that back-basting applique is my method of applique using needle turn. Have you tried it? I find it be extremely accurate in placement of the pieces. There are videos/tutorials on YouTube. Take a look and try a small sample. I'm interested in your evaluation of this method. AND also I have the beloved "Little Brown Bird" quilting book and love it. I have only done one block - a real challenge!
Owing to your fabric choices, there is a lot of dimension and gradation in your blocks and is such an improvement over what we had years ago when the fabrics were so flat. We are so fortunate to have such a wonderful selection. The batiks are sooooo nice for selection.