Recently was given this photo from one of my aunties…Gladys…I do not know how old my Dad is here but I am guessing late 20s.  If your husband isa car nut, can you ask him what make and year this car is? I would love to know and appreciate it…but anyway…my Dad painted cars for a living…he knocked out their dings and reshaped them back into “like new” again.  Did you notice that this car is in “primer” meaning he is working on it.  My Dad would buy a smashed up car…put new parts on it or use fiberglass to “mud in” its defects and then sand and shape then prime and  paint it…but usually the painting part was always “put off” for a bit and I remember my Mother driving several cars in primer until my Dad found another car to fix up…then it was time to paint the previous one and sell it so he could move on to the “new” fixer upper…and the cycle would keep repeating… I remember we had a Dodge Charger, Chrysler New Yorkers…Cordovas…and so on….He never had time for our cars because he was too busy painting everyone else’s, because everyone in town wanted him to fix his car…My Dad has been gone for 10 years now…I miss him and wonder what he would think about what I am doing now…but thinking about it…I really do know what he would think….We recently lost Nick’s Dad…and are still dealing with that loss as well…But life go on and I we have to make the best of what life we all have left because we really don’t know or can count on it…it is out of our hands…

So… I LOVE your guesses…I would picture my Dad being a farmer…or all of the professions…and this made me laugh…Everyone loved my Dad….and yes…he also loved to hunt, fish, play the harmonica, stump fiddle (hummstrumm), spoons and even the accordion…He had lots of buddies to do all of this stuff with as well as us kids and Mom…

Now the winner are…

Kathy W comment 33, Rosemary Redhead comment 39  and Karen S.comment 56….Now if you notice i have disqualified my first cousin Mary…MDquilter..really Mary??? I would think you should know better you smarty pants…..but I will give her my 4th copy because I a good cousin…she and Fred are going on the Quilting cruise with us in Feb 2014!!!   Will the winner please send me their addresses at info@primitivegatherings.us  please and I will send their magazine to them…if you are in a BOM with Primitive Gatherings we might send it along with that…I will pay the extra postage…no worries…thanks Ladies for the fun…LB

Hey Everyone…You are in for a treat today…I want you to meet Kimberly from Fat Quarters Shop…She has asked us to join her in promoting her new Layer Cake pattern called Layer Cake Lemonade…Click on her photo for a Tutorial and the top banner for a PDF of the pattern.   This pattern is perfect for beginners or if you need a quick quilt for donation to your cause….I had my new assistant make it and she has NEVER made a quilt before, so this was perfect to teach your non quilting friends or maybe your grand daughters/sons ect! …All you need is one Layer Cake from Moda…and guess what??? Fat Quarters Shop is having a 20% off all of their Layer Cakes just for you!  So Click on the 20% button at the bottom of this post and shop til you drop…Maybe a Floral Gathering, or Floral Gatherings Shirting will be your choice along with all the other Moda fabric choices that are available!

Now I want to show you both quilts from Primitive Gatherings line…Floral Gatherings and Floral Gatherings Shirtings….Now doesn’t this make the perfect neutral baby quilt?  Amy made this from the Shirtings.  Now here is the other one…Even the more colorful one is nice…Sheina used all the dark colors in the 10″ squares and then used the tans for the 10″ that were cut in half.  I have shown some close ups so you can see the fun easy quilting designs!!!

Our UPS driver just had to laugh this day when his truck was full of our newest fabric line…Floral Gatherings…He was happy that we were so happy!!! Just in time for us to cut it for our last show in Overland Park Kansas,  our Christmas Open House and start cutting the 3 kits for the quilts we have shown here…If you have been waiting for this to arrive it is here in yardage now…See our site HERE  to view Floral Gatherings!!!  It is all put away in our mini MODA/Primitive Gatherings warehouse!

