Mountain Horizon 2.0 - All The Details (and the Cover Quilt)

The completely revised Mountain Horizon 2.0 pattern is out now in both PDF format and as a printed pattern !

This quilt pattern has been a long time coming, so I’m excited to tell you about what’s new, what’s the same…and to show you the stunner of a cover quilt!

The Original Mountain Horizon quilt pattern

Mountain Horizon was my fifth quilt pattern, released all the way back in June 2018. (I can’t believe it’s been seven years!) I was inspired by the way the sun rises and falls over the Blue Ridge Mountains...and that sunny inspiration meant Mountain Horizon was my first pattern to feature curved piecing!

When I wrote the original Mountain Horizon pattern, I was still living in the city and just visiting the mountains. Those mountains already felt like home to me, though, and sewing up each mountain block was a way to bring the mountains back with me...which made me feel a little less homesick for those gorgeous vistas. So this quilt pattern was really personal and meaningful to me, both then and now.

I sewed up the original cover quilt to look like the Blue Ridge Mountains that inspired it. That original design was juried into the 2019 QuiltCon show, and it won second place at the North Carolina State Fair! Both were a true pinch me moment that I'll never forget!

The past seven years have only made me love this pattern more, so I’ve been wanting to refresh this one for a while. I knew this pattern had more to give…and now it’s finally time to share the brand-new Mountain Horizon 2.0 quilt pattern!

What’s new with Mountain Horizon 2.0

When we first started updating Mountain Horizon, we called it a “re-release.” But we ended up packing it with so many new features and changes that it genuinely feels like a completely new pattern!

Let me walk you through some of the most important changes.

TEMPLATES

Hands down, my favorite thing about Mountain Horizon 2.0 is that it now works with our acrylic template set! That makes it our third pattern to use the template set, alongside Retro Blossoms and Shades of Citrus 2.0. (And I’ve got another template-compatible pattern coming this fall!)

Y’all…I just love using acrylic templates! They don’t require any prep, and they make cutting curves faster…and less accident-prone! Our template set has been such a big quality-of-life upgrade for me, so I’m excited to use it with another quilt pattern.

If you don’t have the acrylic template set, that’s totally okay! You don’t have to use it. The Mountain Horizon 2.0 pattern comes with templates, which you can print off (if you have the PDF version) or cut it out of your booklet (if you have the printed version). Either way, I do recommend transferring your paper templates to a studier surface, like vinyl template sheets.

TIP: If you haven’t used templates before (or you just want a refresher) check out my guide to working with templates.

QUILT SIZES

Mountain Horizon 2.0 includes nine quilt sizes…four more than the original pattern! Here’s the full list:

Wall hanging (17” x 34”)
Baby (34” square)
Table runner (17” x 85”)
Lap (51”square)
Throw (51” x 68”)
Large throw (68” square)
Full (85” x 102”)
Queen (102” square)
King (119” square)

Fun fact: The new Mountain Horizon king size is the largest quilt size of any Lo & Behold pattern…ever!

Which reminds me…I wanted to point out that even the original five sizes have changed a bit, and they’re more generously sized in the updated pattern. For example, the new baby size comes out at 34” square (compared to 33” square in the old pattern), and the new king size measures 119” square (compared to 116” previously).

DIFFICULTY LEVEL

Mountain Horizon is still an Intermediate difficulty pattern. That’s because you have to handle bias edges when you assemble the top…and yes, because you have to sew curves.

I don’t shy away from curves in Lo & Behold patterns…and I hope you don’t shy away from sewing them! I know curves can feel intimidating to a lot of quilters, but I promise that anyone can conquer them. Don’t let them scare you! The updated Mountain Horizon pattern gives you room for trimming, making it a very forgiving pattern to try out curved piecing.

I really do believe that anyone can tackle the curves in Mountain Horizon 2.0. But if curves still make you nervous, you can always join our next session of Curve College! It’s packed with everything I know about sewing curves…and it’s a great way to make sure you never worry about a curved seam ever again!

CONSTRUCTION TECHNIQUES

I keep calling this an all-new version of Mountain Horizon, and it really is. Even the blocks are constructed differently now.

The original version used two quarter-circles for the sun unit, but now the pattern uses a half-circle. A half-circle is slightly (just slightly!) more challenging to create…but it means less cutting, less sewing, and less pressing. Plus, the blocks have fewer seams AND you don’t have to worry about lining up those sun seams when sewing up your quilt. (sign me up!)

The updated block construction also gives you an intentional overage, so you have room to square up the block once you’re doing sewing. I think it’s nice that you don’t have to be quite so precise…especially since we’re working with curves and bias edges.

OTHER UPDATES

New construction techniques mean new instructions…including a video tutorial on how to trim the sun units! We’ve also included a block trimming tutorial with THREE different ways to trim the block: using a 12.5” square ruler (my preferred method), a printable template included in the pattern, or a DIY template.

