technique ID help
 

I want to make a fun little quilt for my GD with excavators on it. My vision is to have a plain background with a few little appliquéd shapes indicating a hill or a blimp on the horizon, where the excavators will be "working". I have tried googling every description that pops into my mind, and have searched through the forum photo albums. Years ago there was a member who designed pet appliqués for members (at a fee)- if you were a painter or medium artist it was with a few basic strokes of the brush an image would appear. . but I can't even figure out how to access that thread.
The shape that I am thinking of resembles an apostrophe if that makes any sense? Can anyone help me with my quest?

I would just google search for an excavator or other target item. find a simple "clip art" ot cartoon type of design that you can use to base your applique on.

The only thing I could thing of was some openwork machine embroidery patterns I had seen.

Is this the sort of what you are looking for? https://www.etsy.com/listing/5046578...grid_organic=1

Or this? https://www.etsy.com/listing/9955880...grid_organic=1

Here's a cute one.
https://www.pinterest.ca/pin/241505598748788722/

There are other "excavator quilts" on google. You might want to
take a look.

Thanks for the links, I already have my excavators cut out and ready to appliqué, it is just the background I am planning. A couple of those machine embroidery designs are similar to what I had in mind.

Always so hard for me to visualize stuff -- in this panel, there is a critter underground, is that sort of what you want, the excavator up top and the hole??

https://www.equilter.com/product/265...-24-x-44-panel