A Primitive Day...

Primitive Gatherings' Owner and Designer, Lisa Bongean

I drove up to Menasha, WI yesterday morning to meet up with Kathy D. She invited me to join the Sit & Sew group she attends once a month at Lisa Bongean's warehouse and offices for Primitive Gatherings.

I'm sure that if you quilt, you're familiar with Lisa's name and work. She's an extraordinary designer, and her woolwork quilts and projects are beloved by many. She's also extremely entertaining and personable! As her shop is one of my favorites, I was happy to join Kathy and the ladies for a day in Menasha.

My girlfriend, Kathy D.

The gathering always begins with Lisa sharing her new fabrics, designs and or ideas with the ladies. It's also a chance for each of the ladies to share what they're currently doing, projects they've recently finished, or to get input into how to complete a block or quilt top. Lisa's opinions, as well as those of the other ladies, are helpful for everyone.

Kathy is a prolific wool worker, and I always enjoy seeing what she's been working on. She opened up her case to show us her latest completed blocks, along with her ideas for assembling a quilt top with them.

Kathy's Blocks

I'm sure you can see a number of reasons why I fell in love with these blocks! I can't wait to see it finished, and how she does her own quilting on the assembled top. It's going to be a stunning piece when it's done, for sure.

English Paper Pieced Quilt Top

I don't know everyone's names (yet), but I'm looking forward to getting to know these talented ladies better. Isn't this a gorgeous quilt top? It's all paper pieced, and she chose the colors completely randomly. I think that makes it even more charming.

Some of the attendees have never worked on an English Paper Pieced project before, so this lady brought kits of tiny hexies (and even precut fabrics) so that we could make our own tree ornaments.

English Paper Pieced Make & Take

This was one of her models for the class. I completed my hexie assembly yesterday, and just have to mount it to a wool backing. I'll finish it soon, and show you what it looks like after I do that. (It was a fun project working with tiny hexies, by the way, and very generous of her to share her teaching knowledge and materials.)

Show & Tell Wool Wall Hanging

I thought you might like to see a couple more of the pieces that were shared with the group. I love this alphabet sampler. It's a great size for a wall hanging, and I love the color choices. It's completely done in wools.

Show & Tell Wool Quilt Top

 

This is a finished quilt top, and its owner brought it to ask about the best ideas for quilting it. She also chose her quilt backing next door from Lisa's warehouse stock. How cool is that?

 

All in all, it was a really fun day. Everyone brought a dish to pass, too, so we had a delicious lunch (and a wide choice of tasty desserts).

 

The next gathering will be held at Lisa's home, and it will be a Christmas party of sorts. I'll definitely have a project to share, and we're having an ornament gift exchange, so I'm going to make one of my own acorn ornaments. (It's pictured in the third picture of my blog header above.) You can find my pattern on my "Free Patterns and Tutorials" page (link in my top menu bar). I can't wait to do this again!