Red & White is Sew Nice!

Have you nailed down your final design for the 2022 Red & White Quilt Challenge? If not, don’t worry, you still have time to get in on the game! If you’re looking for just the right quilt for this fun challenge, I have some exciting news. Martingale has a brand new book release coming out that’s sure to light your red and white creative fire! Fans of Red & White Quilts I who have been eagerly waiting for the spectacular sequel Red & White Quilts II will be happy to know that it is now available to PRE-ORDER on our website! Perfect timing for the Challenge!

Red & White Quilts II focuses on the ever-popular, traditional two-color combination of red and white. As you know, the red and white color combination has been one of the most sought-after color motifs for quilts throughout history. In earlier times, the art of making red fabric pigments was costly and difficult to master. This made the value of red and white quilts extremely high, and only the extremely wealthy and upper class were able to afford them. Red and white quilts are still popular among modern quilters of today, and of course just as captivating and beautiful as ever! Like its prequel Red & White Quilts I,  Red & White Quilts II contains 14 red and white quilt concepts ranging from vintage-inspired beauties to more modern patterns – all created by some of Moda’s best designers. Styles include antique, contemporary, patchwork, appliqué, and medallion to name a few. Featured designers to look for are:

I’m proud to be one of the guest designers in this dynamic book. My featured quilt is called, “Ruby Stars.” This king-sized quilt only has nine total stars so despite its large size, it can be done fairly quickly. Of course the feathered stars are easily done with Primitive Gatherings 1″ finished triangle paper, which you can purchase on our website by clicking HERE! I know small triangles can feel a little challenging, but after the first one your confidence will be fueled and you’ll have the rest of blocks done in no time! I tackled it by making one a day until I was down to the last couple. Then busted the rest out all at once in a final sprint toward the finish line!!!

Not familiar with The 2022 Red & White Quilt Challenge here at Primitive Gatherings? Let me fill you in. I love red and white quilts so much that I wanted to celebrate them in a way that would really show their stylish designs off properly. My dream is to have the retreat house filled with red and white quilts by mid-November this year, just in time for the Christmas season. Imagine the sea of reds and whites such a large collection hanging all together will create! I want it to be something like when Joanna S. Rose’s collection was displayed  at the American Folk Art Museum in New York after Joanna’s birthday gift where her 650 red and white American quilts hung at the historic Wade Thompson Drill Hall back in 2011. Picture that! 650 red and white quilts, all hanging in one 55,000 square foot room. Take a look!The American Folk Art Museum dramatically transformed the Park Avenue Armory’s historic 55,000-square-foot Wade Thompson Drill Hall with the installation of 650 red and white American quilts, all of which were on loan from the collection of Joanna S. Rose. It was the largest exhibition of quilts ever held in the city. As an extraordinary gift to the public, entry to this unprecedented event was free.

Even though it’s not quite as large as the Wade Thompson Drill Hall, The Gathering is a fabulous place to show off your work. Our 10,000 square foot retreat house features lots of wall space, a super tall ceiling, and spectacular lighting. I literally designed the entire space to hang and display quilts – no matter the size. I can’t wait to see our own exhibit once everything is hung… It’s going to be so cool! You can find all the details including registration information for The 2022 Red & White Quilt Challenge by clicking the link below!Click to register for the Red and White Quilt Challenge

Speaking of red and white, the arrival of my own red and white themed book Red and White Gatherings is coming soon! It is a collection of nine red and white quilts that I designed based on my latest fabric line release, also called Red and White Gatherings.” Red and White Gatheringsis a stylish collection of creams and mid to dark reds, combined with both floral and geometric prints that range from tiny to larger scale motifs. Unfortunately, you’ll have to wait until October, 2022 to get your hands on a copy of the Red and White Gatherings book, however pre-cuts and yardage are available to order now!

I really love quilt challenges and hope you’re participating in this one. Any one of the designs in either Red & White Quilts I or Red & White Quilts II would make excellent choices for entries into our challenge, not to mention all the possibilities that the Red and White Gatherings line bring to the table. Have you made up your mind yet? Let me know in the comments! Tell me about your progress or your lack-there-of. LOL! You have until October to get your entries in – which feels like a lot of time, but don’t wait too much longer if you’re procrastinating! You know how time will fly…

Alright, that’s all for now everyone! Be sure to join us tomorrow at 9AM CST for Shop Talk with Shelley LIVE on YouTube. She’ll be showing off an awesome scrap-buster quilt, along with some wool project recommendations and a few of her favorite tricks and tools of the trade. You can tune in by hitting the link below. As always don’t forget to like and comment for a chance to win a prize! Winners are selected from comments on both my blog and YouTube channel – usually each week (sometimes less, sometimes more depending on what we have going on)! Winners from the blog will be announced here, and winners from the LIVE shows will be announced during the broadcast!

