Hello, hello! Welcome back to another Friday afternoon blog “sesh” with yours truly. I don’t have a lot of time to spend chatting today because I am currently in the middle of hosting my third annual, “Love is All You Need” winter retreat over at The Gathering. Erica helped us kicked off the event first thing yesterday morning with mocha lattes and fresh-baked raspberry scones to get our creative juices flowing. Once properly caffeinated, we settled right into class and working on the projects at hand – all appropriately heart-themed, of course. We’re currently working on a variety of different things including a wool heart decoration, a mini heart quilt, a full-size heart quilt, and a wooden heart barn quilt. There are 20 of us all together including myself, which means we are certainly in no shortage of fun, laughter, and creative energy – that’s for sure! “Love is All You Need” is definitely one of my favorite retreats every year, and 2024 is proving to be no different! If it sounds like something you might be interested in for next year, and you’d like to get a first-hand look at this year’s projects, you can watch the replay of STITCH with Lisa Bongean where my assistant Maddie and I show them off, by clicking the STITCH icon at the end of this post!

Alright, enough about “Love is All You Need” for now. In fact, we better get moving on to talk about Twilight Stars before my retreaters show up in the studio wondering where I ran of to… LOL! I can’t say it’d be the first time! Anyway, if you don’t already know via the Twilight Stars Information Page, block releases for Week #36 are block numbers 44 and 53!

I can’t imagine that after 35 weeks and 70 completed blocks under your belt, that you’re having any trouble with half-square triangles whatsoever at this point. If you are, that’s perfectly ok, but my first question is naturally going to be – have you tried my custom designed Primitive Gatherings Triangle Paper yet??? If your answer is no, my next question is, why the heck not!? It goes without saying that there are A LOT of half-square triangles in this quilt, but that’s no reason to be struggling. Primitive Gatherings Triangle Paper will make light work of what used to be considered a thorn in your side. Ready to try them for yourself? Shop PG Triangle Paper by clicking HERE! I also highly recommend following my list of Triangle Paper Tips and Tricks to help you get into the swing of things…

Something tells me that I’ll be seeing photos of finished Week #36 blocks posted by the end of the day already… Some of you are super quick! I also know there are several of you that have some catching up to do. Either way, it’s not a race and meant to be fun so take your time if you need to. There’s no rush! And don’t forget to post a photo of your completed blocks when you do finish them along with the required book, Triangle Gatherings and Primitive Gatherings Triangle Paper included in the picture. You can post it on either our Facebook or Instagram pages (or both!) including the hashtag #TwilightStarsQAL for a chance to win a nice little prize! If you caught LIVE with Lisa yesterday, you already know that JoAnne Thielen is the QAL share winner for Week #35! She’s the proof it can happen to you too… You just have to post!!! Nice work, JoAnne. Your prize is in the mail as we speak!

Michelle H. and Leona P. are also in for a little treat, just for posting their comments on the blog last week! Congratulations to you both. Your prizes are on the way (if you think you are one of these lucky winners please check your email for a prize confirmation letter from Heidi)! As for the rest of you – you know me. I LOVE to give away prizes. Especially to those of you who leave comments and likes on my posts. It helps us out more than you know, and we truly appreciate it!

Ok everyone, it’s time for me to sneak back over to The Gathering for more retreat shenanigans. I have a quick tour to give and then before I know it, the dinner bell will be ringing. I’m sure I’m not alone in the group when I say that I can’t wait to see what delicious creation Erica has up her sleeve for us tonight!!! Whatever it is, I’m sure it will be the best thing I’ve had since… Well, since the last time she fed us. LOL! With that being said, I hope your dinner is just as glorious as ours promises to be and that your weekend is even better! See you next week! ~Lisa