Quilt-Along…What in the heck is a Quilt- Along?….well the Editors of American Patchwork & Quilting have decided to start a Quilt- Along with one of the designs in their newest magazine on news stands December 3rd….some of you will have it sooner if you have the subscription…The designer is my favorite person who shares the same name as me…(but somehow she got an extra “s”)…Lissa Alexander who just happens to be the awesome marketing director from Moda Fabrics…her quilt shown here is in this next issue and we (a bunch of designers) were invited to stitch it “our” way and blog about it!!!  

The designers are an eclectic group and you are sure to find someone who’s quilting style is just like yours and you may want to take their color advice…keep in mind we all had to sign up to do something different, so all of our quilts turn out different! yeah!!!…The other designers are listed in the magazine or Lissa has listed them all on her blog…click HERE for Lissa’s blog if you cannot wait to see if your fav designer is quilting-along.

I hope that you dig through your COLLECTION (not stash, collections are “of value”….we will talk about this later) like I did and use some  that fabric you just had to have….or maybe this will inspire you to try something out of your box, like Lissa did…Isn’t her quilt awesome?…I am so glad they asked me to join as I have not made this pattern before and I knew I could tweak it in my primitive sort of way… So THANKS again to Jennifer and Elizabeth (APQ Editors)for creating something different…and again to Lissa for a great design to work with…

Welcome to my Half Yard fabric collection…you are looking at a half yards of all of the reproduction fabrics that we have had in our shop…not ever… but for awhile now…I wish I would have thought of this sooner!…this is what the benefit package of a shop owner looks like… I never really get to use this collection…so this is really fun to pick this quilt from this glorious group of fabrics…. When I design or pick fabric for quilt I have to use fabric in the shop so we can kit it…looking at this picture it doesn’t really look like a lot does it?  I didn’t think so…if you are ever in need…you may have to count on me to help you out with that 5″ square that you need to finish that kit you bought 5 years ago????   lol…I am here for you…..This retirement collection will be making lots of scrappy quilts someday…as I said nothing bigger than a half yard, I don’t ask for much???…I will be back in another post with my color choices…any guesses????    Stitch on…LB

As soon as I saw the quilt and had to make a decision on how I was to make It  I new I had to make it dramatic using blacks as my backgrounds…so scrappy blacks and then I thought…ok…lets go with black and cream/tan….that will make a neutral quilt that everyone will love, especially men…whom I am surrounded by in my life. So black and tan it is….the directions stated I needed 20 backgrounds or light per pattern…It was pretty easy to pick them…I chose mainly smaller prints and a few medium size prints…all black with shades of cream/tan/brown accents to them…See the 2 photos of the 10 blacks each…

Now in the second photo…do you see the second black that had the gold?  I love this print…so guess what happened, just like that…we are going to have black/cream/butterscotch because…that will make it much more interesting!!! Now off to pull the creams and butterscotches.   Did you notice?  I picked 21 of each of everything…did you count them before i mentioned this?….Here is some of my advice…If you buy a kit and it has many fabrics like this one….I suggest adding 1 or two more of your own fabrics to it.  Why?  A couple of reasons…First-You have now made the quilt a one of a kind…not the same as the 100 other kits that were made… you have added your personal fabric to it.   Now it is unique.  Second, reason to add…lets just say the fabric requirements were not exactly perfect or were very tight and had no room for error…I know you never make a cutting error…but now by adding a fabric or two you have eliminated that issue also.  To me it is a NO BRAINER to add extra fabric to your kit.  If you do not have any that work…oh darn, you might have to SHOP for another FQ (or 1/2yd my preference)…bummer huh…This is just a suggestion…not a must…but it’s what I would do…so I have 21 blacks/tans/butterscotch instead of 20, also keep in mind you might want to collect 1/2yd from now on…they are much more versatile… like for this quilt if I had a FQ stash it I would have had to go shopping..if I needed FQ’s I could cut the half yards in half…and so on…This is why we sell 1/2 yds in our booths…I know I get a few who want FQ’s but hopefully I can change the world…yah right!!!!

