Hey everyone! How was your Christmas break? Technically I’m still in the middle of mine and doing my best to stay away from work, but of course there’s always a few things that need tending to whether I consider it a workday or not. One of those things for instance, is the Twilight Stars Quilt-Along, and though it doesn’t really feel like it, it is indeed Friday which means it’s time for the next block release! Are you managing to stay on schedule? If you are, you should have 56 finished blocks in your collection so far. Great work! Moving onto Week #29, the block release numbers are #30 and #88!

I need to give major kudos to those of you who, despite the recent holiday craze are not only managing to make time to participate in a weekly quilt-along, but also remembering to post photos of your work on our social media pages – just like Susan Ingram did. Her blocks look beautiful and of course, I LOVE that fabric choice!!! Nice job Susan! You’ve got a charm pack and some caramels coming your way very soon!

Have you won a prize for your block progress yet? 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 winner each week until the end of the QAL, which we will announce during my LIVE show on Thursday. And since we’re only on Week #29, that means we still have over 20 prize packs left to give away! Not to mention, at the end of the QAL, all names drawn as weekly winners will be put into another drawing for a grand prize!

We’re a little over half-way through the QAL, but judging by all of your progress, we are going to end up with some real stunners when this is all said and done. I’m excited! Still thinking about jumping on the Twilight Stars band wagon? Patterns can be found in my book Triangle Gatherings (required to participate along with a few other items), which can be purchased on the Primitive Gatherings website by clicking HERE. Blocks will be posted every Friday around NOON Central Standard Time on the quilt-along Info Page, with a correlating blog post shortly after. Block releases can be found both here on the blog and in the “Quilt-Along” area under “Twilight Stars” at http://www.lisabongean.com. Never even heard of Twilight Stars? You can read all about it by clicking HERE. In addition, a full list of details and required supplies can be found at the Twilight Stars Info Page by hitting the button below!

Alright my stitchers, I don’t have much for you today, but I do have a few things I need to mention before I sign off about our upcoming hours…

FRIENDLY REMINDER!!! OUR WEBSITE WILL BE DOWN (NOT WORKING) starting TOMORROW – SATURDAY, DECEMBER 30th, 2023. It will be out of service and NOT AVAILABLE through Thursday, January 4th, 2024. Please make sure you have any orders that you wish to make placed by TONIGHT – Friday, December 29th, 2023. The website will be back open for business on Friday, January 5th, 2024.

In addition, please remember that the retail shop, retreat house, and customer service will be CLOSED Sunday, December 31st, 2023 through Thursday, January 4th, 2024 for the holiday and store/site-wide inventory. We will be back open for business on Friday, January 5th, 2024!

Last but certainly not least, I want to take just a minute to give a huge THANK YOU to Jill – an employee and friend of ours who has been working at PG for the last 13 years. She is not only one of the main staples in our kitting department, but she is also the guru of the AccuQuilting machine. In other words, we have Jill to thank for a huge portion of the PG charm packs and wool pennies that have left our facility for the last decade plus – each and every one cut by hand!

We celebrated with pizza, cake, and presents yesterday over lunch where Jill was gifted a handmade quilt by one of her coworkers to send her off properly (it’s beautiful, Judy!). Obviously we’re sad to see her leave us, but we’re also excited for her future adventures. Especially considering her husband will also be retiring around the same time. She hopes to spend her time enjoying life and volunteering her time at a local cat shelter in the area. We will miss you Jill but I’m sure we’ll see you soon.

Alright friends, I’m going to get out of your hair and back out into the world. It’s actually sunny today, versus the rain and gloom we’ve been having over the last week and I want to enjoy it. Who knows when we’ll see it again! It’s been nothing but rainy, brown, and dreary with no snow for weeks, so I can’t even enjoy my skis or stack of lift passes that “Santa” brought for me for Christmas. I’ll take the mild temps, but at least let it be sunny so that I don’t feel like Mother Nature blew her nose and forgot about us, that’s all I ask!!! LOL!!! Anyway, I hope you enjoy the weekend and I will be back soon. Take care, everyone! ~Lisa