My only suggestion would be to loosen your tension just a very little bit and see if that looks more like you envision.

Looks good to me. I use heat'n Bond fusible interfacing & that really helps. Also if you have trouble seeing where the edges of the leaves are, use a Frixion pen to outline the leaves. The Frixion pen marks simply iron off when you are finished appliquéing.

You can always use a narrow, close ,zig-zag stitch also( satin stitch). If the tiny pokies bother you, carefully cut them off with some tiny scissors. Always stop with the needle in the background ( outside of applique) before turning.

I think it looks fine.

Just a hint. I trace around each petal with either chalk or water erasable pen. Then it is much easier to see. Yours look good.

maybe a little wider stitch so the outside stitch falls more onto the background? So far, good going!

looks o.k. stop fretting, you're supposed to have fun with this, it's not work. relax and enjoy it. it doesn't look bad.

It looks fine. If it is puckering too much, a stabilizer will help or even starch. I starch my background squares very stiff before I start.

If it is possible, I also like to cut my background square larger than I want it to be when it is finished. I square it to size after the applique. That helps you fudge things a little if one side pulls up a bit more than the other.

If I were doing it, the petals would be placed behind the center. I would then not do pink stitching at the base of the petal. The yellow stitching around the center would old both. That is a design decision -- not a mistake, so don't feel I'm saying you did it wrong. I'm just trying to answer your questions about what I would do.

I love machine applique. If I were you I would shorten the stitches in both ways and what I was told is that the stitch has to be 20 % on the background and 80% in the applique. I always try to have the outer stitch on top of the edge of the applique piece, it takes some practice but it can be done. The open toe applique does all the difference on your visibility. Also, I sue stabilizer in the back and each applique is fuse to the background. To tell you the truth, I don't find your work bad, I think we sometimes are harder on ourselves than we should be and don't forget other people won't notice the details unless you tell them to look.
good luck, don't get discouraged. Keep going.
andrea