Author Archives: Dawn

A Blogiversary — and a Giveaway!!

by Dawn Posted on May 1, 2022

Tomorrow is a big day for First Light Designs. Ten years ago – on May 2, 2012 – my very first blog post was published. (You can read it here.) What better way to celebrate my 10th blogging anniversary than by having a giveaway?

I’m going to pick three winners at random and offer each winner her (or his) choice of three prizes: a rotary cutter coat, a pair of standard or king pillowcases, or a pair of oven mitts – all made to order by moi. Examples are shown above but they are not the giveaway items.I’ll find out fabric preferences and give each winner a choice of combinations curated from my (ahem) rather extensive stash.

To be entered in the giveaway, all you have to do is write a comment at the bottom of this post responding to the question, “What is your favorite color combo?” No need for you to subscribe to my blog or follow me on Instagram (though I would be delighted if you chose to do either. To subscribe, enter your email address above the SUBSCRIBE button on the top right side of the First Light Designs home page. To find me on Instagram, click here.)

One entry per person. I will mail anywhere in the world so international readers are welcome to enter.

Family members are invited to leave comments but are not eligible to win.

The giveaway will remain open through Wednesday, May 11. On Thursday, May 12, I’ll use a random number generator to pick three winners who will be notified via email.

Good luck, everyone! And thank you for keeping me on my blogging toes for the last 10 years. Seven hundred posts later, I’m still going strong.

P.S. If you are not one of the lucky winners, you can make your own version of these items. All are available as free tutorials on my website:

8. Perfect Pillowcases(Oct. 23, 2013)

11. Rotary Cutter Coat(Oct. 10, 2014)

21, Oven Mitts that Fit: Prequel to the Tutorial(April 13, 2021)
21, Oven Mitt Tutorial from First Light Designs, Part 1(April 18, 2021)
21, Oven Mitt Tutorial from First Light Designs, Part 2(April 19, 2021)

Posted in Giveaway, oven mitts, roll-it-up pillowcases, rotary cutter case, tutorial, update | 45 Comments

Another Sneak Peek

by Dawn Posted on April 26, 2022

I can’t help myself! I’m giving you another sneak peek of Baby Isabella’s quilt. I attached the binding last night and I have to pose this question: Is the binding fabric not a match made in Quilt Heaven with the other fabrics in the quilt? You be the judge:

The striped fabric from my stash has the very same colors as Baby Isabella’s quilt but it’s from a completely different line. I cut my binding strips on the diagonal because I love the look of diagonal stripes on quilt binding. On this quilt the binding will finish at 1/2″ wide (rather than my usual 1/4″) because I really want to call attention to it. In my view it frames and finishes the quilt beautifully.

You’ll be able to see what I mean at the final reveal. Soon, I hope!

Posted in baby quilt, family, update | 9 Comments

I Cannot Resist . . .

by Dawn Posted on April 22, 2022

. . . giving you a sneak peek at the quilting on Baby Isabella’s quilt:

It’s just back from the longarmer and I can’t take my eyes off it.

In the foreground you see one of two star blocks I previewed a couple of posts ago. The final reveal will be saved until after the quilt has been delivered to the expectant parents, my granddaughter Bethany and her husband. Baby Isabella is scheduled to make her appearance in the next few weeks.

If I weren’t doing my final prep for a quilt workshop tomorrow, I’d be up in my sewing room this very minute trimming the quilt and getting the binding ready. All in good time!

Posted in baby quilt, family | 5 Comments

Four for Four

by Dawn Posted on April 16, 2022

In baseball parlance, I’m batting a thousand! These are four products featuring artwork from “Capri,” Katarina Roccella’s new line of fabric for Art Gallery Fabrics. I recently ordered these items from redbubble.com, a global online marketplace for print-on-demand products based on artwork submitted by independent artists.

The socks arrived first, followed by the coffee mug and hot/cold travel mug. These three items feature Katarina Roccella’s lemons-on-stripes design while the mouse pad, which arrived today, features her rendering of hilltop houses on the Amalfi Coast. I love lemons and I love Italy; what more can I say? These two prints (and eight others) from the “Capri” line shown here . . .

. . . are in my fabric stash now. Someday (soon, I hope) they will make their way into a quilt. In the meantime, I can enjoy their loveliness by using the everyday items I purchased online.

