I mean.... should I be concentrating on regular quilting skills before I pick up an applique pattern?

I can't stop dreaming about future projects - but I'm still so novice to basic quilting. Please give me your experienced advice!

If you have conquered 1/4" seams & your blocks age going together nicely & to the meaurements they are supposed to be, then your ready to add the applique. Are you going to machine or hand applique?

Not at all. Some quilters do not like piecing and applique almost all their quilts. Some do whole cloth quilts with no piecing or applique either. Try everything and do what you love.

some people do applique their very first quilting project. there are beginner applique patterns just like beginner other patterns. if you want to do applique jump in and do applique, you do not have to reach any certain level to try something new. if all you do is beginner/pieced quilts how will you learn anything new? my very first quilt was hand embroidered and pieced(baby quilt)/ fast forward 20 years and my next first quilt (the first big quilt) was a stained glass dragonfly quilt...i was told it was not a beginner pattern but, hey, not knowing that, i made it anyway. if someone had told me ahead of time it was an advanced pattern i probably would not have even picked it up...but i did not know so i made it...it was easy, fun, beautiful results and hooked me on applique even though i still had trouble getting my 1/4" seam consistantly.

I have yet to finish my first machined patchwork quilt but I have been doing applique for years, though I do do that by hand. Give whatever you want to do a try, there are no rules. There are videos on you tube to help, just google whatever you want and see what comes up. Good Luck.

These are 2 totally different applications. Both have beginner up to expert. Go for it. I love applique, in fact, I prefer this over piecing. Very addictive and relaxing.

So it's just a different animal all together then. Got it.

Now tell me - to applique, do you cut out the applique piece and then iron under the 1/4" or how is that done? Then just pin on and stitch? Just want to understand so I know if I have the patience! lol!

You can applique either way! I jsut tried my first real effort at applique this weekend! He is a bit rough around the edges, gotta adjust some stitches next time. The best advice I received was to use wonder under or steam a seam. I used wonder under and it was huge help! I still have to find out what to do with the strings???? Any helpers? I have heard that you pull them through to the back with a needle and tie them. I also have to place his buttons appropriately and sew them on. Then, I think I'm gonna make a zinger border out of the white or the tourqouise and then a piced border from what all I have left-looks like he might only be big enough for a wall hanging.
Be gentle with comments-he is my first try-LOL!

I love your snowman! I think you did a wonderful job! It looks like you zig-zagged him on? I'll have to look up wonder-under and steam a seam -- every time I think I'm finally getting somewhere in my quilting understanding, I find there's way more to learn!

Thanks for sharing - he's adorable. :)

wonder under is sold at walmarts that have a fabric dept. I forgot to look while I was was at the LQS and walmart is the last stop in town for me. It was fairly cheap-although I don't remember how much. I zig-zagged him. I have friends who buy a ton of the cutest applique patterns (the latest being adorable kid tractors) and then works on them all the time. I wasn't sure that I would keep up with it, so I bought a yard of the wonder under (that would do a bunch) and printed up a color book page from the internet and let out all the small details....like his broom. My friends also use a bunch of other stitches. I figured I should start small.