Whitework Sampler

I set out to hand applique a pattern called Whitework Sampler by the Rabbit Factory. I settled on a deep yellow with the white applique - my problem is that all the tone on tone whites I've got seem to be wimpy - flimsy, almost transparent, no uummpph.

After needleturn applique-ing part of one block, I remembered Sue Nickel's book about machine applique and proceeded to make a block by decorating the yellow background with machine stitches, then using fusible to machine stitch the applique -

While I think this is great, I'm really not interested in doing a bed sized quilt with fusible applique - I think that the method is great for smaller quilts but I'd be concerned that with a bed sized quit it would jsut get weighed down and stiff, no matter how little fusible I tried to use.

I completed this block last weekend and have since been thinking about it in the back of my mind - I'm now trying different colour combinations and trying to determine if I can find a white fabric with more body.