Playtime: the airplane block

The last few days I've been working on another block in the Playtime quilt. This time it was the airplane.


This block really challenged my applique skills. To start with, the pattern is designed for fusible applique, so all of the instructions are written for that and the line drawings are reversed to make that easier. Since I really wanted to do it by hand, I had to reverse the line drawing. Then I needed to figure out what order to applique all of the pieces and number them (so I wouldn't forget). Because there are so many layered, partial pieces, I also had to figure out a way to get them all placed on the background correctly. Long ago, I saw an episode of the show Simply Quilts in which someone demonstrated using vinyl to help with accurate applique placement. So that's what I did.


Using clear vinyl and a fine-tipped Sharpie, I drew horizontal and vertical gridlines so I could match the center of the design with the center of my fabric (I lightly pressed the center lines in my fabric to find the center). Then I traced the line drawing onto the vinyl. You can see my vinyl overlay to the right of the finished block above. With each piece, I'd position the vinyl on top of my background fabric and then slide the piece to be appliqued between the two layers. I could then use the lines on the vinyl to make sure the piece was in the right place on the background. I'd pin the piece in place, put the vinyl back over it to re-check placement, and then I'd either thread baste or (on the smaller pieces) start appliqueing it down (I used needle-turn applique with freezer paper on top). The process was time consuming, but it really worked!

Another challenge were the tiny pieces, like the little grey fin at the back of the plane, as well as the propeller blades. Then there were the teeny-tiny windows which I decided to reverse applique (maybe not the best decision, as I had problems with fraying, but they don't look too bad). By the end of the block though, my confidence had gone up considerably. Hopefully, my applique skills will continue to improve.

My only frustration with this block was that the kit I'm using to make the quilt did not include any fabric that looked like it would work for the body of the airplane. It also didn't include any solid red (it has some patterned ones, but it just seemed like it would be too busy to have that much pattern going on). So I had to go out and find some alternatives.