Thrive Quilt Sew Along: Week 1: Pick Your Fabric

The Thrive quilt along includes lots of extra instruction over a 6 week period of time in sewing the fat quarter friendly throw-sized Thrive quilt. suzyquilts.com #quiltalong

Welcome to the Thrive quilt sew along!! (#ThriveQuiltSA on Instagram)! Click here to get your Thrive quilt pattern and scroll to the bottom of this post for this week's prize details. 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. 🙂

What Does a Suzy Quilts Sew Along Look Like?

  • What is a sew along? A sew along is when a group of people (you) get together virtually (a.k.a. online) and sew the same pattern (Thrive) over a set amount of time. The really exciting thing about a sew along is that with a potentially tricky sewing pattern (this one includes setting triangles with bias edges), nobody has to muddle through alone.

    There will be lots of support via InstagramFacebook and through this very blog (click the sew along drop down tab to always see the latest post).
  • How do I join the sew along? There's no official sign-up and technically the only thing you have to do to participate is make a Thrive quilt. Your level of involvement is completely up to you; however, there are some pretty sweet prizes to be won...
  • Sew along perks!
  1. Prizes! Every week, by posting your progress to Instagram and using #ThriveQuiltSA, you will be entered into that week's giveaway. Each week is sponsored by an amazing company, hand picked by me, to award one lucky person a free prize. See below for this week's rules and photo prompt.
  2. Support. This includes a weekly blog post explaining what we plan to accomplish, helpful tips, and what I’m working on. A new post will go live every Wednesday morning.
  3. A weekly newsletter will go out the following Saturday morning reminding you about that week's prompt. If you're not already signed up for the SQ newsletter, sign up here! And finally, the Suzy Quilts Patterns Facebook group is available for questions that we can answer as a team or I can answer myself. I will also be posting videos and Live Q&A sessions in both the FB group and on Instagram.
  • Can I miss some weeks and still participate? Yes! Every week we start fresh with prizes, so even if you miss a couple weeks, you're still very much in the game. To win the final prize (TBA), you must show a photo of a finished throw or larger Thrive quilt top. Prize details and restrictions will be published in each week's blog post.
  • When is the sew along? The official beginning is Wednesday, July 1, 2020.
The Thrive quilt along includes lots of extra instruction, over 6 weeks, in sewing the fat quarter friendly throw-sized Thrive quilt. suzyquilts.com #quilt

Veeeery Optional Meditations and Thrive Challenges

THRIVE, verb: 1. to grow vigorously 2. to progress toward a goal despite circumstances⁣⁣

As I mentioned in the digital pattern, Thrive is the second design in a four-part series that represents the four seasons of a year as well as the changing seasons of our lives. Since meditation and awareness have become important parts of my life, I like to think of ways to incorporate them into my everyday activities. 

During the Grow sew along I included some optional meditation prompts. In my own personal effort to thrive, I decided to add some actionable steps to my meditation practice. I want to intentionally take time to meditate AND take time to read books that challenge me. I want to live in awareness AND donate to causes that matter. I need to relax through sewing pretty quilts AND work to make my community more inclusive and empathetic. 

In a nutshell, I would like to grow with you and thrive with you and SEW WITH YOU! So, during this sew along I'll be personally adding some practical challenges to the meditation prompts and just in case you want to do any of them with me, I'll put them in the schedule below.  