I will end up with  21 blocks…but it can go in the sampler quilt with all the other orphan blocks I have made…if it gets made, which it usually does…so NOW all my fabrics are picked…now whats next?

Saturate each fabric with Magic Sizing..it can be this one here or the heavy…I buy whatever is on the shelf and all of it…You also can use your homemade starch if you wish…I use the sizing because it does not flake or build up on my iron.  Spray it generously, let it sit and soak in a minute and then Iron it dry with your iron.  This is really a pain…but SO worth it when piecing little pieces.  This shrinks you fabrics NOW instead of when you are building your blocks…I have lots of different brands of fabric here-meaning some will shrink more than others.  It is amazing to see how some of them will shrink right before your eyes when you saturate them.  I have shown the two pics…see how wet it is and then I am ironing them dry.  Now I am all sized up and ready to cut!….come back for some cutting….Stitch On…LB

Hello Everyone…I hope you are all stuffed and either ready to go shopping or ready to stitch or go to our site to shop for our Primitive  Christmas Open House!

Shop Today-Sunday The photos here are the gifts I have designed  for you this year for 2013…They are Free with any $20 purchase you will get all of these 3 patterns along with the kit for the pincushion.  We will send you a random colored pincushion kit.  If you want to order more of them they are available and you can pick your color if you order additional kits. If you are interested in kits to go along with your free patterns they are also on our site under NEW.

Please remember to look for the 2014 Coupon Book and add it to your shopping cart it is no charge during this event.  We charge $10 after this event…so don’t forget….  If you do not put it in your cart we assume you do not want it.  The coupons are good for all of 2014.  All of them are various promotions we run throughout the year for our most loyal customers!

Again I wish you and your family a Happy Holiday Season…Lisa

  To visit our site for these items as well as a bunch of new items click HERE

Just want to give you a quick reminder if you forgot to place your order for our Christmas Open House…Today is the last Day…Thanks to all who were able to attend our in house event…It was nice seeing you all…

I also hope you all had a great Thanksgiving Day weekend and it now officially the start of our Holiday Season…Try to do  a little “Merry Quilting” everyday! There’s always so much to do…but do this for yourself… LB

Test cutting one block before MASS cutting…

I am going out today to find the magazine!!! Do you have yours?  Do you have your fabrics picked out???  This post is about cutting and sorting…I now there are tons of ways to make this quilt…even if this is not how you are making yours you might find a few things helpful…

Remember…I am posting as to the way I do things…it is not the only way…but I am more than willing to share “how I quilt with you”…

Before I start “mass cutting” I always cut one block to make sure the directions are right…this comes from designing, but… just a little note…we (pattern designers) do not graduate from Pattern writing school, anyone can write a pattern, we are human and we will sometimes make a mistake or there is a typo in the directions.  If you find a mistake in our patterns WE WANT TO KNOW, but please be careful in your presentation of letting us know…we already feel bad, but we don’t need anyone belittling us.  If handled properly we will go out of our way to make it up to you…remember…treat people as you would want to be treated…and by the way…have you ever written directions?  Try it…

PS- If you think something may be wrong…always check the designers website or blog for corrections to their patterns before emailing them directly…sometimes it is hard to remove any pattern from the “world” and replace them with corrected ones…

BACK TO OUR BLOCKS…I have layed out a whole block out here…everything to me looks good…but you will not entirely know until you stitch it…but I have decided to scrap up the tans and butterscotches and keep the black backgrounds the same in each blocks…therefore I will not be stitching this together.  But I redid all the math and I came up with the same measurement as the directions…And you know APQ has tested their directions.

Now to MASS cut…I do not cut a strip…pick up my ruler move my cut fabric…lay down my ruler and continue this process.

