Hey everyone! How are things going? I was just thinking that the month of October seemed to have flown by at the speed of light this year, when suddenly I realized that we’re half-way through November already – ugh! Where does the time go??? Between traveling for Market last month, keeping up with several quilt-alongs, preparing for Primitive Christmas, and getting the quilts hung in time for the Red, White, and Green Quilt Show, there hasn’t really been a minute to slow down. Weekends are nice but never long enough, and at the rate we seem to be hurtling toward the holidays, they’ll be lost to a whirlwind of shopping, baking, present wrapping, and chaotic visits with friends and family before we know it. There’s no end in sight until after New Year’s and I love it! This is literally the time of year that I, and so many others look forward to all year-long, making the hustle and bustle totally worth it, if you ask me.

As long as we’re on the subject of the holidays, let’s talk about what you can expect from Primitive Gatherings over the next several weeks. Obviously, our main focus at the moment is our Primitive Christmas Event, which will be Thursday, November 16th through Saturday, November 18th (both in-store and online), and Sunday, November 19th, 2023 (online only, the retail shop will be CLOSED) to celebrate the official holiday kickoff off at Primitive Gatherings!

Shoppers will enjoy several holiday Make & Take Project options, along with complimentary fresh baked cookies and hot apple cider. I also designed at least four exclusive patterns (one of which includes a kit) that are available as FREE gifts with a $40.00 minimum purchase (not including tax or shipping). Not to mention, my annual holiday quilt show will also be up on display for your enjoyment at The Gathering ($5.00 admission fee required to view the quilt show). If you haven’t already figured it out, this year’s theme is Red, White, and Green!

Of course, it wouldn’t be the holidays without the spirit of giving back so as always, we’ve selected a charity to share the proceeds of your generosity with. This year we’ve chosen Toys for Tots – an organization founded in 1947 by the United States Marine Corps Reserve that distributes toys to children whose parents cannot afford to buy them Christmas presents. You can contribute to this wonderful program right here at Primitive Gatherings now through the beginning of December 2023 by either making a $10.00 (or more) cash or toy donation toward the cause. To show our appreciation, we will then match your donation with a coupon worth $10.00 OFF your Primitive Gatherings purchase. Everybody wins! You can also donate directly to Toys for Tots by clicking HERE.

If you’re planning a trip to Primitive Gatherings anytime soon, please be aware that our winter hours are in effect. Even though mild temps are keeping the snow at bay for the moment, we all know it’s inevitably on the way. That being said, If there are severe or unsafe weather conditions in our area and you are coming from out of town, please check our Facebook page for a posted announcement, or give the shop a call during our regular business hours to be sure that we are open before making the drive.

Heading into the holidays there are several days coming up where our regular hours will change so that my staff can spend time celebrating with friends and family, and to complete our store-wide inventory. Please make note of the following changes:

Last but not least, we can’t forget our LIVE shows. Just a heads up, the next two episodes of STITCH with Lisa Bongean will air at 9:00 a.m. Central Standard Time instead of our usual time of 1:00 p.m. Please also notice that November 21st is a Tuesday rather than our usual Thursday showtime. You can tune in to watch by clicking the STITCH icon at the end of this post, or by visiting my YouTube Channel, STITCH with Lisa Bongean by clicking HERE.

Don’t worry CommentSold fans, we didn’t forget about you! Just an FYI, due to Primitive Christmas, there will be no CommentSold episodes this week. We’ll be returning to the air MONDAY, November 27th, 2023 at 11:00 a.m. CST. After that, you have several opportunities to shop with us LIVE before the end of the year at our regular showtimes of either 10:00 a.m. on Tuesdays or 2:15 p.m. (appx) on Thursdays, Central Standard Time. As always, dates and times are subject to change but we’ll always announce it ahead of time if that happens.

If you haven’t jumped on the CommentSold bandwagon yet but are thinking you might like to give it a try, the easiest way to do it is definitely through our Primitive Gatherings CommentSold app. If you don’t have a smart phone/device you can also find us through the LIVE videos area of our Facebook page once the broadcast has started. To learn more about how to download the CommentSold app FREE, click HERE!

Are you excited yet? I sure am! Nick and I spent a considerable amount of time hanging quilts in The Gathering yesterday for the Red, White, and Green Quilt Show, and I’m SUPER happy to say that we’re finally finished! I can’t show you the whole show quite yet, but I thought it would be neat to take some time-lapse footage of the process to give you an idea of how it’s looking. Special thanks to Kali for making quick work of the editing and cranking this video out so fast. What would we do without her!? Without further ado, here it is! Enjoy…

Well? What do you think??? Pretty awesome, right!? I’ve only watched it about 85 times… Seeing The Gathering adorned with your quilts is simply amazing!!! I truly can’t thank those of you who submitted your work for the show enough. There aren’t words! I know it was a little bit more expensive to enter this year, but shipping costs are out of this world expensive and I simply can’t bear it all on my own. Please know how much your entries mean to me. If there is anyone out there that understands how much blood, sweat, tears, and expense goes into one of these beauties, it’s me so again – thank you from the bottom of my heart!

Well stitchers, looking out the window just now, I see that the sun is long gone and the parking lot is bare. That can only mean one thing and that’s… dinner time! So, off I go. Have a great night, get some stitching done, and I will see you soon. Take care! ~Lisa