First Light Designs

Mini Mod Tiles: A Double Finish

by Dawn Posted on October 13, 2017

Recognize the pattern? It’s Mini Mod Tiles from Sew Kind of Wonderful. The aqua and yellow quilt was made with the QCR Mini — the smaller of the two Quick Curve Rulersdesigned by Sew Kind of Wonderful — and finishes at 34Â½” square.SKW offers thispattern as a free download on its website.

The bigger quilt?I “supersized”SKW’s design to make a larger block using theoriginal Quick Curve Ruler, resulting in a lap quilt measuring 63” square. Why two sizes?I had chosen Mini Mod Tilesas the patternto teach atthePine Needle’s summer 2017 quilt retreatand wanted to offer my students two options.

Bothquilts have been back from the longarm quilter for several weeksbut it took me a while to get thembound and then labeled.Now I get to show the finished quilts together.

Let’s startwith the larger of the two, named Terrazzo Tiles:

Here it is from the back:

I used every bit of the leftover focus fabricon the back, even piecingscraps to make the ring around the label:

Since the biggerquilt is called Terrazzo Tiles, it made perfect sense to name the mini quilt Piccolo Terrazzo Tiles:

My first inclination was to bind this one with the yellow tone-on-tone fabricyou see above, but I hadused a different yellow on the back and they just didn’t look good together.The solution was to bind the quilt with theaqua andyellow focus fabric so it provided a frame for the quilt as seen from the back:

The hand-guided quilting (by Karlee Sandell of SewInspired2Day) is so lovely I hesitated to add a label, loving the look of a whole-cloth quilt. But it needed alabel — to identify the designer, the maker, and the quilter. Sometimes all three are the same person but more often than not the result is a combination of efforts,and it’s important in my book to give credit where credit is due:

Next week the Pine Needle is planning a reunion for the retreat participants. It will be fun to see the students’ finishedprojects — both mini and supersized!

Onemore thing:the talented women of Sew Kind of Wonderful have kindly given me permission to show you how I supersized the mini version. Coming very soon: a new tutorial on my Tutorials page.

Posted in QCR Mini, Quick Curve Ruler, quilt labels, update | 2 Comments

Northwest Quilting Expo 2017: Reach for the Stars

by Dawn Posted on October 6, 2017

Among the many special exhibits atlast week’s Northwest Quilting Expo (held in Portland, Oregon) was a small one called “Reach for the Stars” featuringquilts made using Minnesota quilter Terri Krysan’s design of the same name.The quilts were made by Portland quilters who had seen my version on displayat the Pine Needleand wanted to make their own.

Here is Maxine’s bold and beautiful quilt in black, white, and blue:

A pattern of green and yellow colors with white background — Blue Giant, Made and Quilted by Maxine Borosund

Joie’s quilt is a vision in green and purple, one of my favorite color combinations:

Lana’slovely quilt was made as a fundraiser for her grandson’s school (it sold for over $2000!):

The owners of the quilt graciously loaned it to Lana so it could be part of the special exhibit.

Andrea’s quilt was made from the same line of fabrics as Lana’s but with a more limitedpalette of blues and greens:

So serene!Did you notice the different border treatment? Andrea opted not to carry the checkerboard blocks to the outer bordersso she put the unused oneson the back:

You can see some of the lovely motifs that longarmer Kazumi Petersonused.

Sharon R.’s scrappycheckerboard border cleverly pulls together all the colors used in her blocks:

Sharon S. usedthe brightcolors in herbutterfly focus fabricto great dramatic effect, then calmed it downwith her earthy brown and black checkerboard border:

This is my version,also displayed in the exhibit:

Andrea was out of town during the quilt show but the remaining six of us gathered for group shots in front of each quilt. Here we are in front of Maxine’s:

Left to right: Sharon Schaper, Sharon Ripley, Joie Lattz, Maxine Borosund, Dawn White, and Lana Kamerer. With us in spirit: Andrea Hinderhofer.

