Hey friends, welcome back!. As most of you know we’ve been celebrating Martingale & Moda Week here at Primitive Gatherings, and what a week it’s been! I am having so much fun spending time at The Gathering with a great group of my fellow Moda designers from all over the U.S. We’ve been going strong all day and then staying up late stitching pretty much every night – I have literally not slept in my bed at home all week! Poor Nick. Oh well, he’ll be ok… After all, they say absence makes the heart grow fonder – right? LOL! This week was extra special considering because of COVID, we haven’t been able to get together collectively like this for almost three years. We are certainly putting in the effort to make up for lost time and of course, we’re having a blast doing it! Not only that, we have been stitching up a storm and putting a huge dent in some of our own projects along with making all sorts of goodies to exchange with one another. Busy, busy – and FUN! I am loving every minute of it.

A huge bonus of all this stitch time is that after a whole week of it I have managed to make some nice progress on a few of my current projects. If you’re following along with my “O’ Say Can You Sew” Mystery Quilt-Along, you know that the release of Clue #6 is fast approaching! I spent some time finishing up all 128 HST blocks for Clue #5 this week so I’m ready to get started when Clue #6 releases on Labor Day, Monday September 5th. Keep in mind that though the shop and offices WILL BE CLOSED for the holiday, the clue will still release at 1:00 PM CST that day. I’m ready, are you?

Still thinking about joining this ever so tempting QAL? More information along with links to all released clues are listed in the O’ Say Can You Sew Clue Archive, which can be found in the main menu at the top of this page. This quilt was originally designed to be a scrap buster, but if you don’t have that kind of supply on hand don’t worry. We have fat quarter bundles in stock that will be perfect to supplement your stash. There are blues and whites in bundles of 12 fat quarters for $30.00 per bundle (that’s two FREE!). We are currently no longer offering reds in these special OSCYS bundles due to low stock.

I was also excited to keep the ball rolling on my Letters for Santa QAL by completing the words, “MERRY CHRISTMAS” and “JOY.” In addition, I was able to get a lot of prep work done and cut fabric for “TREE,”FAMILY,” and “WREATH,” so that’s all set to go for when I have little snippets of time here and there to stitch. It’s pretty rare that I have a chunk of time to work where I have all day and night to sit and stitch. It will be a while before that happens again… There’s certainly nothing wrong with cutting ahead of time so I can get things done – even if it is in small portions at a time! Since I like to have a good head start on things well in advance, I really appreciate the chance to work on Letters for Santa this week. I’m confident I’ll have it done in time for the holidays – no problem! If you haven’t heard of this festive QAL, it’s is a Christmas project quilt-along from Moda inspired by my, “Mini Alphabet Quilt” pattern. “Mini Alphabet“ is a darling little quilt, ideal for a child’s bed or toy room. It could also make a sweet pillow! Measuring at 42″ x 42″ it’s the perfect size for cuddling, all while learning your ABC’s. Super cute, right!?

If you’d like to participate in this quilt-along you’ll need both the pattern for my “Mini Alphabet Quilt” along with Moda’s monthly word releases, new filler block patterns, and alternate project ideas. You can purchase the pattern by clicking the button above. For more information on this festive QAL, and access to monthly QAL releases, visit Moda’s website!

There really hasn’t been a dull moment around The Gathering during Moda Week, and I’m grateful for it. It’s so nice to be surrounded by like-minded people who all want to share knowledge and see one another succeed. You can’t help but be motivated! Each designer here visiting has contributed their own unique style and personality to the mix. I’m in awe of the variety and level of talent coming together all in one place – it’s really got me feeling inspired!I was lucky enough to have my fellow designers all join me one by one during LIVE on STITCH with Lisa Bongean yesterday, where we talked about some of their current projects and accomplishments across the board. If you missed it I highly recommend you watch the replay, which you can do by clicking the “STITCH” button below! Thanks to those who joined me on camera, it was a super fun LIVE with lots of information and insight on what other designers are up to. In fact, I want to give a huge shout out to my Moda family for being good sports and not camera shy. Obviously, going LIVE is always more fun with a friend – or 20 for that matter!

As if all the activity at work isn’t enough to keep me on my toes, I am a lucky enough to be spending part of my day today with my grand babies Jace and O-Bug, both at Anchor Point and in the retreat house. They even helped me give a tour of Primitive Gatherings earlier today! As any grandma knows, time with these special boys is truly what I live for, so anytime they are around is always a huge bonus.

As usual, this weekend is shaping up to be another busy – and fast – one like they always are, but I’m going to do my best to get some good rest in. We don’t have a lot of nice days left so I want to enjoy it while I can…then again I hear Hawaii is nice all the time and it won’t be long until I’m there sooo…    Sorry, sorry!  I don’t mean to rub it in! Ok – maybe I do a little, but can you blame me? You can’t. LOL! Alright everyone, I hope you all have an excellent weekend. Get some rest, stitch a bit, and I will see you all next week! ~Lisa