Tiny Treasures Club…featuring Tara Lynn Darr’s book…Small Treasures from Scraps

I just wanted to send everyone an email and talk about this new club we are so excited about!!!

I was watching the “Crows” all last week work  gathering fabrics, cutting, stitching and figuring all the details for this club…They tenderly selected every single bolt with loving care…as they raced to the shop to raid it before I do for my SBOW’s…..I want you all to see how sweet the first few treasures are turning out….autumn berriesautumn berriesautumn berriesgirls retreatgirls retreat playdateThese little kits will make awesome weekend projects…you can piece, quilt and bind them and  show them off at work on Monday or your weekly stitching group!!!..I am signing up as well because every quilt in this book is awesome…no duds….My mini wall will be full by the end of this club!      You also will receive 20% off the book when you sign up for the club….All the info to join the club is here on our site…Small Treasures

Designer Mystery Blog Post

Hi…I’m Lisa from Primitive Gatherings…I am so excited to be a part of this mystery event!

Welcome to this 2014DM Quilt 4Designer Mystery Blog Hop Hosted by Fat Quarter Shop.  This Mystery quilt is  made with fabric from Moda Fabrics designed by Edyta Sitar from Laundry Basket Quilts.  The collection is called  Snowbird…and it is so beautiful….you can see it and order it from Fat Quarter Shop at the link at the top, and also visit Edyta’s blog to see her inspiration and post about this beautiful fabric…I wish I could show you my block…but then it wouldn’t be a MYSTERY now would it…but you know it is going to be a gorgeous quilt with this fabric line and 12 different star blocks…that is a recipe for a successful quilt!

snowbird-bundle-200snowbird-batik-200I was invited to design a star block for this mystery quilt.  The quilt consists of 12 star blocks made from this beautiful soft blue color palette…We were also asked to name this star after a STAR in our lives…My star is named Fast Eddie…after my DadEddie Hoefler Photo…I miss him and all the fun we had….growing up and as we got older.  I recently have been going through the family photo album and keepsakes and came across a few things…like this….I found a grade school graduation card…from JUST my Dad…I bet it had a big bill in it too! But the fact that he gave me a card from just him must have been very special to me…as I kept it and I am

Lisa - Graduation Card Side 2

not a “keeper of everything” kind of person.

My Dad was a very exciting person to be around…he was talented musically, he played the accordion, hum-strum(stump fiddle) beer bottle, the harmonica and the spoons…So you can kind of tell this was a make-do kind of guy….My Dad was a Body Mechanic and worked days at the local dealership and evenings to flip cars and resell them…He worked hard and enjoyed life…when he wasn’t working he was playing…He enjoyed saturday evenings out with mom for dinner and then out to the tavern where I’m sure at more than a  few of these outings they were partying to the music playing and  getting everyone to play “something”  including the

Lisa - Graduation Card Side 1

 jug…I could tell my parents had a lot of fun from the photos of their good times…

we also had a “mobile home ” parked year round at a “campground”

Eddie Fishing

 where we did all kinds of year round things from Fishing, (see photo-remember those polaroids?) hunting, snowmobiling…to going to the band every Saturday night…I miss the excitement he brought to everything that was going on…I miss the stories he told…I guess the more I think about it…his “star” shined bright in my life and still does…

Now back to the HOP…If this if the first you have heard of the hop you may want to go and visit the other designers blog posts listed here below…and Don’t for get to go to FQ Shop website, comment to win a $75 Gift Card…and boy that sounds like a great idea…if you want a $75 Primitive Gathering Gift Card…Comment…tell me your Dads name and your best memory…most people won’t probably read this fine print, but if you do I bet you have a good chance claiming the Prize…

March 7th
Sweetwater – http://sweetwater.typepad.com/makelifesweet/
Cotton Way – http://cottonway.blogspot.com/
Sandy Gervais – http://piecesfrommyheart-sgervais.blogspot.com/

March 14th
Minick and Simpson – http://minickandsimpson.blogspot.com/
Vanessa Christenson – http://www.vanessachristenson.com/
Fig Tree and Co. – http://figtreequilts.typepad.com/my_weblog/
Kate Spain – http://katespaindesigns.blogspot.com/