Thrive Sew Along Weekly Schedule

  • Week 1, July 1: Task: Pick fabric, gather supplies, and choose your pattern layout (if different from the original)
    Meditation: What is your intention for this time? To learn? To relax? To work through some anxious energy? Sit for a moment and set a clear intention. This can change day to day!
    Thrive Challenge: Support a local business in your area, especially if it's one that is struggling due to COVID-19.
  • Week 2, July 8: Task: Cut all pieces (Fig. 1-3)
    Meditation: Hold some of your fabric in your hands, close your eyes, and feel its weight and texture. What do you love about fabric?
    Thrive Challenge: Check in on a neighbor or friend. These are the people woven into your life. Make sure that the weft and warp of your community is thriving. 
  • Week 3, July 15: Task: Sew 21 blocks (Fig. 4-8)
    Meditation: Before turning on your iron or sewing machine, pause for a minute to close your eyes and take some deep breaths. Listen to your body’s natural rhythm. Simply be in this moment.
    Thrive Challenge: Check in on yourself. If you need help or encouragement, don't be afraid to let someone know.
  • Week 4, July 22: Task: Sew 20 blocks
    Meditation: Close your eyes. Let your shoulders relax. How are you currently thriving? Remember, no judgement. 😉
    Thrive Challenge: Move that body! Stretch, dance, walk, drop and do a few push ups – create some energy with your body.  
  • Week 5, July 29: Task: Sew all blocks into rows (Fig. 9-12)
    Meditation: Sit by your sewing machine. Breathe in with the count of one and out with the count of two. After counting to ten, start again. Do this a few times or until you feel relaxed. Think about how grateful you are for your sewing machine. What a blessing it is!
    Thrive Challenge: Give. Give a donation online or some food to a neighbor or some time to a person who needs support. Write down a specific way you will give this week.
  • Week 6, August 5: Task: Sew rows together into a quilt top (Fig. 12-15)
    Meditation: After taking some breaths and feeling at ease, lift your heart up and picture warm sunshine streaming onto your face. Enjoy this sense of warmth and lightness. Enjoy the feeling of being happy in your accomplishments!
    Thrive Challenge: Commit to continuing these challenges. Write reminders and schedule them on your calendar.
The Thrive quilt along includes lots of extra instruction, over 6 weeks, in sewing the fat quarter friendly throw-sized Thrive quilt. suzyquilts.com #quilt

My Thrive Fabric

  • Colors 1-9: Scraps from my stash. I think they include: Cotton Couture Solid Aubergine, Alma She in Lilac, Cotton Couture Solid Antique, Add It Up Lavender, Warp & Weft Cross Weave in Lavender, Calico Days Lavender, Cotton Couture Solid Dusty Rose, Alma Butterflies Lavender, Kaffe Fassett Shot Cotton in Mushroom
  • Color 10: Kaufman Chambray Dots Burgundy
  • Background: Art Gallery Fabric PURE Solid Light Gray

Welcome to Week 1: Let's Pick Our Fabric!

Hooray for pretty fabric! My guess is that when it comes to picking fabric, you fall on one end of the pleasure spectrum. Sifting through fabric and planning a quilt brings you immense pleasure OR the whole deciding process makes you sweaty and you wish someone else would just do it for you. Quilt planning is a polarizing point!

If you fall into the second category, 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!

Pages 16-18 of the Thrive 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 block alteration design "Super Bloom" on page 18, but bright coral is not your color, substitute a different color and get a similar effect!

Have FUN with Fat Quarters!

Now is the time to let your freak flag fly! Use all the crazy prints, patterns, and colors! The Thrive pattern is a twist on the classic chevron motif, so there aren't a lot of color theory rules to keep you contained.

You don't need to worry too much about composition or balance. Just go for it!! See more Thrive quilt pics in this blog post!

Thrive is a fat-quarter friendly modern quilt pattern using Liberty of London fabric. This instant PDF download comes in king, queen/full, twin, throw and baby quilt sizes. suzyquilts.com

See how well busy prints work in this pattern? You can actually purchase this exact kit at DuckaDilly.

In this sew along I pulled fabric from my stash. Apparently I hoard pretty purples because daaaaang this pile of fabric is scrummy yummm!

The Thrive quilt along includes lots of extra instruction, over 6 weeks, in sewing the fat quarter friendly throw-sized Thrive quilt. suzyquilts.com #purplequilt

Extra Sewing Supplies

The reason I like these extra notions is because when sewing lots of quilt blocks, it's nice to sew a little, press a little, then get back to sewing. If you have a pressing station set up right next to your sewing machine, you don't have to go anywhere to do it! Your Fitbit won't like you, but you'll probably have a better time.

The Week 1 Prize

The online fabric shop, Fabric Stork is sponsoring our first week of the Thrive sew along! If picked as the winner you will get a FREE quilt kit, including backing and binding! The exact kit is pictured below. This kit typically retails for $122.50.

