Hello and Happy Memorial Day Weekend! Let us not take for granted the freedoms we have and the people who have fought for them.
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This week has been an exciting one for me. My husband, my dog Bailey, and myself took a camping trip around Lake Michigan for a few days. We started at our home in northern Indiana and went first through Illinois to Wisconsin, then through the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, and then back down through Michigan back home.
The most exciting part for me was getting to make a stop at the Primitive Gatherings quilt shop in Larsen, Wisconsin. This shop is owned by Lisa Bongean, the designer of Primitive Gatherings fabric by Moda. The shop is the things dreams are made of for a quilter. There is also a retreat center on property that hosts regular quilt retreats. It was all just so perfect and lovely. The woodworker in me also spent a fair amount of time admiring the vintage furniture pieces that made up the displays. There is also a large selection of her wool fabrics and a cross stitch area.
Here are a few pictures of the Primitive Gatherings quilt shop.
This is the main shop building. The shop is on the far left side.
The Gathering retreat center
This furniture piece was dreamy!
The Americana quilt display right inside the doors of the shop.
Many of the precut fabric bundles were together along the back wall.
The ceilings were open to the second floor and the space was used to display a LOT of quilts all around the shop.
Quilting
Summer Memories Quilt Along
It was week 4 of the Summer Memories Quilt Along with Fat Quarter Shop and Susan Ache. The Summer Picnic Quilt blocks are coming right along with a different variation of basket blocks this week. I really liked this layout this week.
Pattern: Summer Picnic Quilt ~ Fabric: Flower Pot by Lella Boutique
Barn Star Sampler Quilt Along Month 5
It’s the end of the month, so that means it’s time to share month 5 of the Barn Star Sampler Quilt Along with Fat Quarter Shop. This quilt along is using the Barn Star Sampler book by Shelley Cavanna. This month’s block is the Northern Star Block and finishes at 16 inches square. The unit has square in a square blocks and flying geese to make the center of the edges and pieced squares/rectangles with sew and flip corners for the four corners of the quilt blocks.
Pattern: Barn Star Sampler book by Shelley Cavanna ~ Fabric: Chicken Salad and Renew both by Sweetwater Fabric
Ultimate Travel Bag 2.0
Perhaps my favorite finish of the week was the Ultimate Travel Bag 2.0 using the By Annie pattern and Tula Pink Everglow fabrics. I used the bag while traveling this past weekend and loved how much it held! I need to make a few tweaks to the bag now that I’ve used it, like reinforce the stitches a bit on the handle and also use the base stabilizer to attach the purse feet that I added to the bag so that it doesn’t pull the fabric as much. The base stabilizer was out of stock online, so I hadn’t purchased it yet. Otherwise, it’s a really great travel bag and oh so pretty with the Tula Pink fabrics.
Pattern: Ultimate Travel Bag 2.0 by ByAnnie ~ Fabrics: Everglow and Neon True Colors by Tula Pink ~ Zippers: ByAnnie Zippers by the Yard ~ Interfacing: ByAnnie Soft and Stable
Cross Stitch
This week was the last full week of Stitch Maynia. I was able to finish another stitch (a big one!) and also fully finish a couple of the cross stitches that I finished earlier in the month into pillows for a patriotic dough bowl display.
Pattern: Star Spangled Street by Primrose Cottage Stitches
Pattern: Free and True by Susan Ache in the Summer Memories book
Patterns: Home of the Free by Primrose Cottage Stitches and Cherry Season by Susan Ache in the Summer Memories book ~ Fabric and trims: scraps from my stash
That’s it from me this week! I hope to make some good progress in the next couple days on the final cross stitch (Hive Rules by Primrose Cottage Stitches) that I had on my list for Stitch Maynia. I also have a stack of throw quilts to long arm for a customer. As usual, I have some ongoing quilt alongs as well as a couple new ones starting in June. I can’t wait to share them all with you!