I cut in the following manner. (If you do not CUT accurate you cannot STITCH accurate…even if you have the best scant 1/4in the world-next post) I believe this is a better way to cut…I am going to layer 4-6 fabrics and cut them all at one time.  This is because I am confident I will not screw up…and I plan my cutting.  Normally I would cut the bigger pieces first.  But this fabric only has 21 -1 1/2″ and 4- 2 1/2″ cuts so it will not matter…I am cutting the 1 1/2 to show you my process in cutting…Follow the pictures below and then if this is not the way you cut…practice it…it is fast and easier I think…but you have to re-train your brain if you cut the other way… Please let me know if this has been helpful…or is this too much detail…After this post you will be ready for stitching! …my best…LB

Layer fabrics and trim off the left edge.

and the bottom edge.

I will be cutting 1 1/2″ squares here…I cut a 6″ cut…

Now I will move my ruler to 4 1/2″ and cut…

then to 3″ and cut…never bothering the previous cuts…

then to 1 1/2″…

now I will place my ruler at the 7 1/2 measurement …cutting from the bottom edge.  The fabric to the right is waste…not enough for another 1 1/2″ cut…

move to 6 and cut…

move to 4 1/2…

move to 3 and cut…

move to 1 1/2…and cut.. I now have 20 of the 21- 1 1/2″ squares..I will cut the last one with the 2 1/2″ squares.

After everything is cut…I sort into blocks. 20 blocks…my backgrounds are the same for each block…so I will spread them out into piles of all of each cut of the same background together…

Make 20 piles and start sorting out how many pieces you will need for each block….while mixing up the prints

creams…

Now sort everything together into 20 blocks

Package each block into a ziplock bag

place all your bags into a container…now we are ready to stitch…

I am going out today to find the magazine!!! Do you have yours?  Do you have your fabrics picked out???  This post is about cutting and sorting…I know there are tons of ways to make this quilt…even if this is not how you are making yours you might find a few things helpful…

Remember…I am posting as to the way I do things…it is not the only way…but I am more than willing to share “how I quilt with you”…

Before I start “mass cutting” I always cut one block to make sure the directions are right…this comes from designing, but… just a little note…we (pattern designers) do not graduate from Pattern writing school, anyone can write a pattern, we are human and we will sometimes make a mistake or there is a typo in the directions.  If you find a mistake in our patterns WE WANT TO KNOW, but please be careful in your presentation of letting us know…we already feel bad, but we don’t need anyone belittling us.  If handled properly we will go out of our way to make it up to you…remember…treat people as you would want to be treated…and by the way…have you ever written directions?  Try it…

PS- If you think something may be wrong…always check the designers website or blog for corrections to their patterns before emailing them directly…sometimes it is hard to remove any pattern from the “world” and replace them with corrected ones…

BACK TO OUR BLOCKS…I have layed out a whole block out here…everything to me looks good…but you will not entirely know until you stitch it…but I have decided to scrap up the tans and butterscotches and keep the black backgrounds the same in each blocks…therefore I will not be stitching this together.  But I redid all the math and I came up with the same measurement as the directions…And you know APQ has tested their directions.

Now to MASS cut…I do not cut a strip…pick up my ruler move my cut fabric…lay down my ruler and continue this process.

I cut in the following manner. (If you do not CUT accurate you cannot STITCH accurate…even if you have the best scant 1/4in the world-next post) I believe this is a better way to cut…I am going to layer 4-6 fabrics and cut them all at one time.  This is because I am confident I will not screw up…and I plan my cutting.  Normally I would cut the bigger pieces first.  But this fabric only has 21 -1 1/2″ and 4- 2 1/2″ cuts so it will not matter…I am cutting the 1 1/2 to show you my process in cutting…Follow the pictures below and then if this is not the way you cut…practice it…it is fast and easier I think…but you have to re-train your brain if you cut the other way… Please let me know if this has been helpful…or is this too much detail…After this post you will be ready for stitching! …my best…LB

Meet my friend Janet O….better know as the Rogue Quilter….see her blog here…CLICK HERE

