Wednesday, February 03, 2010

Primary Fractured Waco Biplane


Well...I finished it and that's about all I can say. Doing the fractured part was very difficult for me and I'm still not sure I got it right. Yellow, Red and Blue were the three colors I chose.

I originally tried sewing pieces of the blue fabrics together for the background, but that looked icky. I then laid out bits and pieces, tacked them down then trapped them under a layer of black tule. The glittery stuff is supposed to be the propeller and is one of the iridescent tissue lames. The piece measure 13 3/4" high x 17 1/2" wide.

The image is of a Waco biplane. Waco (rhymes with taco) aircraft were made here in Troy, OH and were famous for being used as trainers and making HUGE gliders for WWII and the Korean wars. I had a little difficulty as I did it from a photo I took of a tied-down Waco at the annual Waco Fly-in....and it had a cover
over the cockpit, so I had to engineer a pilot and the cockpit. By the way....Waco stands for Weaver Aircraft Company.

I'd really like some suggestions on what to do when you are doing the 1/8" stitch line in facing when you have a variety of colors. I picked the thread for the majority, but I don't like the blue on the yellow. Any other comments, suggestions etc. are greatly appreciated.

7 comments:

Jan said...

What a great piece you ended with despite your difficulties! The amount of fracturing was just right and I like the way you carried them across the Waco so effectively. Your quilting for the propeller really added movement to the piece. The only thing I'm unsure of is the red line across the top? I'm just wondering what it is?

Unknown said...

lol.. The red line across the top is the upper wing! The yellow parts are the struts which hold it up and I just realized I forgot to put the cross wires which are stabilizers coming across the wing.

The wing appears as the straight line because of the angle at which the picture was taken.

Jan said...

That explains it! Thanks! I've left out parts before and later when I looked at it had a 'Duh' moment, too.

Cherie in Del Mar said...

Hi Lisa
I love your little Waco. It is such a happy quilt :-) It really looks like it is flying!

If I understand what you are asking about the 1/8" stitching, that stitching is usually done to hold the seam toward the facing, and so shows only on the back of the quilt( 1/8" from the seam / edge, on the facing). This is harder than I thought to explain, LOL. Is it clear as mud now?
Cherie

Unknown said...

I understand. Carolyn Sanger also explained...however, I have been wondering about this... I made "L" facings to cut down on the extra fabric in the corners, and I don't really understand how I can sew it to the seam allowance on the facing given that set up... Intellectually it doesn't seem like it would want to make that turn after it has been sewn initially. Am I missing something?

I have to say, I seem to have a learning disability when it comes to facings....and I've read three different versions on how to do it. I thought it was a perception problem because I was left handed until someone who told me to do the "L"s said no, because she's left handed too and she knows how to do them. Any other suggestions are welcome if I am to continue to try to make these silly things, otherwise I will scrap them.

Joni said...

Lisa, I like your little biplane, such a cheerful little piece. Thank you for the very interesting account of their history too. I have solved the facing issue- by framing my work (I know that's a real cop out, but it works for me) LOL.

Betty Donahue said...

This is such a happy piece. A great idea.
Betty