Hey friends, welcome back from the weekend! Hopefully you’re feeling just as well rested and gung-ho as I am after a day or two on the down low, away from the zoo. Even if I work on projects straight through the weekend, it’s always nice to kick things down a notch and go at my own pace in the peace and quiet of my sewing room for a couple of days. Not that I don’t love being at PG while I work, but as you can imagine, I tend to get pulled in a thousand directions all at once when I’m here, which can be hard on my productivity level to say the least. What can I say… I’m kind of a big deal around here!!! People have to grab my attention while they have the chance, and they sure do!

This weekend, a lot of my time went toward getting ready for a road trip Jess and I will be taking later this week. We’re traveling south to attend the the annual h+h americas trade event in Rosemont, IL. The show is the premier event for the North American Handicraft Industry and the sister event of h+h cologne (Germany), the world’s largest trade fair for the crafts sector. The event will host 263 exhibitors from 22 countries and attracted 2,560+ attendees from all 50 states and 41 countries. In other words – it’s a big deal!!! We’ll be there on the hunt for what’s new and upcoming in the world of fiber arts so we can be ready to hit the ground running when it all becomes available. It’s always exciting to see what the sewing world has come up with every year, and even more exciting when we finally get to share it with you!

After the h+h show, the next big thing on my agenda is definitely the Mackinac Island Spring Quilting Seminar, where I, along with five of my fellow designers from all over the U.S. will be teaching a variety of classes. They will include topics like how to Punch Needle, straight line ruler work, circle and oval ruler techniques, how to utilize decorative threads, textile art collaging, mastering piped bindings, mini quilting, and more! It’s going to be a blast and I’m super excited and honored to be one of their featured artists! I seriously wish you could all attend but obviously that’s just not possible. I do however, think that a “round two” of sorts would not only be fun, but it would give you another chance to attend some really great classes you might otherwise have miss out on. That’s why I came up with what I’m calling my “Mackinac Rewind Retreat” – a multi-day series of classes held at The Gathering that will feature my exclusive Mackinac Island Quilting Art Seminar projects! Here is the class schedule and details…

Seeing anything that interests you??? You can take all five classes, or pick and choose between the ones that suit you (class fees are listed à la carte, or you can take fall five classes in the series for $310.00 per student, plus supplies)! As I mentioned, for the Rewind I will be teaching the same classes and projects that I did for the Mackinac Island Spring Quilting Seminar. Class projects are shown below…

I can tell… You want to take them all, don’t you… And what’s stopping you!? All you have to do to register is call The Gathering at 920-778-8031 or email thegathering@primitivegatherings.us. Lodging is also available for this event if needed but it’s filling up fast (call for rates)!!!

I hope you’re able to take a class or five… We always have so much fun at The Gathering and we think you should too! Not up for the traveling? You can still have fun with us right from the comfort of your own living room by tuning in of our LIVE shows! Our next hour of fun will be with Jess and Heidi tomorrow during CommentSold, which will air between 10:00 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. CST, depending on when Jess can break free from the meeting that will be holding her hostage. App users should receive a notification once the broadcast starts (if you do not receive a notification, please check your app settings to be sure that you allow them)! I’ll see you all there in the comments… Until then, have a wonderful evening, everyone! ~Lisa