I can’t speak to the quality of every print-on-demand product available at redbubble.com but I am very pleased indeed by the quality of the four products I bought. If you’re curious to see what kind of products are available featuring Katarina Roccella’s artwork — ranging from laptop sleeves to shower curtains — you can click here for her lemons-on-stripes design and here for her Amalfi Coast design.If you’re looking for a gift for a quilter, this is one place to explore.

Now I’m wondering how many other quilt fabric designers I admire have some of their designs available on things like t-shirts, backpacks, duvet covers, and smartphone cases. Could I be heading down a rabbit hole??

Posted in home dec, shower curtain, update | 4 Comments

Two New WIPs

by Dawn Posted on April 9, 2022

I have a new Work-in-Progress to report: a baby quilt! Granddaughter Bethany is expecting her fourth child in a few weeks — and it’s a girl! Baby Isabella — yes, she already has a name — will be joining three older brothers. We are all so excited to be welcoming a girl (although a boy would be equally treasured).

One thing I knew for sure in planning this quilt: it would not be “gender neutral.” Baby Isabella’s quilt will be decidedly feminine, meaning: Think Pink! I pulled out a treasured piece from my stash, “Cherry Baby,” a lovely pink and green print from Holly Holderman for Lakehouse Dry Goods, and discovered a companion print, “Cherry Toss,” tucked in with it. I’ve had these fabrics for — oh, a good dozen years. I must have been waiting for the perfect project.

I won’t be showing more until the quilt is done. Bethany follows my blog so I want to keep part of the quilt a surprise for her. I do hope she likes what she sees so far!

I titled this post “Two New WIPs.” I’ve described the Work in Progress underway in my sewing room. And what of the second WIP? Why, it’s Baby Isabella, of course!

Posted in baby quilt, family, update | 4 Comments

Sock It To Me!

by Dawn Posted on April 5, 2022

You must be wondering what on earth a pair of socks has to do with quilting. Let me explain. The pattern on these socks is one of the prints from designer Katarina Roccella‘s new line, “Capri,” which is in quilt shops right now. If you missed my recent post about it, here’s a look at the line of quilting cottons from Art Gallery Fabrics:

(You don’t see the lemons-on-stripe print in the photo above because it’s one of two designs in the line that were printed on fabrics other than cotton.)

If you’re a regular reader you know that I ran off in high spirits last month and bought 10 prints from the line. So far I’ve only made a pair of pillowcases using three of the fabrics. I’m still dreaming about what to do with the remainder.

In her March 27 post on Instagram (instagram.com/katarinaroccella), Katarina mentioned that several designs in the “Capri” line, including lemons-on-stripes, were available on a huge range of products through a website called redbubble.com. I was intrigued. Following a link in her profile, I visited the website and learned that Redbubble is a global online marketplace for print-on-demand products based on artwork submitted by independent artists. An image isn’t printed on an item until an order comes in so there’s no waste from overproduction. When someone orders a product, the artist gets a portion of the proceeds.

I decided to give Redbubble a try, ordering a pair of socks and two coffee mugs with the lemons-on-stripes design. My socks arrived six days later! (The mugs are supposed to be delivered tomorrow.) I’m very pleased with the quality of the socks, which are made from a blend of recycled polyester, nylon, cotton, and spandex. They’re super soft and fit very nicely. Based on the quality of the socks, I placed an order today for a travel mug with the same lemons-on-stripe design — you know I have a thing for lemons! — and a mouse pad with the main fabric in the “Capri” line, a landscape of the Amalfi Coast.

If you are intrigued, too, you can click here to see Katarina Roccella’s designs on everything from leggings to smartphone cases to shower curtains to journal covers. It’s pretty amazing! By the way, I don’t have a financial interest in Redbubble nor do I accept any sponsorships on my website/blog. I’m writing about this because I believe making purchases that support artists like Katarina Roccella is a worthwhile thing to do and the items are things I will enjoy using.

I made another purchase recently that benefits a different but infinitely worthy cause. I saw the March 18 post on Instagram of Pat Sloan (instagram.com/quilterpatsloan) wearing a t-shirt featuring a beautiful sunflower image designed by Kate Spain. The tees are for sale on Kate Spain’s website, with proceeds going to support ChefJosÃ© AndrÃ©sand the World Central Kitchen for relief efforts in Ukraine and Poland.

Kate’s design is called “Sunflowers in My Heart” and quilters who purchased t-shirts were encouraged to post photos on Instagram wearing theirs. Here’s the photo I posted:

Kate Spain herself commented on my post! You can check it out here.

Thank you for stopping by!