Plus, I’ve learned a lot about pattern writing since 2018, so there were several things that I wanted to add to this 2025 version. All these features are brand-new to Mountain Horizon 2.0:

Separate cutting instructions for yardage and precuts
Cutting diagrams for fat eighths, fat quarters, and quarter-yard cuts
Backing assembly instructions and diagram
Quilting suggestions
Project planner and coloring page
An entire page of resources, including tips for working with templates, my favorite supplies and more
Several more pages of detailed instructions

FABRIC REQUIREMENTS

Here are the new fabric requirements for Mountain Horizon 2.0:

Mountain Horizon 2.0 Cover Quilt - The Blue Ridge Version

Now that I’ve told you all about the new pattern, it’s time to meet the cover quilt! I sewed up a throw size (51” x 68”) in the color-way I’m calling the Blue Ridge version.

FABRICS

I wanted the colors to feel similar to the original cover quilt from 2018, with blues in the “mountain” portion of the blocks that mimic the Blue Ridge Mountains. I kept all the colors soft, so it feels like you’re looking at a sunrise or a sunset.

For this 2.0 version, I wrote the instructions so that you can easily use fat quarters, ¼ yards, or fat eighths to create depth within the colors…slight variations in colors from block to block that feel cohesive but interesting. (You could do this with the original pattern, but I’ve made it much easier now!)

You can see how that turned out in the new cover quilt, with subtly different suns and skies. It feels sparkly and just a smidge more deep and moody. I wanted the tones to feel similar but have more personality and contrast. I'm obsessed with how it's so similar yet different!

I used all Art Galley Fabrics PURE Solids, with a mix of yardage and fat quarters.

For the mountain units, I used yardage in these colors:

Nocturnal
Denim
Aero
Forget-Me-Not

For the sun units, I used fat quarters for the suns themselves:

Empire Yellow
Lemon Tart
Honey
Pampas
Golden Bronze

The horizon and sky is a mix of Snow yardage and these fat quarters:

Snapdragon
Blushing
Ethereal Pink
Snow

Of course, we had to kit this color-way…so you can make your own with the Blue Ridge quilt kit!

BACKING, BINDING, AND QUILTING

I decided to back this quilt with Meadow Sunny Skies by Bonnie Christine (also from Art Gallery Fabrics). The warm colors remind me of the rising sun lighting up wildflowers on a mountainside. I'm a huge fan of Bonnie's florals, so I was excited to use this fabric, I've been hoarding it for a while now!

For the binding, I used Golden Bronze…which I also used for some of the sun units. It almost makes the quilt look like it’s glowing with sunlight! Also since Golden Bronze was the deeper of the yellows, the binding makes it feel more accented and thoughtful.

Now for the quilting…which is definitely one of my favorite things about this quilt! After sewing up the quilt top, I knew I wanted to use the same quilting pattern as the original cover quilt. I reached out to Christina of Sometimes Crafter, who did the longarm quilting on the original 2018 cover quilt. And luckily enough, she was able to fit us in!

She did the same style of gorgeous custom quilting…except this time we used yellow thread instead of cream. As you can see, she did an incredible job. Her quilting makes this quilt really shine!

Side note: We used a 100% polyester batting, which I don't think I've ever used before. It made for a super puffy. texturized quilt that highlights the quilting lines beautifully. I was also super surprised that there weren't any harsh crease lines in the quilt, even after it was folded up in the mail. Normally we have to steam quilts before we photograph them but we didn't do that for this one. There are lots of recycled poly battings out there, so even though I love the breathability of a natural fiber, it did pique my interest with how crease-resistant it is!

The finished quilt looks even better than I imagined it would. It really does feel like the mountain views I love so much.

(And good news: Sometimes Crafter plans to sell the custom quilting block design, so check her website!)

Make your own Mountain Horizon 2.0 Quilt

I couldn’t be happier with how my Mountain Horizon cover quilt turned out…and I hope it inspires you to create your own mountain horizons! You can get a printed booklet or PDF pattern in our shop.

QUILT KITS

We have four Mountain Horizon quilt kits:

Blue Ridge (the cover quilt in this post)

Cascade (a tribute to the mountains of the Pacific Northwest)

Glacier Bay (inspired by my favorite Alaska views)

Miami Sunset (for everyone who likes a warmer climate)

DESIGN YOUR OWN

As usual, you can color the Mountain Horizon 2.0 pattern on PreQuilt, or you can use our free quilt coloring pages.

I’ve always loved the Mountain Horizon pattern, and I’m so excited to see what you do with the new Mountain Horizon 2.0. Make sure you tag us @loandbeholdstitchery and use the hashtag #loandbeholdpatterns so I can see your makes!

Happy sewing!