Kick’in off the start of the season…

I had a long, great day yesterday…Kick’n off the start of the season…

As we are getting the outside of the Lake house ready for Summer, we added in a little fun too!  It doesn’t take much does it…I thoroughly enjoyed watching the kids play in between, cleaning lawn furniture, wiping down every surface, planting pots, hauling out all the seat cushions…watching Nick finish up his 32 yards of mulching…

Jake and his friend Tyler went on a kayak cruise…Tyler was also a football player if you couldn’t tell…so it was nice for Nick to see him again…and reminisce about the old days when Nick was coaching with Tyler’s Dad, Brad. (who was the head coach and is no longer with us) I can’t believe they can remember details of each play, each game and all that…it’s crazy.

This was hands down the funiest thing to watch yesterday…Little Man teaching O Bug how to play in the sprinkler…I could not pick only one photo for this…so suffer through them all for me please….Kickin off the season/LIsa Bongean Top US Quilt Blogger Kickin off the season/LIsa Bongean Top US Quilt Blogger

Kickin off the season/LIsa Bongean Top US Quilt Blogger Kickin off the season/LIsa Bongean Top US Quilt Blogger Kickin off the season/LIsa Bongean Top US Quilt Blogger Kickin off the season/LIsa Bongean Top US Quilt Blogger Kickin off the season/LIsa Bongean Top US Quilt Blogger Kickin off the season/LIsa Bongean Top US Quilt Blogger Kickin off the season/LIsa Bongean Top US Quilt Blogger Kickin off the season/LIsa Bongean Top US Quilt Blogger Kickin off the season/LIsa Bongean Top US Quilt BloggerIt was only about mid 60’s but…we have hot water in our garage…so warm sprinkler at Mimi & Papa’s!!!

American Staffordshire Terrier/Lisa Bongean
I hope the dog days of summer come soon and linger on….
the fisherman…and his baby.
Wiouwash Trial 5/16/2020
Wiouwash Trail     5/16/2020

After the kids all left, we cleaned up the dishes and off I went on a evening bike ride on my favorite trail…14 miles in less than an hour…not too bad, now if I could take the time to do that everyday!!! I wonder why I feel like I don’t deserve to do this everyday…hmm maybe I can do two things everyday…

Nick was waiting for me to come home…my new plants look great….and when those daffodils and tulips are gone, hopefully those hydrangeas, petunias, and alyssum will be much bigger!  Nick’s mulch job makes my flowers look so much better!

Kickin off the season/LIsa Bongean Top US Quilt BloggerIt’s been a good weekend…and today I will spend time stitching while watching it slow rain all day…Glad I got those plants in!  Take care of yourselves…Time to stitch.

 

Classes in Menasha WI…Patriotic on the web!!

I promised to let you all know when we got all those awesome patriotic projects from the NC retreat on the web…they are all on and ready…We need to thank the NC retreat girls for proofing all our patterns!!!  See we were working too along with all that fun!!

 

 

 

 

CLICK HERE TO ORDER NEW RED,RIGHT & BLUE PROJECTS!!!

See those little bright green things…they will grow up to be tulips…can’t wait to show you them when they are blooming!!! I brought Jeter for a walk at noon…since my flight got cancelled!!!! I will not be in CA until tomorrow…so I thought I would get some work done…do you remember when I was planting these??? I posted about it here on the blog October 2016…

So…I also have my class schedule for WI…

Come to beautiful WI…soon the tulips will be blooming… and then the summer flowers, nice temperatures and green green grass…I am listing my WI classes  with pictures of the projects in this PDF Lisa’s WI Classes  This list goes through the end of the year….I don’t know why it took me so long to get it done..but probably because I was gone to too many other places teaching!!!

We have smaller more intimate classes than at the big shows/guilds and do not have to charge big money to pay for a convention hall room…so why not come…stay over at the retreat house…and join in the fun!!!

