Why would applying by machine be any less "real" than applying by hand? Applique means "to apply" in French. Just as machine piecing and machine quilting are just as real as hand pieceing and hand quilting, machine applique is just as real.

I have done some raw-edge machine applique, and am currently doing A Primitive Garden BOM quilt with wool. It is a huge project; but working with the wool is so nice. The needle goes through it like a knife through butter. Got to see the quilt at the VT. quilt show a couple of years ago, and 3 of us gals ordered it.....still not done by any of us lol.
Hope to learn needle turn at some point.

I just found this cool video to watch blanket stitch by hand applique

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WpyF4...eature=related

I will be watching this topic...I have never appliqued before but I soon will be starting a project that the center is applique and I will be doing the old timeeeee way of needle turn...I feel it is important to start at the beginning of applique and adapt to the technique I like best.

Great idea! I have been trying to improve my appliqué technique
for some time. I seem to do better when I use the freezer paper method, but it still looks pretty sad next to the work that some of my friends do.

It's not that it isn't 'real', it's just that, to me, the hand applique looks so much better. There is such a difference. That being said, when I do dogs, that's not something that is elegant and the raw edge applique 'fits' the project.
I do admire the hand stuff, though.

I've seen some pretty poor-looking hand applique. Just because it's hand done doesn't mean it always looks better.

My machine has a stitch that is called 'applique' and it looks just like that hand stitch in the video. I use that stitch for some things, such as flowers. If I'm doing the dogs, I use a tight zig zag stitch.

I certainly agree with you there. I've seen some of that, too. But when I see some that is 'good', the turned under stuff, I really like the looks of it -- that is, when it is good.

Holy cow, that looks easy! :-D