Posted in roll-it-up pillowcases, update | 4 Comments

A Sea of Stars

by Dawn Posted on March 31, 2022

I made another 12″ block in my ongoing Sea Sampler project today. Before I show you the finished block, take a look at the fabric I used for the star points:

Is that not swoonworthy? It’s an ombre from Maywood (from a few years ago) that I pulled from my stash when I noticed how much the print looks like phosphorescent waves. While I was checking the proper spelling of “phosphorescence,” I came across another word for it: “bioluminescence.” Water bioluminescence resembles a sea of stars suspended in the waves. Yes, that’s exactly what I see in this fabric!

The block came together in an odd way. Normally I decide what will go in the center of the block and work outward. This time, I started from the outside in, making the star points first:

I used the darker value of the ombre fabric, which is darkest on the selvedge ends, moving to lightest in the center. You can see what I mean here, where the fold line marking the middle of the fabric width is very visible:

While I was pondering what to put in the center, my eyes fell on my current Junior Billie Bag, which sits by the door to my sewing room. As it turns out, both sides of the bag served as inspiration for the center. Here are the two sides during construction so you can see both at once:

The one on the left features a Churn Dash block inside a Sawtooth Star. I was thinking about making a Churn Dash block when it dawned on me that the fabric in the center of this particular Churn Dash has ferns that look like they’re under water. That small square — 2″ finished — is from the same piece of fabric as the circle on the right side.

I had actually auditioned that fabric when I was going through my stash for the Sea Sampler project and had rejected it because it didn’t look watery. But when I pulled out a piece and got a better look at the fern fronds, I saw an image that reminded me of an underwater garden. Even better, the image would fit really nicely in the 6″ x 6″ space I needed to fill.

I fussycut a piece slightly on the bias so the ferns would point toward a corner, as if it were gently undulating under water. This is the result:

See the bubbles?

Behold my finished block:

As you can see, I added small triangles to the corners of the center block as well as the inside corners of the four outer squares. Why? Because I wanted more green in the block and I wanted to add some visual interest to the basic block design. I love how the green triangles form little hourglasses on the diagonal.

Here is the new block (second row, center) with the other five 12″ blocks made thus far:

They join three 18″ blocks, which you can see here, and a smattering of 6″ blocks. This quilt is evolving slowly but surely. My sewing time is somewhat limited these days so I’m just coasting along, making a block here and there. But I do have what I think is a great idea for a layout.

Posted in Billie Bag, sampler quilt, update | 10 Comments

“The Isle of Capri”

by Dawn Posted on March 23, 2022

I’m bringing a little sunshine to the Portland White House with these pillowcases made from “Capri,” Katarina Roccella’s new fabric line for Art Gallery Fabrics. I fell in love with the line when I spotted it in Hawthorne Supply Company‘s weekly email newsletter a couple of weeks ago. It took a few days of daydreaming about it before I yielded to impulse and placed an order.

I was telling my students in a quilting class last week about my — ahem — rather large purchase, which I referred to as “a shopping accident.” One of my students said, “You didn’t have a shopping accident, you had a shopping adventure!” That sounds ever so much better, don’t you think?

I confess: I wound up ordering 10 prints from the line — and I may not be done yet! Just take a look at the fabrics:

Can you see why I fell in love with it? I have no earthly idea what I’m going to make with this luscious array but I did order enough extra of the aqua lemon print to make those pillowcases for the Dear Husband and me. (I used the burrito or roll-it-up method for the pillowcases, using my own tutorial which you can find here.)

I am lucky to have visited the tiny island of Capri several years ago on a trip to Italy with the DH. These pillowcases will be a fond reminder of that trip.They are a fond reminder of something else. When my siblings and I were little, our father used to sing to us. One of the songs he sang was “The Isle of Capri,” whose first two verses go like this:

“Twas on the Isle of Capri that I found her
Beneath the shade of an old walnut tree
Oh, I can still see the flow’rs blooming ’round her
Where we met on the Isle of Capri.

“She was as sweet as a rose in the dawning
But somehow fate hadn’t meant her for me
And though I sail with the tide in the morning
Still my heart’s on the Isle of Capri.”

According to Wikipedia, “The Isle of Capri” was a #1 hit in 1935, the year my father turned 12. The music was written by Will Grosz with lyrics by Jimmy Kennedy. The tempo is described as a tango foxtrot but my dad sang it like a ballad. I love those old romantic songs as much as I love pretty pillowcases.