We also are offering a Sit & Sew for you to come work on what you have and have me their to guide you and help you make those decisions you just can’t yourself…This group is a fun, interactive and who knows what we will all be doing…I bounce design ideas off of this group as well and show them what’s new and up and coming…It’s very like a personal sewing group…here is the Sit & Sew description..

Sit & Sew

Bring your projects…get advice…ask questions…learn a new technique… get a sneak peek at our upcoming designs and hear about what’s happening at Primitive Gatherings!! You will not want to miss being a part of this sewing group…Lisa promises a good time as well as lots of stitching!
This group will meet at Lisa’s studio location- 1860 Bud Dr, Suite 101.

Class Fee: $30 per session, or $200 if you sign up for all 8 sessions! Dates: Feb. 14th, April 18th, June 6th, July 11th, Aug. 15th, Sept. 19th, Nov. 21st, and Dec. 12th Time: 9am – 2pm

Bring a lunch if you wish, or we can order out and sometimes Lisa cooks for us…We will email you ahead of the class.
Spots will fill quickly, give us a call to add your name to the list!!

 

Then the other new class I am offering is…below…this class if less about how beautiful the project is, and more about what I’m going to learn while doing this…You get to pick your fabrics…

New Class for 2017!!   From Start to Finish-

Have you ever wondered how Lisa gets so much accomplished, in such a short time? Then this may be the class for you! She will be sharing many tips for improving your piecing skills, demonstrating her techniques and notions, and showing you some shortcuts to make quilting an even more enjoyable experience!

This is not intended to be a beginner class, basic sewing skills, and knowledge of your machine’s operation are required.

We will get together on four different dates to assemble a small quilt, from start to finish. You will be able to pick out your own color way/fabrics, and remember this is about techniques, not about how glorious the project is…The tentative schedule is here…

Session 1 – We will cover preparing your fabrics, cutting and piecing one block…then you will have some homework, to assemble the remaining blocks.

Session 2 – We will cover assembling your blocks into rows, joining the rows, cutting, and attaching the borders.

Session 3 – We will be making the back for your quilt, layering the quilt, and covering some basic machine quilting techniques.

Session 4 – We will be making your binding, and attaching both the binding and a sleeve to your quilt, and celebrating your finished project!

Class location will be based upon number of students signed up for the class, please contact the shop a few days prior to the first session.

Instructor: Lisa Bongean
Class Fee: $100, for the 4 sessions
Time: 9am start time – Ending times will vary per each session Dates: June 7th, 28th, July 12th and 26th

Hope to see you sometime!!!Come to WI enjoy the GREEN!

LB

Block 12 & 13 Magic of Christmas…

Good Evening Everyone…

Just want you all to know we all just finished a H-E double toothpick of- week!  That’s I why I have not posted any new MOC blocks…now remember… I told you early on there were going to be gaps and times when they come day after day and then not so much…but rest assured…we will get them all done by the end of November!!!

I did not mention this but I am going to now…sooooo I have to go to CA after Houston to teach a bunch of wonderful ladies coming all the way from New Zeeland…they are coming to our CA shop and we are so excited to have them!!! But that means I will be gone for over two weeks, coming home NOV 11…then what happens in November?  Right our biggest event!!!! Primitive Christmas…when you get patterns and pincushion kits and those cute mugs!!! So my point here is I have designed/stitched all(4 this year)the projects for this AND about 5 extra ones…that I am saving for this event!!! So really it was fun, but at the same time…very brutal….this was A LOT to do plus all the new designs from Liberty Gatherings my newest Moda line that will come out in FEB/2017 ….I will be posting about these soon too…now that they are all back from the quilters and much prettier now… and will be hanging in Houston for all the shop owners to see and buy for their shops…so…to keep you busy for the next week…while the graphic designer is gone to Mexico this whole next week..(thanks Teri for working late today…I know you wanted to be gone by three….we appreciate all you do for us!!! Make sure you have a margarita and enjoy the sun!!!)  But she managed to sneak these two blocks in today! I’ve double-triple, checked them for printing errors and can’t find any…so fingers crossed there are none…

Two easy ones…this time…LB

 

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magic-of-christmas-block-13a

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Oh…almost forgot…some Fall decorating…some of you wanted to see…I just did a little this year….we had some nice Fall days….