The Thrive quilt along includes lots of extra instruction, over 6 weeks, in sewing the fat quarter friendly throw-sized Thrive quilt. suzyquilts.com #purplequilt

Also, from July 1-7, Lamb and Loom fabric shop is offering 15% off all fabric with the coupon code thrivequiltsa.

How to Win

  • Post a pic to Instagram. The photo prompt for Instagram this week is to post a picture of either your fabric and/or mockup OR an introduction photo telling us about yourself. Use #ThriveQuiltSA 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 12:00 a.m. CT on Wednesday, July 1, 2020 and 1:00 p.m. CT on Tuesday, July 7, 2020. 
  • This prize is open internationally.
  • The winner will be picked randomly from all qualifying posts and announced at approximately 4:00 p.m. CT on Tuesday, July 7, 2020.

25 thoughts on “Thrive Quilt Sew Along: Week 1: Pick Your Fabric

  1. Heather H. says:

    I’m on the fence about buying the Thrive pattern. I like it a lot but I don’t love working on point. The Super Bloom block alteration design you mentioned is intriguing and I’m wondering whether you would share a pic to help me decide whether I need to buy the pattern. Either way, I’m a big fan of your work and this blog! Thank you!

      • Emilie says:

        I just got the pattern and am trying to read up on everything to decide on my fabric, etc! What is the Super Bloom Block Alteration? This looks exactly the same, just different colors? Is it put together differently?

        • Suzy Quilts says:

          It’s put together exactly the same as the pattern shows, but the colors do not coordinate exactly with the colors in the pattern. Specifically, Color 10 is a different fabric for each block, rather than being one fabric. Make sense?

      • Suzy Quilts says:

        Hey Jan, I totally agree that points can be a bother, however, in this pattern I’ve done two things that should help. The first is how we cut the triangles. The instructions illustrate and describe how to cut the triangles so the bias sides are sewn into the rows and the sides on grain create the perimeter of the quilt. This adds stability and helps the quilt remain square. The second thing, which is my favorite part, is that the side-setting triangles are all a little big so once your quilt top is complete you have enough wiggle room to trim and square the top. This pattern was definitely written with a newbie quilter in mind.

  2. Gayle says:

    Excited to start this. Still I decided about fabric choice, so glad we have more time!
    Will be fun to see what others are working on

  3. Annie says:

    I’m making my Thrive as a gift for my sister-in-law, so I was going to keep it under wraps. But now I want to participate in the sew along and be entered to win fun prizes! Decisions, decisions…

  4. Whitney says:

    I want to make the super loom just like you have it in the mock up. Do you have solid colors by name that I could purchase to be exact? I feel like I was able to match most colors to Kona solids except the background. I’m not set on Kona, and would do any solid to make this one.

  5. Barbara says:

    First of all, super excited for this SAL!!!Love how you shared weekly meditations and Thrive Challenges!!!!! Thanks for sharing your creativity with us!!!!

  6. Michelle Mosley says:

    My daughter saw your Thrive pattern on Instagram and forwarded it to me because I’m the quilter and she just loved it! So I just purchased and printed off my pattern and look forward to doing it with the Sew Along.

  7. SYLVIA THOMPSON says:

    I am IN! My first Quilt SAL. Finally got my fabrics selected. not from the many, many, that I ordered online for the Thrive quilt — couldn’t decide about them. Ended up pulling from my stash! My husband said I could make several with all the fabrics I was deciding between (little does he know I could make several hundred! …. for that reason I keep my stash closet doors firmly closed) LOL Can’t wait to get started!

  8. Deb says:

    Just got my pattern! Excited to get started on this! How does this work? Is there a certain time on Wednesdays that the SA vids happen?

  9. Robyn says:

    Hello,
    As a child I was around my grandmothers as they quilted and enjoyed stitching and the great conversation. I miss those days.
    I am home recovering from a surgery and came across this notice of virtual guilt along.
    I’d love to join in!! What are the times? I’ll get some supplies together. Thank you!!

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