dakotamaid: I'll have to try poly next time...thanks!
gramajo: Yes, both threads were the same weight(50) and stitched fine on a normal straight stitch, not so much on the fmq...that's when I changed the needle to a 90/14 and that didn't help either.
Julie in WA: I'll try that next time too, thanks!
DOTTYMO & nunnyJo: It wasn't exactly a pattern, I've seen so many great projects on this board and decided it was time to try it on a small project. I found a picture on the internet, traced it onto double sided fusible and attached it to the wrong side of the dark fabric. Then I carefully cut the horse out along with all the little pieces, and once it was cut out, fused that to the light fabric and fused all the little pieces to the light fabric. I then layered the backing, fused horse & batting, stitched around leaving a small space to turn inside out, turned and handstitched the opening, and top-stitched the edge and the edges of the fused pieces.
Applique has not been my favorite, but I bough a horse pattern from Bigfork Bay Company and have been so intimidated to try it that I thought I'd try this first. I can't believe I enjoyed it!