Here is the back of the house that does not face the water…
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Planting Spring bulbs!!! Can’t wait to show you next Spring…I don’t remember them being this hard to plant!!!!!! Still waiting for more to arrive they better hurry!!!
img_8360Jeter my helper…img_8361

Our dining table…
img_8366Behind the sofa table…
img_8341Jeter… all tuckered out from being outside for a couple hours….He’s got it pretty good I would say…LB…Will post more MOC blocks from Houston once Teri gets back from her Vay-Cay!!!  I’ll be looking for your posts on IG, FB!!!

Summer Blocks of the Week…finally!!!

I’m just posting here just in case some of you are not signed up for the shop’s blog…Jessica did a fine job today posting about all THREE of our Summer Blocks of the Week…Please click HERE to read ALL the details that I may not mention in this post…

We all have been working very hard to get all the blocks done..and cutting sheets tested and all the details sorted to bring this to you…So I just want to briefly say a few things about each one…

Among Friends is a quilt I designed after Ardie, who teaches at the CA store…showed me her quilting basket that was made up into 3″ friendship stars…I thought…these are perfect for a “pieced” SBOW…so I came up with an interesting layout and started planning how we could make lots of yummy scrappy stars!  Here is what you will be getting…12 packages of 44 blocks…36 for the body of the quilt and 8 saved for the border…lisa bongeanIMG_6443I’m super excited to piece these weekly and collect little friendship stars each week! I’ll help you stay caught up!!!

Next is this adorable star quilt…I fell in”love” with this design…I usually don’t buy/collect 30’s quilts…but sometimes you have to make exceptions…img_2952LisaBongean/collectionThis amazing quilt HAS to be re-created…Jess named it Clara’s Stars after her grandmother…as she is in-charge of this one…primitivegatherings2016We are kitting it with civil war repos instead of the 30’s…with a choice of cream or tan backgrounds…I am going to try at least to make a runner…since I am in charge of the other two SBOW…I’m not THAT crazy to do all three…remember…we HAVE no choice we have to keep up and I know my limits!

Now the last SBOW…My Crazy Life..(how fitting)

I L-O-V-E how this one is going to turn out…It’s the finishing thats going to MAKE the quilt for me and I will be sharing in about a month after we start..but really if you just put these blocks together that would be fine to…but you know…it will be A-mazing for what I have planned for it …so keep that in mind…

This quilt is FUN…It is easy…the strips will be cut to size for you…as it is very forgiving and you will trim the blocks down, which will set them back straight again… You are looking at flannel backgrounds and wool appliqués…These blocks are so fun…after I finished these 8, they were so colorful and cheery I decided to get the rest of them ALL fused down..in about a day in a half…so this in not intense (like 2015’s was…lol) so if you are all about fun and simple this one is for you…but remember the setting it going to elevate it to awesome!!!lisa bongean 2016lisa bongean 2016

I am supposed to be stitching on a BOM I need to get done for Spring Market…but I got severely sidetracked with this…but now they are ready to stitch…I will bring them along to Market and maybe they will all be done by the time I return…

You will be doing 4 blocks in each package… very do-able!

Now last but NOT least…the FREEBIE!!! I’m not going to say anything but this…might be the best freebie yet…and you know we’ve had some great ones!!!lisa.bongean2016

If you cannot commit to the SBOW you can still get the FREEBIE each week with a $25 purchase from the shop…walk in or internet…but if you are in any of the SBOWs you automatically get them shipped with your weekly package of happy mail!!!