Posted in 4-Patch Wonder, Northwest Quilting Expo, Reach for the Stars sampler quilt, update | 18 Comments

Bonus Binding

by Dawn Posted on October 4, 2017

I found the perfect fabric in my stash to bind this sweet baby quilt:

It’s a random blue on blue polka dot that picks up on the shades of blue on the birdies scattered across the focus fabric. I really like how the blue binding frames the quilt on both front . . .

. . . and back:

One more look:

Now freshly laundered, this quilt isready to be wrapped up and sent to its new owner, Baby Alira.

Alira’s Quilt measures 44″ square. The pineapple blocks were made using the Four Triangle Method described in Karin Hellaby’s book Pineapple Plus (Quilter’s Haven Publications, 2010). Sherry Wadley quilted itedge-to-edge with a delightful cloud motif.

I have enough fabric left to make another quilt. I’m going to add another round to make the pineapple block bigger and make aquilt for ayoung mother of three little boys who needs a feminine lap quilt to snuggle up in. Luckily, I have enough left of that wonderful polka dot fabric to bind a second quilt.

Posted in baby quilt, family, pineapple quilt block, update | 7 Comments

Back to the Billie Bag

by Dawn Posted on October 2, 2017

The first week of October already! September came and went in a flash. It was a very busy month, just not onedevoted to much sewing. I’m finally back at work onthat wonderful quilter’s tote designed by Billie Mahorney known as theJunior Billie Bag.I’m teaching an upcoming class at the Pine Needle so I need to get a move on.

Here’s the second of two panels in myJBB-in-progress:

The block you see above was inspired by a block in a quilt called Christmas in July designed by Thelma Childers of Cupcakes’n’Daisies:

Clickhereto read Thelma’s post about the making of this quilt. In July Carrie Nelson of Moda wrote about Thelma’s quilt on the Moda Cutting Table blog and created a pattern for it called Hometown Stars, available as a free download.

Thelma’s quilt is veryscrappy. Working with far fewer fabrics,Isimplified the blocksomewhatand made onechange that made a big difference in the outcome. Here is my block as it was first laid out . . .

. . . and here it is ready to be sewn:

Do you see the difference? Turning that center square on point reinforced the angles in the Friendship Star blocks in the four corners. Had I made an entire quilt, I would have followed Thelma’s design to a T because the square in the center of the block is central to heroverall design:

To minimize the seam lines I opted to construct the center section like a classic bow-tie block using Y-seams:

Thelma’s original finished block size is 17Â½” square. Carrie resized it to finish at 14″ square, although she included directions for both sizes in the pattern. I had to resize the block to 12Â¾” square to get it to fit my panel size. That means the half-square triangles finish at 1Â¾” square and the center bow-tie block finishes at 5Â¼” square. Good thing I like the challenge of quilt math!

Here are the front and back panels side by side:

Since this Junior Billie Bag is being madefor a friend, incorporating the Friendship Star block is a meaningful addition.Thank you, Thelma and Carrie, for the inspiration!

Posted in Billie Bag, bowties, Junior Billie Bag, tote bags, update, windmill block | 4 Comments

It’s a Winner!

by Dawn Posted on September 25, 2017

I got a phone call last night from one of the organizers of Northwest Quilting Expo (coming up later this week in Portland, Oregon) that my quilt Where It’s @ won a second place ribbon. I am thrilled!

If I remember the rest of the phone call correctly (I was a bit dazed), winners will be announced Thursday at 1:30 pm at the quilt show. That was the day I was planning to visit the show with my quilt group, the Quisters, so the timing is perfect.

I started this quilt in July 2016 in a class with Karla Alexander of Saginaw Street Quilts and finished it late last year. The name of her quilt pattern isRewind. Karlee Sandell of sewinspired2day.com quilted it for me.

Quilters who enter their creations at Northwest Quilting Expocan opt to have their quilts judged. Ichoseto have mine judged, as I’m always interested in whatthe expertshave to say, hopingI can learn from their remarks.

