Wow, that’s gorgeous. Good luck! I’m sure you’ll enjoy it once you’re done.
I have a daunting project myself. I’ve taken to calling it “The 18 Years of Christmas.” Started out as 12 Days of Christmas back in 2002. The Partridge in the Pear Tree wasn’t bad (one partridge, 3 pears, 30+ leaves....) but now I’m up to 9 ladies dancing—that’s 9 faces, 18 eyes, 18 hands, 18 shoes, 9 dresses...and it only gets worse through the last ones (12 drummers, 24 hands, 24 drumsticks, 24 shoes, 12 pants, 12 shirts...) You’ve inspired me to start in on it again!
So far, I’ve done most of the appliqué with matching rayon thread around the edges, but as the pieces get smaller and smaller I have done some with invisible thread as well.