Hello friends, 

Welcome to the 2025 FWSG sew along! I'm so happy each and every one of you are here—739 and counting as I write this! Together, we are a MIGHTY free-wheeling force!

This week is about prep and planning. Gather your supplies, including fabric and pattern. It's okay to use that copy of the pattern you bought 5 years ago (if you can find it!) or pull that FWSG WIP out from the bottom of the closet to finish. It's all good!

 

To win our bundle of Week 1 prizes (scroll all the way down 👇🏻 to see these and our pre-SAL winner!):

 

1. Post a photo of your “fabric pull” on Instagram by midnight October 5 (ET) with hashtag #FWSGSAL25, and 

 

2. Comment on the official week 1 post on @dsquilts feed (below). When you post your fabric pull, take a moment to introduce yourself – it's a great way to connect with all the like-minded souls around the world (Germany, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, USA, France, UK, ??) who are sharing the sew along experience with you!

Wendy, Amy, and I will be talking about fabric choices and who knows what else in a LIVE Zoom next week! Got any questions? Join us Wednesday Oct 8 at 6 pm ET (4 MT) with the link below!
 
Join Zoom Meeting here.

If you don't already have a copy of the pattern, get one! The Free-Wheeling Single Girl pattern and optional acrylic template sets are available across the pond from The Next Stitch, in Canada from Fabric Spark, and stateside from DSQ or Sewtopia. 

 

The pattern has lots of essential prep info, cutting layouts, time-saving tips, as well as all the step-by-step info. Invest the time now—a quick front-to-back read-through right off the bat will give you an overview and pave the way for a smooth roll out. For instance, all my patterns are written for four sizes, and the tip in the “Prepare” section will make things easier for you!

When I want to get the wheels going, sitting at my desk “working” on it is usually counterproductive. The most effective way for me to start a new project is to get out of my routine and make time for the things that inspire me—a walk in nature, a visit to the flea market, browsing art or vintage quilt books (Roderick Kiercofe’s Unconventional & Unexpected is great for unusual color combos, or any of the Encyclopedias of Inspiration from Uppercase), or thumbing through magazines. I take snap shots to collect palettes that I like—a fashion ad with unusual color combos, colorful vintage packaging, sometimes even the logos on trucks—to use later as a guide for pulling from my stash. Stay open, and pay attention to what excites you! 

 

There are literally thousands of Free-Wheeling Single Girl variations out there on social media, and taking a brief scroll can yield gold for using the pattern in a way you may not have considered. There are inventive ideas for layouts, clever use of prints for the background, and gorgeous color combinations from bold, busy, soft or sophisticated. Have your sketchbook at hand, jot down ideas, but don't overdo looking at other's work. Too much time on social media tends to sap my creative mojo, so keep it minimal and trust your own ideas (I'll tell the story of the phrase above in our Zoom on October 8)! 

There are many ways of going about choosing fabrics, but foremost remember there are no wrong options! Make the quilt you want to make, the way you want to make it! 

 

 

Establishing an intention for a project can supply a set of parameters for your choices. What size are you making? Does that limit your options for fabric choices if working from your stash? Making a quilt to gift? Consider the palette of the recipient's decor, or ask for a piece of personal clothing to incorporate, and work the other fabrics around that. Or maybe you want to challenge yourself to work with a palette that's different from your regular go-to choices. Want to bust out of your habitual colors? Swap fabrics with a friend who's sewing along. 

 

In any creative endeavor, limitations are your friends. When I teach, I often mention a TED talk I saw by Barry Schwartz, who wrote The Paradox of Choice, Why More is Less. Sometimes, the more options we have, the more we deliberate over those options and in the process we raise the stakes and our expectations. That combo can be a joy killer! Setting limitations can come naturally from your intentions (above) or they can be arbitrary parameters, like tossing a scrap of all your fabric options in a paper bag and blindly pulling three to five to create a palette. It's surprising how freeing this simple exercise can be. Chances are, all your options will “go” together anyway; you're just employing a little spin on the wheel of fortune to help make the final selection!