I have met Janet in a class in Utah…wonderful person and very prolific quilter, who also makes the best homemade soap…she sent me some of her projects she has made with my fabrics awhile back and I sort of lost them in this mess of a desktop I have…but I found them and want to share them with you…Janet has a knack of switching colors up a bit…I love what she has created…I especially LOVE the Picnic quilt done in Old Glory fabrics…Here are Janet’s quilts…

I also am a guest blogger on Moda Cutting Table Blog today…click here for a visit  MODA BLOG

Picnic Quilt made by Janet Olsen, Pattern by Primitive Gatherings

Made by Janet Olsen…Pattern by Primitive Gatherings

Made by Janet Olsen….Pattern by Primitive Gatherings

Pineapple Quilt…made by Janet Olsen..using Primitive Gatherings fabrics

Little Buds…dark version…Made by Janet Olsen…Pattern by Primitive Gatherings

Hello…and welcome to our 2nd year of Needful Things….I am going to give you 12 things that I cannot “live” aka “quilt” without!…thanks for joining me this year…I appreciate all of you…please comment if you wish…Santa might come a little early…it has been a good year!

All of the 12 items I am showcasing are going to be on sale through the end of the year on our website.  This is going to be a lot of fun so hopefully you can find some of these items useful and want to own them…If you wish to gather a bunch of them and place an order at the end of the 12 days that is great too…or if you want to order them we will just keep sending what you order!!!

Please remember you do not have to buy them from us….you can also support your local shop if that is your wish…we should all LOVE and support our local shops!!!!

I just want to say first of all I am so so so sick…I have never had a cough burn down to my soul this bad before…but I think I am getting a little better everyday now…so hopefully I will make it!!!

The first new item that I cannot live without is my new seam ripper….It is called the Seam-fix…shown here…It has this new rubbery end to pull all the threads out that are stinkers to get out after pickin the stitches out…here is a video

I found onYoutube...Click Here to see how great this baby works….Now it comes in two sizes….The Regular size is $6.95 on sale for $5.60 and now the mini in the bright pink, neon and purple are $2.80.  These would make awesome stocking stuffers for your quilty friends…and you can never have too many of them…

If you would like to purchase this item here are the links to our site Seam-fix and Seam-fix mini

Sorry this is short and sweet…but hopefully tomorrow will be a better day for me…Merry Quilting!!! Lisa

Day 11….Christmas is coming fast….hope you have made your list….every year Nick makes me go through every William-Sonoma, Sundance, Athleta ect. catalog and pick everything I like……so he can surprise me…funny…right?  But at least I get what I like and not a real surprise!!!  I’m not good at faking that I like something…I know that sounds bad but when you have been married for 15 years he should know what I would like…and I guess he does…he asks me….lol…can you tell I am feeling a little better?

Now on to the real needful things…for this next one you are going to say…I have all the rulers I need I have my 6×24 or a 12×12….but… as I was cutting my project for my latest quilt with the new  Creative Grid rulers that I have outfitted my new studio with, it was amazing … I can’t tell you what a huge difference these new updated Creative Grid rulers made…the best part? They have the 1/2″ marking in bold black…now this is really what we are cutting the most is 2 1/2″ or 4 1/2″ and so on…because of our half inch seam allowances…this bold black make this so much more recognizable and easy to find the right  1/2″.  Did I mention I recently got my first pair of no line bifocals????…but anyway…. I was elated and now want to replace every ruler I own, (except my little 4×8 omni) with this new updated version…did you know you can get a square ruler in every size square from 2 1/2- 12 1/2?   I actually use my 20 1/2″ ruler a lot too…but you may want to start slowly when your budget allows to upgrade your rulers….As I was inspecting my old rulers I noticed the lines are starting to fade, the edges are nicked up a bit…so I can see getting a few new rulers….You want to check these out!!!

I think you can get these rulers at any quilt shop…but…If you want to add them to your list from Primitive Gatherings we have them on sale for you…I have listed and added the most common rulers I use in my quilting as I do not think you need a square in every size!  These are my favorites…6 1/2 and 12 1/2″ squares and 6 1/2″x 12 1/2″ and 8 1/2″x 24 1/2″ rectangles.  Click here to shop for Rulers

Please keep in mind that we have no idea how many items people are going to buy for these 12 posts, so please be patient and we will ship your rulers and any other needful things you order as soon as possible…we appreciate your loyalty and want to get you your things as fast as possible because you are the best!

