Month: April 2015

I’m taking over….

(Singing)Last night in Paducah… tonight in Mackinaw City… tomorrow I’ll be miles from here, ain’t nothin for nothin for me…. Sweet gypsy highway, won’t you let me chase my dream, cause she has a sewing machine to take her there and it’s something to see something to see…..Lord she was born with a needle and thread in her hand, livin a life few could understand, sometimes it gets so confusin that I don’t know where I am, but I always know who I am…… I’m the husband of a Moda designer!!!!( Taken and modified from… I’m with the band…Little Big Town)
Hello everyone, my name is Nick and I’m the husband(lover) of Moda designer Lisa Bongean of Primitive Gatherings and I’m taking over her Blog so sit back and enjoy a little story of what it’s like to be married to Lisa prior to Market time!!!
If you enjoy eating alone, going to bed by yourself, watching TV with just the dogs, then this is the life for you, all the while you have to understand that it’s Market time. Lisa and I have been married for 17 years, which means 34 markets so trust me, I get it. For Lisa, market starts the day after the last market ends. She is constantly designing new things which is awesome, however……… HAS ANYONE SEEN MY WIFE???????
Every once in awhile I will make dinner for my wife, ya know, try to be nice cause she is busy. Well, I call Lisa at 5 and tell her that dinner will be ready in 20 minutes……. At 5:20 I will call her again…….At 5:40 once more….. At 6, screw it, I’m eating by myself.
Have you ever gotten ” The Look “???? Well let me tell ya, it’s a common occurrence for this guy. Sometimes I bug Lisa just to get a little laugh out of it but shhhhh, please don’t tell her that…. We will just keep that between us.
Design,design,design…… Sew,sew,sew…… ” HOLY BALLS, MODA JUST SHIPPED MY NEW FABRIC LINE AND IT JUST CAME IN!!!!!!!! photo-3Hey Moda, thanks for that, now I’m never gonna see my wife. Looks like peanut butter and jelly again this month. I must really love my wife. Now don’t get me wrong, I love being part of the Moda family, but there are times that everyone sees her more than I do.  I help out in weird ways…like setting up a clothes line in her studio to dry all that fabric once it has been starched!photo-2
Hashtag show me the Moda……. How bout Hashtag show me my wife!!!!! Spring market is two weeks away, how ever will my wife handle these weeks? Well, first she has to go to workshop/event in Michigan, then come home and finish all of her new samples that she’s been working on constantly, after that she will have to decide how our booth will be displayed, then hair and nails, answer the thousands of emails she receives, pack her clothes and we will head to Market. Oh yeah, kiss me on the cheek goodnight.
All kidding aside, my wife Lisa loves what she does. She is an amazing mom and new grandmother. photo-4She handles the two shops and all the employees all the while putting up with me. Lisa works her ass- off there’s no doubt about that. She’s an inspiration to many, but a hero to just one…… Me. ( please don’t tell her that either!)
Yeah it’s a crazy life we have, one filled with many ups and downs. If it was easy, everyone would do it. Yeah we work together, but we are never together. So……. If any of you have seen my wife, let her know dinner will be ready in 20 minutes….Nick Bongean

 

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Big Announcement!!! 2 New Creative Grid Rulers!!!

Winter Star Lisa Bongean/Primitive GatheringsI am so super excited to announce what I have been working on since Fall Market!!! This Spring Market is going to be in Minneapolis…we are going to be re-naming it “Mini”-apolis“!!!! Its all about the MINI!!! Little quilts will be busting out in the PG booth…but also 2 new Creative Grid Rulers to work with all those mini blocks!!!

CGRPRG2 (1)-550x550Here is the official write up on the 6″ruler…

This 6 inch Itty Bitty Eights Square Ruler designed by Lisa Bongean of Primitive Gatherings features easy to read 1/8 inch markings. The black and white dashed eighth inch markings show on both light and dark fabrics. The dashed 1in grid lines ensure accuracy when cutting pieces for miniature quilts. Refer to the black diamonds when cutting 1/8” strips; the white diamonds when cutting 1/4″ inch increments. The Creative Grids exclusive grip holds the fabric while cutting. $14.95

I don’t know if you can see.. but all the black and white diamonds have the actual markings like 1/8, 3/8, 5/8, 7/8″ and the white 1/4, 1/2 and 3/4…But the best part is every line is a dashed line!  You can see your fabrics at every point! IMG_2459No more wondering…am I on this edge of the line or that side of the line…now we can see!   Also do you notice the ruler is not 6 1/2″?  Now that is bad if we want to square up a 6 1/2″ block, but we already have a ruler for that!!! No mis-cutting because of that 1/2″ -you know what I am talking about here?  Now…on to my favorite of the two…CGRPRG1-550x550

The 3″x 7″…this is the one I use the most…I like how it fits in my hand…easier to wield around those mini pieces…with all the same features as the 6″.  We still need the 6″ because sometimes we have to cut a 4 1/4″ square and then sub cut it twice for our minis…But the most shocking thing that happened to me is…when I didn’t have the rulers with me… like when left it at the lakehouse…and I had to use my other Creative Grids…I missed them!…I actually was bummed I didn’t have them…like…how am I going to survive this without those dashes!!! Cutting is CRITICAL with minis because just a thread can make a huge difference in a 1/2″ finished square or a 1/4″ inner border like Winter Star has…I also use them when NOT making minis, as I still want to cut as accurately as possible!  So even if you don’t make quilts with tiny, tiny pieces…these two rulers are still VERY useful and I promise you these will become your GO TO rulers when cutting minis or sub cutting larger pieces in your normal sized quilts…Here is the Official write-up on this one…

This 3 inch by 7 inch Itty Bitty Eights Rectangle Ruler designed by Lisa Bongean of Primitive Gatherings features easy to read 1/8 inch markings. The black and white dashed eighth inch markings show on both light and dark fabrics. The dashed 1in grid lines ensure accuracy when cutting pieces for miniature quilts. Refer to the black diamonds when cutting 1/8” units; the white diamonds when cutting 1/4″ inch units. The Creative Grids exclusive grip holds the fabric while cutting. $15.95IMG_2450 (1)-550x550

Now I WANT you to BUY these rulers from me…as I designed them and I am telling you about them!!!   As you can tell I am over the top excited about these two rulers and will be working on a couple more sizes too! Creative Grids are the absolute best RULERS in the quilting world and it was a pleasure to work with them!!! Thanks Cam and Penny!  I want to ROCK Creative Grids and show them how much we needed MINI rulers!!!!IMG_2194

lisabongean30 Comments