In 2011 I won a ribbon in a non-juried show. Here’s a look at that quilt:

The venue was Quilts in Bloom, a small quilt show held at the Oregon Garden in Silverton, Oregon.Much to my surprise and delight, this quilt won the viewer’s choice award for Best Traditional Quilt. I’msure that the beautiful custom quilting by Melissa Hoffman contributed to that award. (You can see other examples of Melissa’sbeautiful work on her Instagram page, fiddlestitches.)

This quilt is very special to me.It was made from my own pattern 4-Patch Wonder, publishedin 2010. I originally called the quilt Carmen, after the name of the fabric line from Timeless Treasures, changing it later toMidnight in the Garden. I don’t have it anymore but it’sstill in the family. I gave it as a gift to my twin sister Diane as a 60th birthday present. It’s on display in her home in Georgiaand I get to enjoy it on my annual visits.

The Northwest Quilting Expo runs Thursday-Saturday, Sept. 28-30, at Portland Expo Center, 2060 N. Marine Drive. Maybe I will see you there!

Posted in 4-Patch Wonder, faux-kaleido quilts, kaleidoscope quilts, Northwest Quilting Expo, Quisters (Quilt Sisters), update, wonky Greek key | 13 Comments

Junior Billie Bag #3

by Dawn Posted on September 11, 2017

My third Junior Billie Bag of the year is in progress. I’m teaching a class at the Pine Needle next month and need to have the individual components of thisquilter’s toteonhand to show mystudents how the bagis constructed.

Here is the first component, one of the front/back panels:

I’m sure you recognize that windmill block. I like it so much I made a quilt out of it earlier this year and also put it on my most recentJunior Billie Bag.

This JBB isabirthday present for one of the friends in my small quilt groupknown as the Quisters (a mashup ofQuilt Sisters). She knows I’m making her a quilter’s toteand she doesn’t read my blog so I think I’m safe in posting progress pictures.

You can guess what her favorite color is.I don’t have a huge stash of purple fabricsbut I do have an amplearray. These are the onespulledfor consideration:

My friend’s Junior Billie Bagwill have somewhere in the neighborhood of 20 pockets soan abundance of fabric choices is a good thing. One thing I knew right away: that striped fabric, cut on the bias,would be perfectfor the binding.

Guess what happened right after I took that photo.Coco jumped up on the ironing board to see what I was up to. It seems she approvesof my selection:

Posted in Billie Bag, cats, Junior Billie Bag, Quisters (Quilt Sisters), update | 2 Comments

Mini Mod Tiles — Quilted!

by Dawn Posted on September 6, 2017

Isn’t that a lovely sight? You’re looking at a detail of the beautiful custom quilting by Karlee Sandell of SewInspired2Day.com. The quilt is Mini Mod Tiles, made using Sew Kind of Wonderful‘s free pattern and the smaller of the two Quick Curve Rulers.

The mini quilt measured 36″ square when I handed it over to Karlee. After quilting it measures 34Â½” square. Here’s a look at the entire quilt:

I don’t like my quilts too densely quilted. This is exactly the look I was going for. I especially like the contrast between the quilted grid in the background and the curves in the aqua and yellow floral print.

Here’s a look at the back:

Regular readers know that I almost always make pieced backs on my quilts using multiple fabrics. This quilt was so small that I opted to use one solid piece — a bright yellow with white dots. I love the wholecloth quilt effect.

Did you happen to notice the color of the carpet in the last two photos? It’s the same carpet. The photos were taken seconds apart from the same angle. I’m at a loss to describe the difference in color. Could the colors in the quilt cause the light to be reflected so differently?

Posted in QCR Mini, Quick Curve Ruler, update | 12 Comments

Pineapples, Birds, and Clouds, Oh My!

by Dawn Posted on September 2, 2017

Just back from the longarm quilter: this baby quilt usingKarin Hellaby’s method of making pineapple blocks:

LongarmerSherry Wadley and I decided a fluffycloud motif would be theperfect match for the focus fabric, a delightful print featuringparasol-toting birdies.Here’s a better look at the quilting and one of those fussycut birdies in the sashing strips:

For the back I used leftover strips of fabricsewn together randomly, with angled seams for added interest:

After trimming the quilt measures 45Â½” square.