 

Not every project warrants heavy decision making of course. FWSG is a universally appealing design – straightforward and graphic, and it will happily adapt to whatever fabrics you want to work with. Below is my co-host Wendy's fabric pull—some lovely (if I say so myself) Pretty Things prints, which she's paired with Kona Cotton in baby blue for the ground.

The background to ring ratio of FWSG makes it an excellent scrap buster pattern. Combine scraps of every color, value, and scale for the rings – if set against a highly contrasting solid ground, the grid of rings will project a united overall form. The greater the contrast (such as on a cream ground), the more varied your ring fabrics can be in value or color, and still create cohesive rings.

 

To create movement in your rings, mix in fabrics that contrast with your other ring fabrics, or use directional stripes or prints. I like to add these pops of a complimentary color or dark/light value so they appear random from ring to ring, but I’ve seen some killer variations with identical ombre- or rainbow-pieced rings. Mixing the background fabric into the rings creates an interesting dashed-line ring!

 

Reverse It
Think about using the Ring Template to make 4-piece rings instead of improvising them (though once you get the hang of that, it’s very fun and fast). I've seen some great options with pieced grounds and solid rings, or a combination. 

 

Time Saver
I have a fun cheater coming out next year that I’m super excited about, and if I get enough sample yardage for the small amount of blocks (being realistic here) I’ll manage to get done, I’m using the patchwork-y cheater for the ground with solid rings (drawing below)! Simple for the win! You could use this approach with a single fabric for the ground. Pair solid rings with a bold stripe for the ground and playing with the orientation of the stripe for inner and outer rings. The sky's the limit!

Don't forget you can download the FWSG  coloring sheet to help you play, experiment, and plan your ideas!

Just for SIGNING UP (and posting as directed in our welcome email), Mandy M, aka @rosewoodacresplus3 won our SUPER pre-sal prize: A Ruby + Bee Swatch Set from Windham Fabrics, and a DSQ Free-Wheeling Single Girl acrylic template set and pattern from yours truly! I coordinate most of my print collections with R+B solids—the palette is fresh and deep! A swatch set is ideal if you order your fabrics online, and perfect for choosing prints from your stash or your fave shop. Congrats Mandy! 

We have a delicious lineup of prizes for Week 1! To be eligible to win, follow the prompts at the top of this email. 👆🏻 Here's what our generous sponsors have provided:

 

• A copy of QuiltFolk's special QuiltFolk Cats, with a foreword penned (okay, dictated) by my own furry companions, George and Eliot. Like their quarterly magazine, QuiltFolk Cats is beautifully printed, and ad-free. This special edition is 124 pages of pure cattitude, featuring stories from quilters whose lives—and creative practices—are delightfully entangled with cats. You’ll meet artists inspired by their feline companions, quilters who love fostering kittens as much as they love sewing, and perhaps even a few internet-famous cats. It’s a celebration of quilts, creativity, and the irresistible cat charm woven into it all.

 

• A copy of Volume N: Notions! I am very picky about the books and magazines I bring into my home, as I seem to have less time for the kind of unhurried perusal of printed matter I always loved and counted on for inspiration. The Encylopedia of Inspiration series by Janine Vangool (of Uppercase Magazine) is a very welcome addition to my library! Volume N: Notions celebrates the remarkable, practical and nostalgic tools and accessories of sewing. With 448 pages of sewing stories and miscellany from textile artists, fabric designers, quilt pattern makers, quilt shop owners, haberdashers, inventors and entrepreneurs, this is an essential addition to your library!

 

• A fat quarter bundle of beautiful Colorwash by Carrie Bloomstein, dontated by our friends at XLN Fabrics! Thanks guys! 

We are SO appreciative of your participation in this year's Free-Wheeling Single Girl sew along. We know you have a lot on your plates, and loads of options for your crafting time. Thank you for choosing to spend some time with me, Amy, and Wendy!