March 21st
Kansas Troubles – http://kansastroublesquilters-lynne.blogspot.com/
Bunny Hill – http://bunnyhillblog.com/
Me and My Sister Designs – http://meandmysisterdesigns.com/blog/
Primitive Gatherings – http://lisabongean.com/

March 28th
Prize Winners announced on the Jolly Jabber

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New things…wool projects, quilts and triangle papers…

Just an update on some new things coming for Spring that I have been working on…some are already on the site to order…some will be within a couple of days…Hope you like them…I know some of you are waiting for the sunflower items I was stitching while on the road…

Vintage Sunflower Table Mat…30″ Kit and pattern is $95….pattern is $12.  We have lots of layouts in this pattern giving you half of the design….now this is a grand table mat…looks nice on a round table as well and a rectangle…or a big center coffee table…Sunflowers are my favorite…so you will be seeing a lot of them to come…(that was a hint)

Vintage Sunflowers/Lisa Bongean

Wild Sunflower Runner/Lisa BongeanWild Sunflower Runner 15×48…again sunflowers what else can I say…This runner is an easy stitch…Kit and pattern $95  Pattern only $10.

Riding the Storm Out…63×82…quilted by Linda Hrcka, so you know what that means, quilting is a-maze-ing…this quilt is fun to stitch…I have decided to start putting the triangle papers in my patterns from this point on…you may pay a little bit more…but no more searching for what I used and we can custom lay them out in the groupings you need to stitch them in…and don’t worry…they were tested and approved by an expert…the Queen Mother Crow…she was very happy with them…and doesn’t it make sense to use them for accurate piecing?  But I do have to warn you…you cannot COPY these as they will not be correct…They have to be directly PRINTED to be spot on from computer to printer…not copied on the glass…so just to warn anyone ahead of time this would cause major headaches as nothing would fit together nicely as they are going to with the originals… Kit & Pattern $155   Pattern w/triangle papers $12.

Riding the Storm Out/Lisa Bongeantriangle paper/lisa bongean

riding the storm out/lisa bongeanTiny Tears/Lisa Bongean…Primitive Gatherings

 

Then there are the little quilts…Tiny Tears…is 15×18 and looks hard but was very easy to stitch, assemble and quilt.  120 blocks total…We have kitted it with 2 sizes of charms…Kit and Pattern w/triangle papers incl. $40  Pattern w/triangle papers $9

Four Dozen…this quilt is 14 1/2 x 17…Now I know some of you are “afraid” of those tiny quilts you see in the our shop/booths….this is the quilt to try your hand at it…I am 95% percent sure you can do this…(I have learned there is always the exceptions…lol)  This is a great gift quilt also…looks a lot more impressive than it is to make.  Kit and pattern w/triangle papers $25  Pattern w/triangle papers $8.

IMG_1114We also have had some inquiries for a kit for Stairway to Heaven…If you are SERIOUS about wanting us to put something together for you…you need to email us with want you wantf or yardages…like 1/2 yds of black…FQ of lights and so on for the golds…then you need to tell us how many you want of each…20?  I know some of you are calling and saying I want to make mine Queen.. I want enough for only 9 blocks…Again…we would appreciate an email with the exact number of colors, yardages and if you want a border too…thanks for your understanding…our e-mail is below: primitivegatheringsquiltshop@yahoo.com

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APQ Quilt Along…

IMG_0642First of all I want to thank all of you for allowing me to take however long I needed to finish this project.  I certainly never want to bow out of my obligations…but this was just not going to happen when it was supposed to….but I did want to finish this quilt because it is so awesome!!!

