The Gypsy Wife Quilt

I have been bitten by the Gypsy bug!  And I want you to be bitten, too!

There is a quilt by Jen Kingwell that caught my attention awhile ago, but I didn't have a pattern.  It looked like a lot of fun to make, but did I really need to take on another quilt project?  I already have more completed quilts and more quilts-in-progress than any one person should have!  But then, I saw the pattern at retreat and Nancy just flaunted it at me the whole time.  Who could resist?  

So, we found out that Jen Kingwell is now a designer for Moda Fabrics.  And at Houston Quilt Market last fall, we met her and loved looking at her samples and designs.  Below is the Gypsy Wife Quilt covering a table.

And both Debbie and I agreed that her fabric designs (below) were something we really liked, so it has been ordered for Bear Patch and is supposed to be released in April.  Keeping my fingers crossed that we will get an early shipment.

Gardenvale by Jen Kingwell for Moda

With her connection through Moda, her patterns are more readily available and less expensive without shipping from Australia.  You can call Bear Patch (651-429-1039) to order your own pattern.  Here's a picture of the entire quilt, not the designer's original quilt but made by someone else and posted on Flickr with other gypsy quilt pictures.

So, I have a plan.  Well, actually, I am following a plan made by someone else.  On the Factotum of Arts blog there is a schedule to make all of the blocks over a year's time.  I think I can do this!  How about you?!  We can stay in contact and share pictures back and forth via email and our blog.  It's easy to hop on the Gypsy bus because the first month's task is to pick fabric.  And the fabric I picked is not a complete picture of what I want to use, but it's enough to get me going.  And gives me a good excuse to both shop my own stash as well as pick up new goodies as they come to Bear Patch!  I'll take a picture of my fabric selection and put it here for you to see.  And maybe take some inspiration to start your own!

If you visit the Factotum of Arts blog, you can even print out the schedule for the year.  For February, the task is to make the blocks below:

February blocks

I have them up on the design wall so I can see if the colors are what I want and where I want.  There is one large block, and I even found a "P" (for Pam!) to put in the center to begin the process.  Then 6 small pinwheel blocks, with borders added to 4 of them.  So far, the directions have been good and the process painless.  And the month isn't even done yet!  Next month will be another large block and 6 different small ones.  Easy!

Design Delight!

We would like to give you a sneak peek into the background of a group of fabrics we fell in love with!  This was just about the only group of fabric that we said "We'll take it all" instead of narrowing 40 bolts down to 20, a more reasonable number to purchase and stock in the store.

This is a new designer name for Moda.  Moda has a whole bunch of creative people contracted to come up with new designs.  They range from people who actually studied and worked in the field of design, to others who are self-taught with success.  The designers come up with the sketches and artwork, work out a plan with the company, and then Moda works magic to turn it into fabric.

The picture below shows a portion of a group called Gardenvale by Jen Kingwell.  Click on the link to learn more about her.

Below are some examples of her style of quilting--a lot of color and design all wrapped up into a beautiful quilt.

 She is a hand quilter and this closeup shows how she quilts and embellishes at once.  Looks pretty good!  Makes me interested in the trend towards "big stitch" quilting.  Enough that we bought some needles and thread and we will give it a try!  If it is a success, you might even see a chance to learn and join the hand quilters' world!