Tuesday, May 21, 2019

Creating a Quilt Journal

I set up this blog specifically for the Gypsy Wife QAL I hosted this year.  Now that the QAL has come to an end it occurred to me I could use the blog as an online quilting journal.

Since I started quilting about 5 years ago I have tried to keep a record of all my creations, but I have not done a great job of getting them all in one place.  I have a paper journal, IG account dedicated primarily to quilting, and a Google photo album.  The paper journal is great, but I am not great at keeping it updated.  IG and Google photo albums don't tell the whole story about each of the quilts.  So here... here is where I will tell my quilting story.  I think it will be fun!


Tuesday, January 1, 2019

Ringing in a New Year!

Only 5 more sleeps until my 2019 Gypsy Wife QAL begins!  I'm excited so many fellow quilters are interested in this QAL.  I know several people started this quilt in past years and are now eager to bump it to the top of their WIP list for 2019.  I am really looking forward to watching all of these come together.

Yesterday I decided to narrow down my scrappy color palette just a tad...mostly to see if I can actually control my scrappy urges and stick to the plan.  I chose 2 of my very favorite fabrics, one with a light grey background and one with a black background.  Check out my IG feed to see them!

So this pattern can be quite intimidating, that's why breaking it down into small pieces (no pun intended) and sewing along with a group is such a great idea.  Several quilters have hosted Gypsy Wife QAL's in years past and I am not about recreating the wheel.  I am going to include links to two of my favorites so you can read all of their tips and tricks.

Julie Dueck of the Intrepid Thread hosted a BOM a few years ago.  This was when I made my first two Gypsy Wife quilts.  Julie has archived all of the newsletters she created to go along with her BOM.  There is a ton of great information in these newsletters!!  Julie's BOM ran for 12 months while this QAL will run for about 4 months, so the newsletter numbers will not coordinate with my schedule but still great info!  I encourage you to check these out on Julie's blog as we progress through the blocks.

One of my all time favorite QAL hostesses is Angie aka Gnome Angel.  I have not done her Gypsy Wife Quilt Sew-Along, but have done a couple of others with her including Jen Kingwell's Long Time Gone and Tula Pink's 100 Days 100 Blocks.  Angie provides a wealth of information for all of her sew-alongs so I am sure the Gypsy Wife is no exception.  Read all of her preparation information here!

You can also find some interesting information about choosing fabrics and videos from Jen Kingwell on Just Wanna Quilt's 2018 Gigi's Gypsy Wife Sew-Along.  There is no shortage of fantastic ideas about this quilt pattern on the Interwebs.  Google is your QAL friend.  =)

Happy Quilting #2019gypsies !!

Monday, December 3, 2018

Gypsy Wife Quilt-A-Long Kicks Off in January!

A couple of months ago I decided to "host" a Gypsy Wife Quilt-A-Long via Instagram.  I use the term "host" very loosely.  Essentially, I want to make a third Gypsy Wife quilt to keep for my very own and was hoping there were quilters out there who wanted to make it along with me.  It is a fun pattern, but making along with others really ups the fun factor for me, makes it less overwhelming, and most importantly, holds me accountable!

I'm starting the QAL on my birthday.  Like I said, this will be my third version of this amazing quilt and I plan to keep this one for myself.  Jen Kingwell is one of my favorite quilt makers and her patterns are beautiful.  Her scrappy style is right up my ally!. Perfect for my selfish sewing!

I was pleasantly surprised to see the interest on IG for this quilt-a-long, but also in my local quilt guild.  A few folks started the pattern at some undisclosed time in the past and are eager to add it to their finish column.

I plan to utilize this blog space to share tips and pointers as I go along.  The ones I discover as well as those discovered by others who are sewing along with me.

If you purchase your pattern now, all of the errors will be corrected already.  If you've had your pattern for awhile, like I have, you will need to check out the errata on Jen Kingwell's website.

For those of you who plan way more than I do, Angie aka Gnome Angel has a great article she posted last year prior to the sew along she hosted.  She also has a coloring page you can use if that suits your fancy.  As for me, I will just pull from my scrap bins and see what happens.


Gypsy Wife 2019 Quilt-A-Long Schedule

First of all, did I mention we will start on my birthday? 🎉

We will make one block type per week, so some weeks will have more than one block. I have done this as a QAL before and I encourage you to make the filler blocks along the way. We will have a few dedicated weeks for filler blocks as well.

1. Jan 6 - Color Wheel
2. Jan 13 - Pershing
3. Jan 20 - From the Heart
4. Jan 27 - Hope from Hartford
5. Feb 3 - Crazy Anne
6. Feb 10 - Star Block
7. Feb 17 - Indian Hatchet
8. Feb 24 - Puss in the Corner (x2)
9. Mar 3 - Nurses Cross
10. Mar 10 - HST Blocks (x2)
11. Mar 17 - Old Maid Puzzle (x2)
12. Mar 24 - Filler Blocks, Pinwheels (x9)
13. Mar 31 - Filler Blocks, Courthouse Steps (×5)
14. Apr 7 - Filler Blocks, Hourglass (×3)
15. Apr 14 - Filler Blocks, Square in a square (×47) this is why I make these as I go along!!
16. Apr 21 - Strips and construction
17. April 28 - Section construction

Follow along and join in the fun on Instagram!
#2019gypsies #2019gypsywifeQAL @scrappyviolet

Creating a Quilt Journal

I set up this blog specifically for the Gypsy Wife QAL I hosted this year.  Now that the QAL has come to an end it occurred to me I could us...