Hey, everyone!

How is it possible that we’re almost half-way through August already when it seems like summer just got started? Then again, I guess having several back-to-back retreats for the first two months of a season is a pretty surefire way to make it fly by! Between all the teaching, designing, and traveling all over the place, it’s no wonder I keep staring at my calendar trying to figure out where the heck June and July went. I’m not complaining, though. There have been plenty of good things keeping me busy over the last couple of months with even more on the horizon, but I digress… there are a few things happening right now that I need to make sure you’re aware of before I get too far ahead of myself.

First up, let’s talk about Wildflower Gatherings — the latest addition to the Primitive Gatherings fabric line family! If you haven’t seen this beautiful line in person yet, you’re in for a real treat… and something a bit different from what you usually see from me. Right off the bat, you’ll notice that this collection of eye candy is definitely more colorful than what I would normally go for, but I’ll be the first to admit that I had a lot of fun stepping outside the comfort zone of my typical palette. With colors like mustard, pumpkin, coral, sage, dusty blues, plum, charcoal, and warm creams in the mix, there’s a ton of variety here to play with. On top of that, dainty florals, ditsy prints, and classic textures give you plenty of print options that are great for piecing, collage, and scrappy quilts alike.

Do you love it? I do. Not my norm, but you know — everyone should try new things — even when you already have a formula that works! Exploration is part of growth. It’s one of those, “how will you know if you don’t try” situations. That being said, it’s been a pretty busy year for me in the new fabric line department. American Gatherings III arrived last winter, Joyful Gatherings II made its debut just a few weeks ago, and if all goes well, Flannel Gatherings Basics should be hitting the shelves later this month (fingers crossed). Then, before we know it, Wildflower Gatherings will be in our hands sometime in January 2027 — which reminds me. Pre-orders for Wildflower Gatherings end August 18th, 2026 so get your orders in NOW while pre-order pricing is still in effect (that’s 15% OFF Wildflower Gatherings kits and 20% OFF Wildflower Gatherings pre-cuts!). After that, Wildflower Gatherings will be back to their regular retail price.

Collecting pretty fabric is only half the fun of being a quilter who owns a fabric shop — figuring out what to do with it all is where things can really get interesting! American Gatherings III has certainly been keeping me busy on that front as I’m currently using it in three of my quilt-alongs: Echoes from the Past, Betsy, and the recently started O’ Say Can You Sew III!

For those of you who haven’t heard about O’ Say Can You Sew III, let me fill you in! This annual red, white, and blue mystery quilt-along is back for its third round with another beautiful patriotic quilt for a great cause. As always with the O’ Say Can You Sew series, the finished quilt is a mystery, which means you will not know what it looks like until the very end! What I can tell you is that this is a weekly quilt-along and that there will be six clues total. We are currently on clue number three, but don’t worry if you haven’t started yet — you can easily get caught up if you give it a little extra gas for a day or two. Other details include the fact that the quilt will be red, white, and blue, and measure 82″ x 82″ when finished. And the very best part? 100% of the proceeds will go toward our Missions of Honor fundraising efforts. Want to know more? Visit the official information page at listabongean.com for a full explanation of the quilt-along with links to each clue by clicking the icon below!

As long as we’re on the subject of new fabric lines and quilt-alongs, it only seems fitting that I mention Joyful Gatherings II, which is getting ready to make its own holiday quilt-along debut! The kickoff will be later this month, with the first clues starting in September. The quilt-along will involve making 25 blocks over five weeks (five blocks each week), followed by a sixth week to make the little stars that will serve as the “cornerstones.”

Fun fact: this quilt-along will be the same Christmas tree-themed quilt-along we did two years ago with the original Joyful Gatherings line, so if it looks familiar, that’s why! Of course, there will be prizes along the way for people who are stitching along and posting photos of their progress in my STITCH with Lisa Bongean Facebook group, with a $250 grand prize at the end to put toward quilting or a gift card to the shop! Full details will be available soon at lisabongean.com under the quilt-alongs tab on or around August 20th, 2026, so watch for that.

Alright, everyone — that’s enough information for one blog post! Time to skidaddle on out of here so I can rest up for tomorrow, my absolute favorite day of the week… Thursday! As usual I will be hitting the airwaves LIVE at 1:00 p.m. CST on my YouTube channel STITCH with Lisa Bongean, where we’ll be dishing the usual PG gossip and getting everyone on the same page for another week! Spend your lunch hour the right way with me and the girls by clicking the STiTCH button below. See you there! ~Lisa