Gypsy Wife Sew-A-Long

 I have loved the Gypsy Wife quilt by Jen Kingwell from the moment I first laid eyes on the pattern book at QuiltCon in 2016. I didn't buy it back then, it just looked way too hard, too much piecing, etc. But after the great experience of working through the 100 Blocks in 100 Days sew-a-long for the Tula Pink City Sampler, I couldn't resist when the same group was doing a sew-a-long for Gypsy Wife.

I honestly had an issue I had to research before I could commit to doing this project, the use of the word gypsy was bugging me. I'd heard that it was now considered quite offensive, and I wasn't sure I could type it into my instagram every time I posted about the project. I spent a lot of time reading comments and essays from people in the communities that are usually described by that term. Was I being too knee-jerk liberal, was this an example of PC gone wrong?  Not a surprise, yes and no. There are of course a lot of opinions on the use of the word gypsy. What it came down to was the intention when using the word. In the current-day US, it is generally now considered offensive when used to refer to a specific person. 

I also had to consider different cultural usage of the term, Jen Kingwell is Australian, so I investigated that further, and it got even more complicated. In the way she's using it in the title of this quilt pattern, to me what it means as a descriptive term is: eclectic, bohemian-style. It refers to the riotous use of color and patterned fabrics which a person who traveled all over would end up collecting. It's not intended as derogatory towards the person who's had that experience. It is however, definitely romanticizing that life, which remains somewhat problematic. Honestly, I'd much rather call this something like Bohemian Wife instead but it's not my pattern to re-name. Maybe that's what I'll call my version of it once it's done.

For the block piecing, I'm using a mix-up of several fabric lines that I've had on hand thanks mostly to Massdrop fat quarter bundles. L's Modern Basics by Lecien, Mini-Pearl Bracelets by Lizzy House, and a really random Kaffe Fasset Collective that I think I got from Hancock's of Paducah.

The long width-of-fabric strips that serve as the background of the quilt are going to have to be a whole other selection out of my stash as I don't have long yardage of any of these prints since they're just fat quarters, and I am not going to piece strips. So looks like I'll be adding in yet another level of eclecticism! Which will be good for this quilt I think. Maybe I'll end up doing solids or all black & whites or grey or hand-dyes or even batiks? Haven't made up my mind quite yet on that.

So far the blocks are going together well, the piecing experience I gained from those 100Blocksin100Days has stuck with me.

Here's the first five blocks together, looking pretty bohemian and eclectic so far. I like the variation in the block sizes and types so far.