Today I am going to finish decorating the tree…it has been up with lights for a week now…so on with those ornies!!!  Did you read this all the way to the end?  If so comment and I will pick a winner for each of these 12 posts….The winner for yesterdays post is…

Sue kraftDecember 13, 2013 at 7:58 pm

Day 10….It is nice to see all the great comments about how much you love these posts…at least I know I am not wasting anyones time…so keep commenting!

I want you all to know that I am NOT a gadget person…I only buy what I know I will use…unlike my friend Nancy who has to have everything, but she loves her quilting stuff…and if you ever need something she has it!  She also is fun to shop with she gets so excited about something new and then makes 12 of them before she can stop and move on to the next thing….Got to love the Nancy’s in the world…

The next item up for discussion is The Strip Stick…hmmm…now I have to say I use this in just about every block I make and especially if I am making a tiny quilt where MOST of the seams need to be press open to distribute the bulk…so here is why we need this….When pressing seams open:

1.  Does not mess up the other seams around it.

2.  I don’t seem to burn my fingers trying  to separate the seam- with the hard stick under it they sort of flop to the side easier…

3.  You can also press them to one side too….

4.  They come in 3 sizes…45″, 18″ and then mini which I think is 6″…

The 45″ is great for rows that need to be pressed open, also sashings, borders and large strip sets selvage to selvage…as well as all blocks…this is the one to get if you only want to buy one.

The 18″ is great for any open seam pressing in blocks or small strip sets..

Now… I don’t need the mini, because I can use the 18″ for any smaller seams…but maybe someone requested it for traveling  for mini blocks…my guess is there was some waste and they just covered it and now there is a mini too!!!

But  seriously…I only had one of each of the 45″ and 18″ and I have several spots I stitch in…so I found myself cussing that I did not remember to get another set of these for the Lakehouse and the Gathering…so because of this post…I now have that second set.  I talked with Richard who sells them and he advised us the cheapest way to ship them …also, if anything every happens to your stick…its has a Warranty:  Return the Strip Stick at any time for any reason and receive a new one of the same size free…

I have put both of the sticks on sale here on our website:  STRIP STICKS

For yesterdays winner…we have a 6×12 omni grid along with some more 5″ Charm pack of Floral Gatherings Shirtings…The winner is..

1. Debbie Reber

   December 14, 2013 at 6:46 pm

   A quilter can NEVER have too many rulers! I love Creative grids rulers, wish I could buy them all!

   Debbie…please send me your address at primitivegatheringsquiltshop@yahoo.com   and we will send out your prize!  PS…Nick is picking numbers for the winners…if you look at the comments each one has a number….

    

Good Evening Quilters….I know you thought I was going to forget about this post….I even got some texts and emails asking if I was “OK” or if they accidentally deleted their email…but no… I am just late because I am putting the finishing touches on my NEW studio…everything is all set minus a little decorating…which we can always do that…and its so exciting…will show you some pics after this 12 day thing…now for todays item….

This will be cool whether you are a hand quilter, machine quilter, long arm quilter or all!!! I have this awesome set of templates that Judy P had made for me for my Birthday a long time ago… I thought why should I be the only one with these…so I had them made and now we all can have this cool set…They are about an 1 1/2″ wide and you just start with the smallest one…mark it’s edge…then lay the next size on the mark from the first one….mark and so on until you have all five of them marked.  After the first set of fans you have to move the ark until it touches the last line of the first set of arcs.  You just slide it over and continue to mark on the outside edge…

Below pictures show  the I have one arc stitched and then the next one marked…The rail quilt is from a shop swap…the pattern was in American Patchwor

k and Quilting magazine…it was submitted by Kathy Holland… an awesome scrap quilt…I will show you my progress so you see how fast it goes…I mark with a light grey chalk pencil that just rubs away by the time I am stitching on the next arc my arm is rubbing off the chalk…If you would like this template set it is on sale on our website…FAN TEMPLATES  here.  They are regularly $15 and will be on sale for $12.

