New Horizons Quilt Sew Along Week 1: Pick Fabric

The New Horizons quilt along includes lots of extra instruction and tips in sewing this fat quarter friendly modern throw quilt. suzyquilts.com #quilt #modernquilt

Welcome to the New Horizons quilt sew along!! (#NewHorizonsQuiltSA on Instagram)! Click here to get your New Horizons quilt pattern and scroll to the bottom of this post for the Week 1 prize details. It's not too late to grab a New Horizons quilt kit. Click here! 

If you are new to SQ sew alongs, check out the Sew Along tab to read up on what we've done in the past. Making a quilt in real time with the group is a lot of fun, but if the timing doesn't work out, you can read the posts and follow along at your own pace. These sew along posts will always be here for you.

New Horizons Sew Along Main Points

  • Who: There is no official sign-up for this sew along, but lots of different ways to participate. Read below for more details.
  • What: We will make a throw New Horizons quilt. You can purchase the PDF pattern here.
  • Where: Everything is online. Sew along updates will be posted on this blog, Instagram and in the Suzy Quilts Patterns Facebook group.
  • When: June 30 - August 10 2021 (that's 6 weeks)
  • Why: Added pattern sewing tips and instructions, creative inspiration, community enthusiasm, plus prizes! Follow along with the hashtag (#NewHorizonsQuiltSA) on Instagram and see what hundreds of other quilters are making. 

What Does a SQ Sew Along Look Like?

If you participated in our other community sew alongs, this process will look very similar. In a nutshell, a SQ sew along is when a group of the coolest and most talented people in the world get together virtually (a.k.a. online) and sew the same pattern over a set amount of time. We have weekly "assignments" and post our progress online for everyone to see!

In the end you will have a finished New Horizons throw quilt. Yes, you can make whatever size you want, but this timeline will be assuming you're making the throw size.

The New Horizons quilt along includes lots of extra instruction and tips in sewing this fat quarter friendly modern throw quilt. suzyquilts.com #quilt #modernquilt

The New Horizons Sew Along Includes:

  • Prizes! Every week by posting your progress to Instagram and using #NewHorizonsQuiltSA you will be entered into that week's giveaway. Each week is sponsored by an amazing company, to award one lucky person a free prize! You must have a public Instagram profile to participate. 
  • Skill sharing. The great thing about sharing knowledge is that you can gather everyone's opinions and then form your own! I bet we'll all come out on the other side with new skills.
  • Support. My fellow sewers, this sewing community is here for you! Here’s what support for this sew along will include:
  1. Blog posts explaining your "homework assignment" and any helpful tips. A new post will go live every Tuesday afternoon around 4:00pm Central (SQ HQ is in Chicago...so that time zone).
  2. A weekly newsletter will go out the following Saturday morning reminding you about the week's prompt. If you're not already signed up for the SQ newsletter, sign up here!
  3. A Facebook group for any and all questions and for posting progress pics. I loooove hanging out in the Suzy Quilts Patterns FB group. The group dynamic is positive, uplifting, helpful, and I am always learning from the other members.

    This group will remain a forum for all SQ patterns, but during the New Horizons Sew Along it will be a great place for questions about the pattern and sew along specifics. Laura will also be posting videos and Live Q&A sessions in both the FB group and on Instagram.
  4. Live video events on Instagram and (sometimes) Facebook. These will be most Wednesdays at 7:30pm CST for the duration of the sew along.
The New Horizons quilt along includes lots of extra instruction and tips in sewing this fat quarter friendly modern throw quilt. suzyquilts.com #quilt #modernquilt

New Horizons Sew Along Schedule

  • Week 1 - June 30: Pick fabric and gather supplies
  • Week 2 - July 7: Cut fabric
  • Week 3 - July 14: Make HST and stitch-and-flip blocks
  • Week 4 - July 21: Assemble blocks
  • Week 5 - July 28: Assemble rows
  • Week 6 - August 4: Sew rows together and trim the finished quilt top

How to Participate

By signing up for the Suzy Quilts newsletter you will get updates on the sew along. After that, your level of involvement is completely up to you.

