Lined Applique

I've been so busy making class samples! Last week I made a table runner that features a combination of pieced and appliqued blocks. The pattern as given uses bright spring colors and plain appliqued leaves, but I like to get a big head start on my holiday sewing.  So, I adapted the pattern for a few newly-released Christmas fabrics.

Here's a detail of the applique blocks.  It's a smidge dark, but you can see the center vein of the leaf, which attaches it to the blank square and serves as quilting, too.  See the berries?  Nickel-sized yo-yos!

The appliqued holly leaves were easy to do. Here's how!

Layer your applique fabric right sides together, and trace around your template with a marking pencil. I drew my motif onto an index card and cut it out for a template. Don't make any adjustment for seam allowances. Sew directly on the marked line.
Cut a 1/4" wide strip of scrap paper-backed fusible web, and apply that to the center of one side of the applique. Remove the paper. Cut out the motif a scant 1/8" outside the sewn line. Carefully cut a slit down the center of fusible web. Turn the motif through this slit. Use a knitting needle to push out the seam allowances, and carefully press the edges with the tip of the iron, avoiding the fusible. When the applique is well-turned and pressed, press the slit closed, adhering it to the other side of the motif. I used a pin to tease out the very tips of the points to make them crisp.