The quilt is in my hand quilting frame…which this model is no longer available…I do have a new hand quilting frame from Grace…but have yet to get it set up and quilt loaded…that will be my winter goal…

I will try and get the next posts loaded so they come earlier in the day…keep commenting on a chance to win some cool prizes…

and the winner from yesterday’s post is:

Linda LDecember 15, 2013 at 12:20 pmWow, I love this. I haven’t heard of these either, what a helpful, “needful” notion. Besides saving my fingers from burns, it looks perfect for pressing strip sets so they stay straight. I struggle to keep strip sets from going “wonky”.  Please email primitivegatheringsquiltshop@yahoo.com w

ith your address!  You have won….an 18″ strip stick and some yummy Moda fabric!…

Stitch a little today and everyday!!! LB

How are we all doing on that Christmas shopping, baking, decorating, wrapping???  If it makes you feel any better…I got the tree and house decorated…have not made a single “christmas treat” yet…I have some shopping done, but not much and no wrapping…I am going to have a party this Friday for our friends, family and neighbors…but somehow it all gets done.   Now todays item is kind of repeat of one of my “12″ last year, but a little different…This is called a light panel!  I love it because it is so sleek…3/4″ wide…bright and portable!  Yes…you can bring this light box with you!!! It is nicely built…sturdy not cheap…and it has a price of $197.95, but we are going to have it on sale for $149.00!   I know this is a little expensive, but you will not be disappointed in this product!  I tried to get a good photo of this, but it is hard… I want you to know it is very nicely built…kinda like my iPad in a way but bigger…the center light section is 8×11…it has a cord and a nice on/off switch on the side…so it is easily brought anywhere your stitching needs to go…to order go here…LIGHT PANEL…Keep in mind this is a special order item and will take a bit longer to come in.

There is a video of me using in Moda’s booth at Fall quilt market on this post in November…HERE 

Todays winner from Day 9 is…..and she will win a set of the fan templates and some Moda pre-cut! Please email us at primitivegatheringsquiltshop@yahoo.com with your address details and we will get them out to you as soon as we get them in!!!

Cindi PDecember 16, 2013 at 7:35 pm

I want you all to know who my “boss” is….please read this article… Mr. Moda

Todays blog post is coming right up!!LB

Today is all about Stella…This newest innovation in personal lighting!!! I met the owner of this company while I was in Dallas and then again at FAll Quilt Market…Nathan is a nice, very personal guy and I fell in LOVE with his new lights…personally I am tired of my OTT light and when this arrived I couldn’t wait to get it set up on my sewing workstation.  I have ordered two versions of Stella…Stella-which is a tabletop piece and then the StellaEDGE which clamps to the edge of my workstation.  Now again I know this is a little pricey but again so worth it!! No bulb to replace…3 settings…warm, natural and cool…We are putting it on sale for $35 off…of the $220 price.  We will have the lights on sale until the end of the year.  We have white and black in each version.  Please visit the Stella site for ALL of the details. Stella website  

Good lighting is the key to successful quilting!

To order Stella and StellaEDGE from our website click here   STELLA

I hope you had some time to stitch today! LB

The winner from yesterdays post is:Sharon BennettDecember 17, 2013 at 3:08 pm

Day 6…Glue…I love this Roxanne Mini Glue Baste-it…not the old one with the metal needle in it…

Now what do I use it for…Well I used it twice in the last two days..

1st… I am making a new quilt with my new line  Homestead Gatherings..it has a big ol house on it with a willow tree…I used this glue to temporally hold down my bias cotton “branches” on the tree before I stitch them..

