Hey, everyone!

Is it just me or is summer going by unusually fast this year? It probably has something to do with the fact that after I got home from my France trip I barely had time to relax before I was suddenly in the middle of three back-to-back sessions of my annual Red, White, & Blue Retreat. This month sure has been packed full from start to finish with traveling, teaching, stitching, and all the usual retreat shenanigans that make the days blur together in the best possible way. Now at the end of it all I’m realizing that June is basically over and that the 4th of July is pretty much here, which means I need to get my hiney in gear to celebrate the big 250!

With it being America’s 250th birthday this year, our normal “over-the-top” level of red, white, and blue here at PG is even more out of control. Take the debut of my latest patriotic fabric line, American Gatherings III plus all of the great projects that come along with it, then add our Missions of Honor fundraiser, and the Red, White, & Blue retreat I just mentioned, and you can just imagine the amount of patriotic stitching going on — which is great considering the theme for the annual quilt show at The Gathering this year is also red, white, and blue… what better way to show it all off!

Are you planning to enter something in the quilt show this year? To add a bit of variety, we’re offering two separate opportunities to show off your love for the good ol’ U.S.A. with your handiwork. The Primitive Gatherings Red, White, and Blue Quilt Show is dedicated to finished patriotic-themed quilts, while the Primitive Gatherings Red, White, and Blue Gathering of Stitchers Show is open to all other red, white, and blue patriotic fiber art projects, so whether you’re piecing, stitching, appliquéing, or experimenting with something new, there’s a place for your red, white, and blue work to shine!

Interested in signing up? Both the Red, White, & Blue Quilt Show and the Red, White, & Blue Gathering of Stitchers Show are open to anyone who has a confirmed 2026 registration. The entrance fee is $30.00 per show and includes your entry fee, a special show patch or sticker (T.B.D.), plus return shipping and handling of your submitted piece, and overall show expenses. Each person may enter one piece into each show, which you can do by clicking the corresponding logos below!

If you have a project you’d like to enter into either show, whatever you do, don’t dilly dally… it might be early summer but the deadline to get your projects here will be here before you know it! Completed submissions including photos and signed paperwork must be received at Primitive Gatherings by October 31st, 2026. When it’s time to ship your entry, simply use the provided mailing label, follow the instructions carefully (and when I say this next part, I reallllly mean it…), and please — PLEASE — for the sake of my warehouse guru Amy’s sanity, do NOT mail your project in early. Entries should not be shipped before October 1st, 2026 due to limited storage space!!!

I’ve gotta say, it’s kind of strange to be talking about fall being right around the corner, especially considering it’s literally 95° F out there right now, with a heat index of 107° F… I like it hot but even for me, this is a little much! Luckily, I’ll be laying low for the next week or two, enjoying the holiday weekend and my annual summer 4th of July shindig in the comfort of Anchor Point (my house). We plan to swim, boat, grill out, and do all the typical American summer things that we love so much — I can’t wait!

Just a friendly reminder, since I’ll be at home living my best life for the next several days and my staff will also be off enjoying their time with family and friends, the release of the July Weekend Series Quilt will be delayed until Friday, July 10th, 2026. Also, there will be NO LIVE with LISA this week — Thursday, July 2nd, 2026. We will be back next week on July 9th, 2026 at our regular time of 1:00 p.m. CST on my YouTube channel, STITCH with Lisa Bongean!

There’s just one more thing to remind you about before I bounce out of here tonight and that’s to please remember that we have special holiday hours this week due to the 4th, so if you think you need to stock up on anything, do it sooner than later! Special hours for this week are as follows:

So what are your plans for the 4th? Are you traveling to see family, staying close to home, or a little of both? How about fireworks? Do you love to watch the big bang shows or would you rather hunker down and hide behind the toilet with the dog??? Let me know what your Independence Day traditions are in the comments — you know I always love to hear about what’s going on with you! No matter what you decide to do, if I don’t make it back to the blog again before the weekend hits, I wish you all a very happy and SAFE 4th of July. Take care, everyone! ~Lisa