Basket of Posies Wool Applique

A happy middle of the week to ya!  This quilt is enroute back to it's Iowan owner, as I type this.  I have finished off several others since this, but they'll get shown in due course.  There's a large-ish batik quilt on my machine right now that is taxing my brain a little bit.  Or it could be something else.  

This quilt is only about 24" square, but the darn little thing took many hours on account of all that stitching.  It has a wool batting, which helps to show off that pretty applique, and the relief of the quilting.  I used a soft yellow (kind of maize colored) thread - 50 wt So Fine I think.  I love to make the large mass of blank space carry alternate quilting patterns - hence the square on point that I added.

 I limited the stitching on the wool appliques to just the leaves.  This type of applique can get really bulky, especially considering the fact that the flower petals all sit on top of a leaf too.  I'd suggest cutting that and the backing fabric away, layer by layer, as they are appliqued.  I always do this to my applique unless it is one continuous background fabric.  It keeps seam lines from showing thru the applique pieces if a quilter happens to stitch on the appliques (which I often do).  If you sewed the appliques well (these are machine stitched!), then the quilt can't possibly come apart.  Many quilters do not do this, but it is good practice.