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Greetings, stitchers! Heidi again, back for what is presumably my last blog appearance for a while. Lisa landed back on home turf sometime late last night, which means I’ll be happily handing off the reins and retreating to my usual spot under my desk come Monday. But before I call it good on my posts, I wanted to hop on one more time and introduce you to the latest addition to our Monthly Mini Quilt Series — Cousin Mary — who after not one, but TWO botched release dates, finally decided to make an appearance yesterday afternoon.

Fashionably late and unapologetic — everyone, meet Cousin Mary — the final quilt in round two of the Monthly Mini Quilt Series. As you know, every quilt in this round has an inspirational woman with a story behind it, and Cousin Mary is no exception. Fun fact — Lisa didn’t actually meet Mary until she was an adult when the two crossed paths for the first time at Lisa’s father’s funeral. Mary was shown one of Lisa’s quilts during that visit and did what any reasonable person would do… she asked Lisa to make her one. Her response? “No, but I’ll teach you how to make your own!” Not exactly what Mary had in mind, but she took her up on it. As it turned out, over the years learning to quilt gave Mary a creative outlet she didn’t know she needed, and brought her closer to family members she didn’t know before. It was clearly meant to be!

While bright, saturated colors aren’t exactly the norm for Primitive Gatherings, Cousin Mary has Lisa stepping outside of her comfort zone. Done in much brighter colors than you would normally see from PG, this sassy little quilt comes equipped with a bold personality — just like Mary! The pink and orange color combination was a deliberate nod to the real Cousin Mary’s favorite colors, while the use of tiny half-square triangles is more Lisa’s style.

This 18″ x 18″ cutie is made up of nine Geese in the Pond quilt blocks set on point, surrounded by a half-square triangle sawtooth border — and yes, those half-square triangles are really little… just the way Lisa likes them! Please don’t panic over the small pieces, or let them scare you away from the project, but also keep in mind that working small means inconsistencies can be magnified so precision matters more than usual here. No reason to worry though — Lisa’s custom designed Primitive Gatherings ½” Finished Half Square Triangle Paper helps you be more accurate with your half-square triangles, making the process much easier and genuinely fun.

For a quilt with this much sass, the supply list is surprisingly no-fuss — a fat quarter of cream solid for the blocks and inner border, a fat quarter of orange solid for the blocks and inner border, one yard of pink solid for the setting triangles, border, binding, and backing, and two sheets of Primitive Gatherings ½” Finished Half Square Triangle Paper for your sanity’s sake.

As always, if you’re worried about the small pieces and half-square triangles, that’s ok. We encourage you to give this spicy little quilt a try anyway. Remember — you’re not alone and you have resources. Lisa put together a helpful step-by-step video tutorial to guide you along, which is available for you to watch free of charge on her YouTube channel by clicking the STITCH icon at the end of the post. You can also post any questions or problems you might have on Lisa’s private Facebook group, STITCH with Lisa Bongean for help and guidance. Not a member of the group? We’d love to have you — click HERE to join!

Alright, everybody! That’s all I have on Cousin Mary so that means it’s official — the weekend is here and it’s time to close up shop! It’s been fun being your Primitive Gatherings blogger while Lisa was away, but the time has come where I must fade back into the shadows until I am needed on the PG frontlines again. I hope everyone has a relaxing and fun weekend and that you are able to spend it doing whatever it is that makes your heart happy. I will be attending a friend’s 40th birthday party tomorrow which means I will be spending the day in my favorite lawnchair enjoying someone else’s snacks and margaritas, so I’m looking forward to that. What are you up to? Whatever it is I hope you enjoy it and that the weather cooperates for you. See you soon — cheers! ~Heidi