I'm also working on a black-and-white version of this Alchemy Quilt by Amy Butler. It's my first real foray into machine applique, and it turned out rather well. I'm in the middle of machine quilting it right now...this project has been interrupted by my purple baby quilt and the teapot quilt, but I'll finish it eventually.
As always, my brain works way faster than my hands and I'm planning many more quilting and sewing projects, including some quilts inspired by Elizabeth Hartman's beautiful mod blocks. I'm also planning to finally sew some of the patterns in my Burdastyle book! Whew...if only I had more hours in the day.