Again…lots of info here but if you want ALL the details you need to visit HERE . It will give you links to the shop’s website where you can sign up for these wonderful projects to keep us inspired and stitching all summer long…We will also have 2 Facebook groups…with exclusive memberships to help, share, encourage, give stuff away and just meet some wonderful people!!! If you were in the group last year comment and encourage those who “don’t do Facebook” to try it…

If you have any questions after reading Jess’s blog post with all the info please email or call the shop…but I think she covered it all…ps…if you already signed up for Among Friends…just make a note on your order if you are signing up for another…or email if you forget.

I have lots to post about coming up…so I will be bothering you more in the near future…all for now….what do you think about Presley choosing to relax on this super cool hexie floor??? A quilter must live here…and a doggie that loves hexies too!

lisabongean2016all for now….LB

Summer Update

I hope you are all having a great summer….I am trying to do some fun stuff along with all the deadlines I have to make!!!

I have been to SeaWorld in SanDiego…IMG_2684I have been hanging out at the Lakehouse with my Family..and friends and trying to see as many Sunsets as I can..IMG_2768IMG_2761IMG_2749I have been teaching ALOT also…At the WI studio..IMG_2740IMG_2745IMG_2743IMG_2744I forgot to take pics of the 2 Day Crazy Mat class…sorry Ladies…

I also want to share some of the samples that were brought in to the CA shop over our Grand Opening!!!

Here is Linda’s Timeless Rose quilt…IMG_2665and then we have Marsha’s Dashing Through the Snow…IMG_2666then some wool pumpkins on Midnight Harvest made by Cindy…IMG_2670It is so awesome when I teach a class and then the next time I’m at the shop someone brings in their finished project..here is Trina and her sample from our Punchneedle class…IMG_2671Then Jo shared a couple of things…little Thimble quilt…see how she placed her colored thimbles?…along with a SEW pincushion..IMG_2664Again…so much going on…I’m stitching ALL the BOW’s.  Both from the WI shop and the Little Bow Ties from the CA shop..IMG_2797 IMG_2833IMG_2821

We also are planning a wedding for the end of summer for these two…I think they were enamored with ‘little man” and want one of their own even more now!!!IMG_2796also last but not least I finished the FREEBIE…I will show it as soon as they get it on the website…lol…so coming soon!  Enjoy the nice weather and get those BOW fused down or cut if you are doing the pieced one…and then when you have little moments of time you can use it well!  Make the best of everyday….and STITCH!  LB

oh…one more thing…I am seeing lots of cool wildlife at the Lake…like this huge toad…he was as big as Luke’s hand..IMG_2779and then this big beautiful Moth…IMG_2754Until next time!!

Is it Summer yet?

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Just thought I would send out a post and tell you all what going on…First…Its fun to see the college kids come back to work…JJ, Dominic and Abbey are helping the warehouse girls…Lynn, Sherrie, Rose, Rose(foxy) and Robin get all these SBOW’s ready…They all freak out that I don’t have it ready yet!!! Then magically in a couple of days I can have 12 blocks drawn, 2 stitched with sashings 3 more fused and all 15 of the FREEBIES fused and 2 stitched, the Freebie is called “To Plant a Flower…”all the threads picked out and now I can concentrate on stitching…oh wait…Row by Row?…Ok..got that drawn…Wisconsin Shop Hop, Amy pieced this for us…I just wrote directions and Val is quilting, can’t wait to show this off…all coming soon….its really non stop!!!!

I decided I would spend sometime in the evenings in my garden, which I have been neglecting for a couple of years, but not this year!…photos of gardens today and a photo bomber…I also have had a bad bad cough and sore throat that kicked my butt earlier this week…Much better today…thank GOD it is getting better…there is no time to not feel good.IMG_2527IMG_2525IMG_2520IMG_2523IMG_2519IMG_2510IMG_2524IMG_2522IMG_2517IMG_2509IMG_2518IMG_2513IMG_2507IMG_2516IMG_2512IMG_2511IMG_2505IMG_2504IMG_2503