Hi friends! It’s day three for me out in Nevada visiting with my good friend, “Vegas Val.” We have had a ton of fun so far catching up, shopping and exploring. I always look forward to seeing Val in her element at the Christmas Goose. I love watching such a talented person share her ideas and skills with others! Of course I also snuck in a bit of browsing while I was there and didn’t leave without a few purchases in hand to bring home with me.I can’t wait to get started on these patterns I found at the Christmas Goose. Isn’t this pencil holder adorable? I feel like there might just be a couple of lucky kids who might be getting one of in the very near future…

We even got a chance get outside for some fresh air and sunshine yesterday. We spent the day at Lone Mountain Trail where we hiked a couple of miles around the mountain. We didn’t go all the way to the top this time but it’s definitely on the agenda. The summit is about 600 feet above the surrounding homes making the view at the top absolutely beautiful! You can see the city below all the way out to the mountains in the distance. The scenery is definitely different than what I’m used to in WI. The weather was clear and the temperatures were comfortably in the 60’s. I can’t tell you how good it felt to be outdoors in the sun without a big, bulky coat on! I’m not letting myself get used to it, however, since I’ll be back to reality in a few days.Val’s new home is absolutely gorgeous so we’ve also spent a considerable amount of time there, catching up and brainstorming together. Sometimes all it takes to reset my mind is time well spent with a good friend and fellow stitcher. We all need to make more time for that! If you need a great place to gather with your stitching friends, consider a retreat at The Gathering! We have a variety of day classes available and several multi-day retreats coming up! You can still get into our Winter Wonderland retreat that starts on the 26th. Give Jenny a call at (920) 778-8031 to reserve your spot! You can join us for the multi-day retreat or just attend for a day.

If you don’t have the time to get away for an extended amount of time, check out our day-long Sit & Stitch monthly workshops. Classes run from 9AM until 4PM with lunch included! Bring your hand or machine projects to work on among friends! It’s the perfect way to make some progress on any projects you might have going that you need inspiration or advice on.

We also recently added, “Late Night Sit & Stitch” for those of you who’s schedules don’t allow you to attend during the day. Classes run from 5PM – 10PM with dinner included.

Check out The Gathering on Facebook or call Jenny at 920-778-8031 if you’re interested in signing up for any of our upcoming events!

Since I’m not at home, today’s YouTube Live broadcast will be hosted by Jess! We’re all really excited to finally be able to say that all of the homespun fabrics included in our Urban Homestead Gatherings collection are IN, so she’ll be talking all about that. Every designer loves working with homespun so I’m really excited to finally be able to get these books and fabrics out to everyone! If you’re interested in a copy or would like to stock up on these beautiful fabrics, hit the link below!

CLICK HERE for Urban Homestead Gatherings!

I hope you’ll all tune into my LIVE broadcast today at 1:00 CST. We’ll not only be talking about Urban Homestead Gatherings, but also our new winter store hours, our new shop manager, future trunk shows and some really great project ideas for Valentine’s Day! As always, be sure to leave a comment! Have you been to Vegas? Is it on your bucket list? Tell all about it! You can watch, “Stitch with Lisa Bongean” by clicking the link below. Enjoy your day everyone, and see you soon!