Trending patterns!

Sponsors & Prizes

Each week we will go into more detail about these prizes and our wonderful sponsors, but here's a taste of what to look forward to! And don't forget that the only way to enter to win a prize is to use #NewHorizonsQuiltSA on Instagram AND have a public profile. If you only have a private profile, you can create a public one just for this sew along and then delete it afterwards.

Even though the sew along doesn't officially start until June 30, picking fabric and possibly ordering fabric can take some time. So Week 1 will unofficially start now through July 6. Feel free to start posting your fabric pulls to Instagram using #NewHorizonsQuiltSA!

The New Horizons quilt along includes lots of extra instruction and tips in sewing this fat quarter friendly modern throw quilt. suzyquilts.com #quilt #modernquilt

Welcome to Week 1: Pick Fabric and Gather Supplies

Hooray for pretty fabric! If you would like to take the guesswork out of picking fabric, grab a kit! The original New Horizons kits are still available for a limited time. Click here!

If you are unsure about your fabric-picking skills, I have a blog post that will help you out, 6 Ways to Tackle Your Fear of Wasting Fabric. This post includes practical tips for taking the fear out of fabric. Plus there's an old pregnancy pic of me from 2018. haha!

4 Tips for Picking Fabric

The New Horizons quilt along includes lots of extra instruction and tips in sewing this fat quarter friendly modern throw quilt. suzyquilts.com #quilt #modernquilt

Tip #1: Get inspired!

Surf Pinterest, visit a museum, look at interior design blogs – find color combinations that inspire you! To help on your color journey, the last 3 pages of the New Horizons pattern include color variations.

Remember, you don't need to use 100% of a color variation if you only like 75% of something. For example, if you like the mock-up "Daydreamer" (see above) on page 24, but want a darker background fabric to hide stains better ;), switch one of the darker colors with the current light background and get a similar effect!

The New Horizons quilt along includes lots of extra instruction and tips in sewing this fat quarter friendly modern throw quilt. suzyquilts.com #quilt #modernquilt

Think of those mock-ups as color palettes that can be switched, flipped and substituted based on what you like and the fabric you have on hand. New Horizons is perfect for scraps and pulling from your stash, so let yourself play! I pulled purely from my stash to make this pastel rainbow quilt and I love it!

Below is an example of how I took the color mock-up Fireside and mixed up the fabrics. You get a totally different looking quilt! Which one do you like better?

The New Horizons quilt along includes lots of extra instruction and tips in sewing this fat quarter friendly modern throw quilt. suzyquilts.com #quilt #modernquilt

For More Fabric Inspiration Check Out...

Tip #2: If using a mid-tone background, choose your fabrics thoughtfully.

If using a mid-tone background like the pastel rainbow quilt below, try to find fabrics that fit into one of these three categories:

  1. The fabric is lighter than the background. (ie. light pink)
  2. The fabric is darker than the background. (ie. dark blue)
  3. The fabric highly contrasts with the background. (ie. mid-tone grass green))
The New Horizons quilt along includes lots of extra instruction and tips in sewing this fat quarter friendly modern throw quilt. suzyquilts.com #quilt #modernquilt

Visualizing this is the easiest when you can lay the fabric on top of the background fabric to make sure there is enough contrast between the two.

The New Horizons quilt along includes lots of extra instruction and tips in sewing this fat quarter friendly modern throw quilt. suzyquilts.com #quilt #modernquilt

Tip #3: Don't pre-wash pre-cuts.

The debate on prewashing will forever continue in our quilting community, but unless you are worried about your fabrics bleeding once washed, my advice is to not prewash your pre-cuts. Fabric frays in the wash and you could lose inches on your already small cut of fabric.

Here's some fun reading on prewashing quilting fabric if you would like more info - Should You Prewash Fabric Before Quilting?

Tip #4: Overwhelmed? Divide your fabric into groups.

Does picking 20 fat quarters seem like a daunting task? Don't think of it as 20 coordinating fabrics. Think of it as 5 groups of 4 fabrics. That's how the blocks are made and that will make your selection process feel really manageable.

