Hey, everyone!

Is it seriously Friday again so soon? I can hardly believe we’re almost two weeks into June… how can this be!? I feel like it was just yesterday that I was in France having lunch at the Eiffel Tower and rubbing elbows with the locals, but somehow that was weeks ago already. I guess that’s what happens when you come home after being out of the country for that long, and then immediately start a week-long retreat two days later… can you say jet lagged? All I know is that I’m happy the weekend has arrived, and that it will be nice to have a couple of days off before the next round of my annual Red, White, & Blue retreat starts on Monday. Time to recover, relax, and recharge!

As usual, while I was away on my adventure, my PG crew was hard at work making sure Primitive Gatherings continued to run like the well-oiled machine that it is (don’t forget to clean and oil your BERNINA!). I can’t explain how great it feels knowing I can leave for literally weeks at a time and be confident that when I get home, things will be humming along smoothly, just the way I left them. It makes going back to work after a long vacation that much easier, and I sure do appreciate that!

In addition to the peace and harmony of a smoothly sailing ship, there are several other things that make coming home to PG feel absolutely fantastic — like a desk full of goodies waiting for me, for instance! It’s amazing how many “things” can accumulate on a 3′ x 4′ desktop when you’re not there to keep it under control… This time around, amongst a menagerie of other interesting things, I was thrilled to find that a huge box full of the next cool swag idea for the Missions of Honor fundraiser had arrived — American Gatherings III Keychains!

If the designs on these little cuties seem familiar, that’s because you’ve probably already seen them during one of my LIVE shows or in a past blog post. Each keychain features a quilt from the American Gatherings III Project Book, including (from left to right in the image above) American Made, Americana Panel, Marching to Freedom, and Perfect Union. Cool, right? It’s like having little mini quilts to take with you wherever you go! What’s even cooler is that if you want to make a quilt to match your keychain, we have quilt kits available to pre-order on our website for all four designs and more. Click the button below to check them out!

Earlier I mentioned that these keychains are part of our Missions of Honor fundraiser — in case you don’t know what that is, here’s a quick recap. Primitive Gatherings has chosen Missions of Honor as the recipient of our charity fundraiser this year. They are a nonprofit dedicated to sending our nation’s veterans to Washington, D.C. to visit memorials built in their honor. A portion of all American Gatherings III merchandise sales will go toward our fundraiser. For example, in the case of the keychains, four dollars from each one sold goes directly toward our goal of sponsoring one full flight for 100 deserving veterans — we’re trying to fill a whole plane… or TWO!!! Want to help? To order keychains, click the link above. To learn more or make a direct cash donation, feel free to visit the official Missions of Honor website by clicking HERE!

Have I ever mentioned how much I love swag? I hope you love it as much as I do considering we have even more fun stuff on the drawing board as we speak! I can’t wait to see what shows up next… If you have an idea for a unique or useful fundraiser item that would look good with a PG logo on it, drop it in the comments — it may turn out to be something we haven’t thought of before and trust me… when it comes to cool new swag, I need it all! If you’re like me and need all the swag too, keep an eye on our Facebook page, my blog, our LIVE shows, and the STITCH group for even more fun swaggy ways to support our veterans by contributing to our Missions of Honor fundraiser coming up this summer. Until then, take care and I’ll see you soon! ~Lisa