I do have a couple of winners I’d like to announce right now in fact – Comment winners this time around are, Debby H. and Colleen T. Congratulations you two! As usual, I don’t want to post last names or email addresses for everyone’s privacy, so if you think you’re one of these lucky winners please check your email! You can also contact Heidi at heidin@primitivegatherings.us if you have not already received an email from her. She will use your email address to confirm that you are in fact the winner (in the case that there is someone with the same initials, she will determine the correct person with matching email credentials)! If you’re not a winner this week that’s all the more reason to keep those comments coming! See you all soon. ~Lisa

 

Moda All-Stars for the Win!

Hey friends! Have you ever heard of the Moda All-Star quilt book series? It’s an awesome collection of books put together by a team of 50 of Moda’s top designers with a charitable donation as the common goal of each publication. Royalties from every book sold in the series are donated to charities like The Alzheimer’s Association, Feeding American, and Special Olympics to name a few. What a great way to enjoy what we stitchers love most, all while giving back at the same time!

I just so happened to be thumbing through the latest All-Stars release, Snuggle Up when it occurred to me that I have been in every issue of the Moda All-Stars series since they first came out in 2015 – that’s 15 of them! I can’t tell you how proud that makes me feel, knowing that my hard work and dedication to my craft is also helping people who are facing adversity in their lives every day. I’m truly honored to be part of such an awesome cause. So far, Moda All-Stars has made charitable donations to 15 worthy causes that total more than $95,000. Just wow!

Of course we couldn’t have achieved such great things without all of you. Thanks to your continued support by purchasing the Moda All-Star series books, we have been able to accomplish something great! Every purchase of an All-Star series book factors into a charitable donation to a worthy cause. If you would like to learn more about past recipients of these generous donations, click the link below to watch a short video from Martingale Publishing!

Whether you’re a fan of scrappy quilts, pillows and cushions, minis, or simply love pre-cut friendly projects, All-Stars has the book for you! Not to mention, they are beautiful! Perfect bound with thick, glossy pages and beautiful photography, these books will last! They make the perfect addition to your sewing room library – or, if you’re feeling especially generous, they’re also an easy solution for a gift ideas. In fact, my blog manager Heidi plans to give her mother a copy of, Lucky Charm Quilts for Mother’s Day because she recently professed she’s always wanted to make a patchwork quilt, but never had the chance. What a thoughtful idea! I think it’s about time she grabs the bull by the horns, don’t you? No excuses now!

The end of the week is fast approaching. It would be nice if the weather would cooperate for once so we can all get some time outdoors this weekend. If not well, I know just the thing to do to pass the time… STITCH of course! How are your O’ Say Can You Sew Mystery Quilt-Along blocks coming along? Hopefully you’re finished or at least getting there, because Clue 2 releases Monday! Not familiar with this Quilt-Along? Hit the link below to read the blog post where I explain it all!

Alright, I’m off! Have a great weekend everyone, and try to stay out of trouble! LOL I’ll see you all again on Monday when my O’ Say Can You Sew Mystery Clue #2 is hot off the virtual press! You’ll be able to find a link to the printable pattern PDF, along with all the information you need to complete the blocks right here on my blog! If you had fun making the last clue come to life, you’re going to love this block just as much! In the mean time always have fun and do your best to stitch every day… It’s good for you! ~Lisa

12 Days of Christmas – Day 10

All things for working with wool are on special today (does not include wool yardage or pre-cuts)! We have lumped a whole bunch of my favorite things together that I consider to be must-haves when working with wool! Please watch the video link below to hear me explain all of the items we have on special today. You have until January 2nd, 2022 to place your order! Remember to leave us a comment  for a chance to win some of my favorite wool essentials!!!

All of today’s items are truly my favorites for wool appliqué. I cannot work without them! The needles for wool appliqué are a must. Do not try to just use what you have… You will struggle! Also, Tweezers are really awesome for picking up those little wool pieces and removing the paper from the back.

Don’t forget marking pens! By far the best marking pen for wool is the white liquid chalk pen. You simply mark lightly onto the wool and let it dry. Markings will stay on for the duration of your stitching, it does not brush off. If you need to remove it, you can just steam it away! 

Our Primitive Gatherings Scissors are so beautiful and functional that I cannot cut without them. I truly do not like using any other scissors! They are light weight, super sharp and I cut everything with them. Yes… especially paper fusible web because they never dull. I use the little rotary cutters (18mm & 28mm) to quickly cut out my fusible web before it is adhered to the wool. I also love my stem cutting rulers. The rulers perfectly cut 3/16″ strips of wool/fusible for exact 1/4″ stems and vines for all your wool projects!

