I totally agree about the black, Suz. The quilt in my avatar was done on black and I loved it. But I left it on the bed when we came up to the cabin a few summers ago and even though the shades were pulled down in the room, the black has faded some. I'm sick about it but it's another lesson learned. Now I fold it up and put it in the closet over the summer. The winter sun doesn't seem to do any damage.
I'm afraid that a dark brown might be a problem as well. I want to get all the backing first. ... it says 8 yards but I'm thinking I'll get 9 or 10 to be on the safe side. That will be a chunk of change. But since I'll be using mostly stash for the applique, I guess that will be okay.
Treasureit, I totally understand your frustration with applique. I felt that way until I had the owner of our LQS up here in the northwoods show me how she does detailed applique. It made all the difference for me. I even taught it at a LQS when we moved I love doing applique now and have done so many pretty designs. I'd be happy to share how I do it but it would have to be a tutorial and it might be a little long. But don't stop trying. It will click one day and you'll have it forever. This is the applique wall hanging I did for my daughter last Christmas. It's all applique.... I drew out the design from a picture I saw and then put all the pieces together. She loves it.... and I got it done in a couple of weeks.