The second time was…. I use it on every quilt I make..I have to stitch a sleeve on to hang every quilt because it ends up in the booth at show…so I stitch a sleeve onto the back of each quilt.  The top part of the sleeve goes into the binding…The folded over edge of the bottom of the sleeve gets glued down until I can stitch it down usually after the binding is stitched…This way I don’t have to hold a quilt in my lap with pins in it holding the sleeve in place…

I threw out my glue baste-it with the needle in the top… it always was plugged…this one…never plugs up!!  Glue Baste-It  here it is on our site…

I have picked 3 winners for this drawing…they…they will receive the glue baste-it and some moda yummy fabric from my line!  They are….

LoriDecember 19, 2013 at 7:50 am

Please send me your addresses…at primitivegatheringsquiltshop@yahoo.com to claim your prize!!

Day 5…Its party day for me…this is the second year we have thrown a party for our friends and neighbors…This year we decided to theme it…it is the “2013 Holly Ball”…the girls need to wear some sort of ball gown…like an old bridesmaids dress or they can go buy a new one!!! The guys are supposed to wear a funny suit, old tux with purple ruffles or whatever!  We will crown a King and a Queen of the ball….Santa and his Elf will make an appearance..and he brings gifts for all and there will also be lots of adult beverages and appetizers…for about 50 people…should be A LOT of fun and a good stress reliever to kick off this holiday season…I will take some pics for you and blog about it after….

Now enough of the party stuff…on to the needful stuff…I am posting early so I do not forget…Today’s Needful things are project totes…These totes are great for packaging your blocks and for BOM’s, we have started putting our kits in them too. They hold your tools when traveling.  I just can’t have enough of them…I also collect them when I travel to different shops and they have them….like souvenirs!  We have them in the following sizes…8×10, 10×13, 13×13, 17×17 and 18×20… We have a limited number of the 18×20 right now but we will get an order in for more if you want this size…just be willing to wait a couple of weeks for it.  All the project totes will be 20% off…for you…click here to order   Totes

Sorry this is a short post…but what more can I say about a project tote???? and there is a party to work on!

The winner from yesterdays post is…CathyDecember 19, 2013 at 9:24 pm

Day 4…I swear this countdown makes the days go even faster!!!…Today is one of the items I certainly do not want to live without ever again…I love this iron…I have one at home, one at the lakehouse because I do not want to iron with a regular iron ever again…I hate filling the water…and I do not have to do it much with this iron…Now there is also a big difference between these two irons and that is that the Pro, the purple one…is NOT under pressure like the white one is…which is a big deal to me…I want to be able to fill it immediately when it needs water…not have to wait.  This iron has immediate steam and LOTS of it!!!  It has a trigger like a gun for steam..Here is the write up from the manufacturer…

“Continuous high powered steam makes this steam station ideal for everyday ironing or special projects. It has the patented Microsteam 400 strainless-steel soleplate for perfect steam distribution. The precision tip reaches difficult areas like collars, seams, and around buttons. Extra large continuous anytime fill water tank holds 33 ounces for up to 1-1/2 hours of ironing. 1800 watts equals fast heat up that is ready in 3 minutes. It also has vertical steam that is ideal for removing wrinkles from hanging garments, drapes and for smoothing and shaping sewing projects. Extra long 6 foot steam cord and extra long 12 foot power cord. No Auto Off.”

Now I am offering this iron at the best price I possibly can…because I want you to have one…please be in no hurry to get your iron as I again…do not know how many quilters are going to order and how many Moda has in stock and they will have to order…and we have to wait to get them in after the 12 days is over to know how many to order….thanks again for your understanding of this and supporting not only my shop by Moda also.  To order your iron please click here.  STEAM STATION

I can say I had a great time at the party…and  Iwas not over served like last year…I baked and baked appetizers all night until Santa came at 10pm…I will show you more pictures after I take a nap…I just finished the dishes and now I NEED that nap…parties are a lot of work!!!!  Here is a photo of me and Santa…to hold you over…LB