Hey everyone! Are you ready for a fun weekend? You can really tell that summer is in full-swing with all the festivals, fairs, markets, live music, and other events happening around the area. Between the EAA (Experimental Aircraft Association) AirVenture events in Oshkosh last week, and the Mile of Music Festival which is happening in downtown Appleton this weekend, there has been plenty to do and see in just the last week alone. Unfortunately, with everything going on at PG and The Gathering I wasn’t able to find the time to explore EAA this year, but I’m going to do my best to get over to Mile of Music at some point this weekend if I can. We’ll see what happens!
Since I wasn’t able to sneak away long enough to enjoy EAA last weekend , I made sure to take some time out during the week to have a bit of fun and adventure with the girls. You might have seen me LIVE on Facebook the other night during a little impromptu mid-week excursion I organized for Jess, Kali, Heidi, and myself. I’ve been hearing a lot about “Night-Glow” kayaking and have wanted to give it a try for a while now (click HERE to watch!). I figured with the heatwave we’ve been having it was the perfect time to take the plunge – and I was right! After a scorching hot day Wednesday, we had the perfect night for it. Temps hovered right around 78° with a slight breeze to keep the bugs at bay (then again, Heidi had so much bug spray on I don’t think anyone within a 25 foot radius of us was going to have any issues – LOL!).
We set sail right at dusk in a group of around 15 – two to a kayak, plus one guide who had his own clear Night-Glow paddle board (shout-out to our guide, Justin – great job, and thanks again!). The boats are called kayaks but they’re not exactly like most people would picture a kayak… They’re more like a wider, more open version of one – made from completely clear plastic so you’re able to see through the sides and underneath you. Then they add an LED light strip on each side of the boat so the water lights up around you, making it possible to see fish and other wildlife.
As you can see, we were a bit “extra” with our glow-stick bracelets and necklaces. There was no way our group was going to lose us… Even if they tried!
If you’re local and curious about where you can do this, the place who puts on the tours is called Adventure Outfitters – Lakeside. They are located on Taylor Lake, which is part of the famous Waupaca Chain O’ Lakes in King, WI. The water on this chain of lakes is crystal clear and looks just like something out of the Caribbean, which is why these boats work so well there. The clear water combined with the reflection of natural materials found at the bottom of the lakes including limestone, clay, and alkaline, create different tints of green on the surface, which result in a beautiful deep turquoise blue green hue that’s hard to describe. Photos simply don’t do it justice.
There are 22 total lakes on this particular chain, but the tour only explores a couple including Taylor, Otter, Rainbow, and a handful of others. Needless to say it was not only fun but beautiful as well. We were even treated to a brief appearance of the full moon as it peeked out from behind the clouds for just a minute…
We had a great time and I’d recommend the trip to anyone looking for something fun and unique to do around WI. And it didn’t take all night either – around an hour and a half – so we had plenty of time for galavanting around town afterwards if we had wanted to. Personally, I was pretty tired and was glad to galavant straight home to bed. There will be plenty of time for that over the weekend.
Speaking of the weekend, as you know Friday means the next round in the Twilight Stars Quilt-Along! I know many of you are anxiously waiting so let’s get to it! This week’s block release numbers are five and seven.
If you’re new to the Twilight Stars Quilt-Along and are wondering where to find the patterns for these blocks, they can be found in my book Triangle Gatherings, which is required to participate in the QAL (along with a few other items that can be purchased on our website by clicking HERE). A blog post I did explaining the full details on Twilight Stars can be found by clicking HERE. The full list of details and required supplies can be found at the Twilight Stars Info Page by hitting the button below!
I’m so excited to see all the different varieties of this quilt once we’re all done! That being said, I hope you’ve been remembering to post photos of your progress for a chance to win one of Heidi’s famous prizes! All you have to do is post a photo of your completed blocks each week before the release of the next batch, including the required book Triangle Gatherings and Primitive Gatherings Triangle Paper in the picture. Please also include the hashtag #TwilightStarsQAL in your post! Heidi will choose a weekly random winner until the end of the QAL. I announce the winner each week during my LIVE show every Thursday, so make sure you post before noon central standard time that day. Congratulations to this week’s lucky winner, Karen Frey Stephens!
Not participating in the Twilight Stars Quilt-Along but still want to get in on the prize game? We love getting comments here on the blog as well as on our Facebook pages, and my YouTube channel STITCH with Lisa Bongean! I’m serious when I say let me know what’s on your mind… I love to hear about what you’re working on and what you’d like to see more of here at PG. Tell me all about it! There might even be a prize in it for you… Special thanks goes out to this week’s comment prize winners Deborah K. and Brenda F. for their comments last week! Congratulations (remember, I do not post last names or email addresses for your privacy, so if you think you’re one of the lucky winners this week please be sure to check your email. You can also contact Heidi at heidin@primitivegatherings.us if you have not already received a prize confirmation letter from her.)!
Alright you guys, I officially release you! Go forth and STITCH every day this weekend! And remember, if you need some quality entertainment while you work, you can always catch the replay of my LIVE shows on my YouTube channel STITCH with Lisa Bongean by clicking the button below! This week we talked with Jen Kingwell who is here all the way from Australia teaching a retreat at The Gathering. If you’re not familiar with Jen and her work, trust me – you want to be… Give it a watch! See you next week! ~Lisa
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