Basic Tricks To Take Your Sewing Up A Notch

13 March, 2016

Airplane Foundation Piecing





 I made a quilt block for someone here in my small town.

 I say small but apparently my blogger friend in the UK knows two people in my teeny, tiny, town. Benta is one of the most thoughtful sewing people I know and she often shows up in the comments of a blog I follow. - I tend to collect writers and sewists from Oregon. What a small world it is....

This gal I'm making the block for put a call out for blocks from anywhere in the world to make a quilt and I had to join in.

It only took three weeks to happen...ahem.

 I wanted to send her an airplane block.

When I opened my box where I keep certain airplane treasures, I found two blocks from when I last sewed them (Mikey is now nine years old).

This red one is done and just needs the outer sashing. I used a Aunt Grace '30's reproduction fabric. Tickles. An airplane made of airplanes.


 Many years ago, I bought this rubber stamp from ByrdsNestQuiltShop during one of my SewExpo forays.

Because it had an airplane on it.




The stamp is numbered from one to ten.
 It takes nine seams to make this block.

You start with your first fabric right side up over the stamped muslin covering the number one space. Then you place the #2 second piece over that first piece RST and flip it over to sew the seam between #1 & #2. Finger press and sew the third piece down in the same way.

You have to be careful to use a scrap big enough to cover that area and extend out past the seam lines. Lots of scrap wastage.

Foundation piecing differs from paper piecing because you sew through a muslin foundation and sew from the back side. Flipping it over, back to the front, seam on the back.

It's supposedly more accurate than paper piecing, specially at the corners,  but it's all fiddly. I'm happy to make a couple but making enough for an entire quilt? No thank you.

One blue airplane block done.

FYI: This stamp pad is over twenty years old and did wash out from the white (easily).
Stamp makes a 3" square inner image.

Rusty update: He's back in remission on his pancreatitis attack a month ago. He's 14 years old and I think we needed to adjust his pain meds to make him more comfortable. I swear he looked like he was dying a month ago, and now? back to being an old dog.

5 comments:

  1. Love the airplane quilt motif! I think you need to make a whole quilt for yourself.. or pillow tops. ((hugs)), Teresa :-)

    ReplyDelete
  2. OH MY STARS a stamp that makes a foundation pieced block pattern - what brilliant mind came up with such a thing, lol! I prefer foundation piecing to paper piecing because of the extra body and strength the foundation gives the block - I've seen blocks go quite wonky when paper was ripped off (especially those blocks that have a metric ton of sub-sections and pieces ...) - foundation blocks just seem more *reliable* to me :) Your blocks are very cute ... and yep, I remember the scrap wastage in piecing like that - especially on acute angles - OH MY!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I think I have that plane pattern bookmarked somewhere... How cool that there is a stamp for it. I like the idea of sewing onto a muslin rather than paper because tearing the paper off is a pain. I might just give that a try next time I FPP.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thanks for the shout! Lovely surprise!!! Funnily enough I've been screen printing onto muslin to make circle of flying geese and New York beauty blocks, never thought of s rubber stamp!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I have never seen a stamp that can be used for Foundation Paper Piecing. I don't do it often, and really have to concentrate to get started, but I do enjoy the process. Love your blocks, especially the blue one.

    ReplyDelete

I love comments. My heart goes pitter-patter every time there is a new one.