The New Horizons quilt along includes lots of extra instruction and tips in sewing this fat quarter friendly modern throw quilt. suzyquilts.com #quilt #modernquilt

Once you've make 5 groups of fabric, stand back and see if they look good together! If one fabric is sticking out in a bad way, replace it with a fabric that will look more harmonious. Easy peasy! You totally got this.

The New Horizons quilt along includes lots of extra instruction and tips in sewing this fat quarter friendly modern throw quilt. suzyquilts.com #quilt #modernquilt

My Sew Along New Horizons Fabric

My fabric pull is based on the Desert Song color mock-up in the pattern.

The New Horizons quilt along includes lots of extra instruction and tips in sewing this fat quarter friendly modern throw quilt. suzyquilts.com #quilt #modernquilt
The New Horizons quilt along includes lots of extra instruction and tips in sewing this fat quarter friendly modern throw quilt. suzyquilts.com #quilt #quiltfabric

(From bottom to top in the photo above)

  • Color 1: Quartz Pink | Pure Solids by Art Gallery Fabrics
  • Color 2: Snow Sweet Snow Dots Gingersnap
  • Color 3: Sweet Fig | Pure Solids by Art Gallery Fabrics
  • Color 4: Morning Dew in Rosy | Dear Isla by Hope Johnson
  • Color 5: Creamsicle | Cotton Couture Solids
  • Color 6: Antique | Cotton Couture Solids
  • Color 7: Venus | Cotton Couture Solids
  • Color 8: Sienna Brick | Pure Solids by Art Gallery Fabrics
  • Color 9: Mauve | Cotton Couture Solids
  •  Color 10: Crocus | Cotton Couture Solids
  • Color 11: Lavender | Dashflow Basic by Dear Stella
  • Color 12: Blueberry Zest | Pure Solids by Art Gallery Fabrics
  • Color 13: Cloud | Cotton Couture Solids
  • Color 14: Haze in Rust | Dear Isla by Hope Johnson
  • Color 15: Grapefruit | Pure Solids by Art Gallery Fabrics
  • Color 16: Red Canyon | Broad Stripe Woven
  • Color 17: Terrazzo in Coral | Rainbow Dust by Kate and Kasey
  • Color 18: Cornflower | Cotton Couture Solids
  • Color 19: Cinnamon | Pure Solids by Art Gallery Fabrics
  • Color 20: Blushing | Pure Solids by Art Gallery Fabrics
  • Background: Nimbus | Dobby Stitch Woven

Gather Supplies

These supplies are very basic and, if you participated in the Voyage sew along will look quite familiar – because they're exactly the same!

This modern fat quarter quilt pattern is beginner friendly and a great quilt pattern for using scrap fabric – includes limited-color instructions. suzyquilts.com #quiltpattern #modernquilt
This modern fat quarter quilt pattern is beginner friendly and a great quilt pattern for using scrap fabric – includes limited-color instructions. suzyquilts.com #quiltpattern #modernquilt
This modern fat quarter quilt pattern is beginner friendly and a great quilt pattern for using scrap fabric – includes limited-color instructions. suzyquilts.com #quiltpattern #modernquilt

Week 1 Sponsor & Prize

A SQ favorite shop, Fabric Stork, is giving away a FULL throw New Horizons quilt kit! This kit includes not just fabric for a throw quilt top but also backing and binding. Wahoo!

How to Win

  • Post a pic to Instagram. The photo prompt for Instagram this week is to post a picture of your beautiful face with an introduction OR your fabric. Use #NewHorizonsQuiltSA in the caption.
  • You must have a public Instagram profile to participate.
  • Each photo posted is an entry and you can enter as many times as you want in a single week. Once the week is over, those posts do not count in the next week's giveaway. Every week we start fresh.
  • Your photo must be posted between NOW and 1:00 p.m. CST on Tuesday, July 6. The winner will be picked randomly from all qualifying posts and announced at approximately 4:00 p.m. CST on Wednesday, July 7.
  • This prize is open to internationally

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