Fusible web is your friend when doing wool appliqué! It holds the shapes to your background (or to each other) and gives the wool nice crisp edges for stitching. I recommend using HeatnBond Feather Lite for all appliqués and then use Lite Steam-a-Seam2 for all your stems and vines. I do not use the SAS2 Lite for my appliqués because it is too sticky to stitch through. This can be an issue if you are getting your work machine quilted because it tends to cause a lot of skipped stitches.

Now is a great time to stock up! I would for sure buy a bolt (35yds) of the Feather Lite at this time because we are offering 25% off the whole bolt! Take 20% off all other wool essentials through January 2nd, 2022!

For wool appliqué I am most proud of these two books, Wool, Needle & Thread 1 and 2. I’ll let you read the publisher’s description below, they make me and the books sound so AWESOME!

“These books are the definitive guide to wool appliqué and embroidery! Welcome to beloved designer Lisa Bongean’s private classroom! Toss the trial-and-error and learn from Lisa’s decades of experience how she creates her exquisite stitcheries step by step: wool appliqué, embroidery, and more. Filled with close-up photos of Lisa’s hands working her magic, this book will help you master each technique down to the tiniest detail. Start with Lisa’s fabric tips; then move on to her favorite tools, templates, threads, and needles. How does she create her slim vines, pretty pennies, and flower appliqués? It’s all here, along with a dozen embroidery stitches in photos so clear, you’ll know exactly how to re-create them. Lisa also shares five sweet projects to make yourself, rounding out this jam-packed volume that will teach you how to start, stitch, and finish your projects more accurately, more confidently, and more beautifully than ever before. For quilters yearning to work with wool and wanting to learn from the master, Lisa Bongean of Primitive Gatherings is here to help. In her first book, Wool, Needle & Thread, Lisa shares all her tried-and-true techniques–from start to fabulous finish–with dozens of step-by-step photos and a handful of projects.” – Martingale Publishing

CLICK HERE to Order Your Copy of Wool, Needle & Thread Volume 1 – On SALE Now!

Now, in Wool, Needle & Thread 2 you can put all those stitchery skills into action with 15 patterns brimming with possibilities from table mats and pincushions, to pillows and wall hangings. It’s a maker’s delight!

CLICK HERE to Order Your Copy of Wool, Needle & Thread Volume 2 – On SALE Now!

To win a prize for todays favorite things leave a comment here answering which of today’s items you need or want! Do you need the best “How to” book for wool appliqué? Do you want the feather Lite Heat’nBond?  Maybe it is the tweezers? Tell us and Santa might just be listening!!!  

CLICK HERE for the Stitch with Lisa Bongean YouTube Channel!

12 Days of Christmas – Day 12

Hey Everyone! It’s Christmas time again and I’m happy to announce that the Primitive Gatherings 12 Days of Christmas starts today! Please join me in counting down the days til Christmas, as I share a few of my favorite things that today’s Stitchers need!

Let’s start off with Little Gatherings! My brand new book from Martingale Publishing, due to come out early next year…but guess what! I heard it’s here already! What??? As of just this morning, I know for a fact that the book came early, so that means we can get them signed and out to you ASAP (Pre-orders only – Must be ordered as the only item in your cart! Our anticipated shipping date at this time is January, 2022)!

Everyone loves little quilts – you can never have too many! Little Gatherings is a compilation of 13 little quilts all together in one book. I know that when I post pictures of my mini’s wall, everyone goes crazy for them! Check out my mini’s wall below!

Now is a great time to get started on your own mini collection – OR, if you’ve already started, this will just add to the possibilities of what to make next! Also, to sweeten the deal we are including a variety pack of Primitive Gatherings HST paper with each book purchased!

Today’s deal will also include 20% off all our Primitive Gatherings Triangle Paper! Don’t forget, a free Variety Pack will be included with the purchase of an autographed Little Gatherings book! Click on the photo below and it will take you to our site for easy ordering!

I am over the top excited about this newest book! I hope you are just as excited to add another great Martingale book to your library. It’s such an honor to serve the quilting community any way I can, whether it’s books on wool appliqué, tiny quilts or being one of the designers in the Moda compilation books…it’s so much fun!

Do you want to win this book? Please leave us a comment here with an estimate of how many quilting/stitching/craft books you own. I can’t wait to read your answers!

We will pick 2 winners here on the blog and 2 on our YouTube Channel comments! The winner for our 12 daily prizes will be announced on New Years Day! If you win and have purchased the book we will refund your account!!! Take care, and see you tomorrow with another one of my favorite things!