I’m going to put the new cases on our pillows tonight. Maybe I will dream of Capri!

Posted in family, home dec, roll-it-up pillowcases, update | 12 Comments

Susan’s Star, Embellished

by Dawn Posted on March 19, 2022

I didn’t think the block I made last month called Susan’s Star could get any better but I embellished it today by appliquÃ©ing a round fussycut flower in the center square, and I’m so happy with the result:

Credit for this idea goes to my quilting cousin, Patricia, who follows my blog and suggested the addition after reading my post of March 3. Good call, Patricia!

Susan’s Star is one of three 18″ blocks in a sampler quilt I’m working on that also features 6″ and 12″ blocks. The other two 18″ blocks have a blossom in the center, one pieced and one appliquÃ©d:

Patricia thought my third 18″ block would benefit from having a flower in the middle as well. For the block on the right I used a method other than needleturn applique. For Susan’s Star, though,I decided the time had come to give needleturn appliquÃ© another go. If you are new to my blog, you may not know I learned needleturn appliquÃ© in 2019 making this quilt.

Because three years had passed since I’d done any needleturn appliquÃ©, I approached this task, simple and small though it be, with some trepidation. To be honest, I’m not sure I did everything correctly but it turned out just fine.

I started by drawing a dotted circle (my stitching line) on the fabric using a jar lid as a template and cutting a scant quarter inch away from the stitching line. After finger-pressing the stitching line I pinned the piece in place:

Stitching has commenced! Off to a good start:

After the first few stitches I felt like I had found my rhythm. Do you suppose doing needleturn appliquÃ© is like riding a bike?

And here we are where we started, with the finished block:

I haven’t been spending nearly enough time in my sewing room lately so getting this little project completed felt very good. It was my way of celebrating National Quilting Day.

Posted in appliqué, Hazel's Diary Quilt, needleturn appliqué, sampler quilt, update | 6 Comments

More Marvelous Mitts

by Dawn Posted on March 12, 2022

Oven mitts, that is. I’ve made a few pair recently for friends and family. Tracy’s mitts are a royal blue tone-on-tone floral:

I quilted a 1″ grid which offers a pleasing contrast to the curves of the petals. The lining fabric is a bright blue and yellow paisley print with just a touch of silvery metallic:

Jeanne Ann’s mitts are made of a blue and green filigree fabric that I’ve used in several projects:

These were quilted with random wavy lines, a design I like a lot and can do easily and quickly using my walking foot (no marking lines needed). The lining is the same dotted fabric used for the band at the cuff.

I love that filigree fabric so much I scoured the Internet last week for more and was lucky enough to find a yard. I’m tempted to make a pair of mitts for myself out of it. But wait! I’m using that fabric — as well as the royal blue floral in Tracy’s mitts — in my current Sea Sampler project so I’d better move the idea of new mitts to the back burner. (I don’t need new mitts in any case; the ones I made two years ago look almost new, despite having made multiple trips through the washer and dryer.)

My friends David and Ken embarked on a major kitchen remodel last year so I told them I’d make them a pair of mitts as a “kitchen warming” present. The remodeling project was drawn out much longer than expected due to the pandemic. Shipping delays, mostly. But their kitchen is finished now and so are their mitts:

David gave me an outline of his hand so I could make a custom pattern:

These mitts are considerably larger than the other ones I’ve made so far. In fact, they’re close to the “one size fits all” mitts one sees in the stores – the ones that are too big for me, which is precisely what led me to make my own pattern last year, followed by a tutorial.

Here’s one of David and Ken’s mitts next to one of Tracy’s:

Quite a difference, eh?

Are you ready to make yourself a pair of oven mitts? You can either use my free pattern or follow my directions (in the Prequel to the Tutorial, below) to make a pattern to fit your own hand.

Click here to download the free pattern:
Oven Mitt Pattern, page 1 of 2
Oven Mitt Pattern, page 2 of 2

Oven Mitts that Fit: Prequel to the Tutorial

Oven Mitt Tutorial from First Light Designs, Part 1

Oven Mitt Tutorial from First Light Designs, Part 2

Posted in family, oven mitts, tutorial, update | 5 Comments

First Light Designs

Author Archives: Dawn

A Blogiversary — and a Giveaway!!

Another Sneak Peek

I Cannot Resist . . .

Four for Four

Two New WIPs

Sock It To Me!

A Sea of Stars

“The Isle of Capri”

Susan’s Star, Embellished

More Marvelous Mitts

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