My last post was on cutting and sorting….Click Here to view that previous post.  img_23011

Now before I start stitching I clean, oil and load a new needle in my machine,IMG_0626 as well as load a bunch of bobbins…Now lets talk a bit about thread choice… Only a few things REALLY bother me…and one of them is too LIGHT of thread used to piece with…I think it is nasty to see those little light stitches holding your patches together….Always use a darker thread…and lower your stitch length.  You should not see your stitching in your patchwork…it should be invisible…I stitch just a bit under the 2 setting.  I am using black thread to stitch this quilt…and if you are using scrappy fabrics with light and darks use a darker tan or my favorite Aurifil 1040 which is like a mocha brown…IMG_0621

Layout your cut patches and stitch in sections…this block is really a nine-patch…IMG_0993

If you noticed I scrapped up my chains and left my backgrounds the same for each block…IMG_0637

Do you notice how I pin my patches? I stick the pin in from the left side pointing in toward my seam but I keep the point right at about the 1/4″ seam line….this allows me to stitch without having to remove the pin…you do not want to hit pins while stitching…especially if you are sewing with your JUKI and hit them while you are stitching at warp speed…You can/could throw off the timing of your machine…

Chain piece when you can…as well as chain press…this is continuing to press one piece right after the other, staggering them just a bit…(no pic 🙁 )IMG_0624

Pressing…I press my seams open a lot, but I did not press anything open except those last two seam when putting the rows together…These seams nicely nested with each other…it was a joy to stitch…not a lot of pinning…IMG_0632

IMG_0638I just loved making block after block of this quilt…it was fun seeing how different they all looked after they were stitched…IMG_1079

Now after spending a lot of time with these blocks it was obvious to me that I needed something to settle them down a bit…I am talking about sashing…the directions call for scrappy sashing….and well like I said I needed something to calm these blocks down a bit and make them work all together and to accomplish that it just needed a simple solid black sashing! It would have been distracting, no place for your eyes to rest, if I used all the prints so I am so happy how the solid looks…IMG_1092

For the cornerstones I decided to put a little gold in the center to repeat my gold in the center of the blocks…IMG_1081

Stitching and pressing the sashing…IMG_1084

When I was all done….I then made another decision…I wanted this quilt to be big! I want it on my bed…king size….so I added 10 1/2″ borders of a new print from my next line of fabric…I had just enough as you know this fabric is not on the bolt yet…It was so close…that it was meant to be!!!IMG_1099

Now look what that border did!!! It added a lot more interest with the sashing separating all the blocks and then from the border and now I have a huge quilt for my bed!  I will show you a picture after it has been quilted but I know a few of you are asking about this black quilt and wanted to know how it turned out…

While I was piecing this quilt it’s name came to me…Stairway to Heaven…

all for now…LB

I know some of you asked if I was going to kit this quilt…the answer is I can’t…I made if from my fabric collection…but we could pull together fabrics  from our reproduction fabrics at the shop….just let us know.

www.primitivegatherings.us

 

changing things up a bit….

I have lost 4 close people in my life in the last 6 months…that is a LOT of people…and one was the worst one to lose….so being who I am and what I am like I decided it is time to do some things that maybe I have never done…or at least in the last 10 years…I am going on retreat…as a student!!! No planning, no shipping…no stressing that I forgot something…just pack up my threads and head off to Sunny Jacksonville FL…I am going to Tea & Stitches with Jan Vaine…isn’t she a pretty lady?shapeimage_2

And look at her new book that has just come out! E&PCover web view 021114We are going to learn lots of crazy stitches…We are doing a block from this fan quilt!!! CoverfanI am really excited….If you are looking to run away like I am maybe there is still room for you too! Click here Retreat …..  I bet you are wondering what else could I be doing…. I signed up for a BOM! I am making this quilt,IMG_2179 designed by Maria from Pinwheels Click Here Pinwheels BOM…when I am home I  start piecing and I do not want to quit…tonight I will piece the first 49 little blocks together that form block 1…They are very putsy and I love it…just me and my sewing machine and no directions to write…free….for a little time once in awhile, a little treat…hope my next block comes soon!!! I also started piecing the MINI…Puddle Jumping…and I am finishing up my post on the APQ quilt along quilt….I will be posting one big post…I hope no one is mad that I didn’t (more like couldn’t) fulfill my obligation at the time I was supposed to…hopefully they will forgive me and I will get another chance.  My quilt is finished and I love it…It is called Stairway to Heaven…

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