The next big decision:what color to usefor the binding. I’m leaning toward a medium blue, the same color as the birdies, but I’m open to suggestions.

Posted in baby quilt, pineapple quilt block, update | 6 Comments

Big Block Star, Take Two

by Dawn Posted on August 26, 2017

Here’s my second Big Block Star, made using Victoria Findlay Wolfe’s pattern of the same name and herlarge diamond ruler:

Don’t you love that bold beautifulprint? It’s from the “Black, White & Currant 5″ line by Color Principle for Henry Glass Fabrics. I bought a few pieces from the line a couple of years ago.I find it hard to resistJacobean floral prints and I rarely see themprinted on a true redbackground.

I don’t have enough of the Jacobean print to make three more Big Block Stars — each star finishes at41″ square — but I do have enoughto play aroundwith 4-Patch Wonder blocks (my name for faux-kaleidoscope blocks made from four identical patches).Here’s atestblock that measures 8” square:

Do I have a plan for this quilt? Not yet. I could keep it simple, surrounding my Big Block Star with onewide border, perhaps using4-Patch Wonder blocks as cornerstones, or I could surround the entire Big Block Star withfaux-kaleido blocks. No need to decide now. I’ll sleep on it.

And what of Big Block Star, Take One? After not looking atitfor a few days, I have cometo really like it.Comments from readerswho saw my blog post about itor saw it on my Instagram havegiven me a fresh perspective.

Posted in 4-Patch Wonder, faux-kaleido quilts, kaleidoscope quilts, update | 4 Comments

Hit and Miss

by Dawn Posted on August 21, 2017

Perhaps you think I meant to say “hit or miss.” Oh no. My latest foray in quiltmaking was both a hit and a miss.

Ever since buying Victoria Findlay Wolfe’s Large Diamond acrylic ruler and Big Block Star pattern a few months ago, I’ve been wanting to try them out.

I had the perfect fabric in mind: a Kaffe Fassett print featuring lily pads and lotus blossoms:

I love the kaleidoscopic effect created by using fabric repeats. Part of the fun of making kaleido blocks is that you don’t know what the design will look like until the block is fully assembled.

Victoria’s Big Block Star pattern is composed of four star blocks and finishes at 82″ square. I decided to make one star block finishing at 41″ square. From eight repeats of fabric I carefully cut out the diamonds that form the star and sewed the first two together with the center triangle:

Uh-oh. Do you see what I see? I don’t see lily pads and lotus blossoms. I see an animal face with two big . . . sad . . . bloodshot eyes.

I told myself it was just an illusion. I told myself it would look totally different with two more blocks added.

Well, here they are:

Now I see two faces . . . and now they look like owls. Very sad owls.

What to do??

I already had the remaining pieces cut out so I decided to finish the block, hoping that the completed big star would look fine:

Now if I try really hard, I can see that the lily pads form a circle inside the star and there’s even a pleasing starburst shape in the very center of the block.But I can’t escape the feeling that four very sad owls are looking back at me.

Am I in despair? Curiously, no. I consider this experience both a hit and a miss. The design and ruler are definitely on the “hit” side. The block went together quickly because the pieces are all large, and I actually enjoyed sewing all of those Y seams.

The “miss” part of the equation is related to where I placed the ruler when cutting my first diamond. Placing the ruler in a different part of the fabric repeat would have resulted in a completely different look, one I probably would have been happy with.

I’m going to try again. With a different piece of fabric. One with no lily pads.

Posted in kaleidoscope quilts, update | 10 Comments

First Light Designs

Mini Mod Tiles: A Double Finish

Northwest Quilting Expo 2017: Reach for the Stars

Bonus Binding

Back to the Billie Bag

It’s a Winner!

Junior Billie Bag #3

Mini Mod Tiles — Quilted!

Pineapples, Birds, and Clouds, Oh My!

Big Block Star, Take Two

Hit and Miss

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