Trunk Show of "Little Gatherings" book

Hi, I'm Jennifer with Martingale here with another trunk show of quilts from a Martingale book. The book I'm going to be showing you quilts from today is Little Gatherings by Lisa Bonjean, and you might be familiar with Lisa Bonjean's name. She's also done some other Martingale books, Wool Needle and Thread and Wool Needle and Thread 2, the Companion Guide of Projects, and Lisa in these books taught all about how she does her fabulous wool stitchery. Lisa owns a shop in Wisconsin and has a California location as well called Primitive Gatherings, and if you're not familiar with her, PrimitiveGatherings.us is where you can find out more about Lisa Bonjean. But beyond wool, she also does some fabulous patchwork with cotton, and that is what is in the Little Gathering books I'm going to show you the quilts from today. So the first quilt I have to show you is called Flower Baskets, and it's a little mini quilt with four basket blocks. Each basket block, the little flower that's right here, is a tiny wool flower, but you could also do that in cottons if you prefer, but that's Flower Baskets. And you're going to notice a theme as we go along here. This is called Anchor Point, and anchors are a common theme for Lisa. She calls her lake house Anchor Point, and they also have some special significance that she shares. But all of the books in Little Gathering are small quilts, and Lisa shares ideas for how she decorates them within her home, but she also shares her tips for how to be successful at making small quilts. So one of the things I love about Lisa, and this is Primitive Star, is that Lisa always shares how you can have success. She turns in the I can't do that into the yes you can, by sharing her tips. And one of them is that she uses paper foundation piecings, and Primitive Gatherings has their own papers where she shows you exactly how to make these tiny little triangle squares perfect every time using those papers. So it's a terrific learning tool in the book. She shares with you both how to use the papers or not use the papers if you prefer. This one is called Winter Star, so this has nine gorgeous stars that look kind of like those paper snowflakes we used to cut out as kids. I think it's gorgeous. This one is Star Puzzle, beautiful sort of positive negative going on. So Lisa shares both how to use the papers or not use the papers for each quilt. You don't have to have the papers, but she shares her tips for success, especially when you're sewing with triangles. So maybe you're not as comfortable sewing triangles as you are squares and rectangles. This book is going to show you exactly what to do with those triangles, how to position them, what to do with the dog ears when you're making tiny quilts or small quilts. This one I love is called Cactus Baskets. A lot of Lisa's quilts are based on antique quilts that she has. She said this one kind of reminds her of little red tulips instead of cactus, but that's the name of this little block. And you know, you could make it in any color. If you have other colors of blooms that speak to your heart, that's another one that you could make your very own. This one is called Nine Patch Stars, and you can see the little nine patch on point in the center of each of those stars. And Lisa has a wall in her office, in her sewing space, where she puts all of her minis up. Maybe you've seen that on social media before, where people have a wall of minis that make them happy every day. But she also shares ideas for how to incorporate them in your decor and places you can tuck them in. So this one is a little rail fence, which is one of the most basic blocks you can make as a quilter, right? But when you get mini like this, and I think these are three quarter inch strips to start with. And again, Lisa shares her tips on how to keep things straight and going in the right direction. It's really impressive. And these little border pieces are made out of parts of these that you cut out. So a fabulous way to use every little scrap. If you're a scrap collector, this book is going to be perfect for you. This one is called Waste Not, Want Not. And that speaks to those scraps you've been saving, your favorite that maybe you don't have enough of to make a full size quilt. Use those scraps in your minis. How about this stunning Feathered Stars? And Lisa's quilting always complements the fabulous patchwork. When she has open space or negative space in the quilt, she makes sure that it really sparkles and shines just as much as her blocks do. I love the yellow center on the middle block there. This little guy is called Cornered Nine Patch. And I think that Lisa shares in the book that she used 50 different fabrics. So talk about saving those little bits of scraps. She used 50 different fabrics in this mini quilt that is probably 12 inches square. So perfect way to use up every little last bit. And then this finished one is called Silent Night. And a beautiful cheddar and red and green flying geese, the little Ohio star in the center. And it builds out from there with some bear paws. Just gorgeous. And simple straight line quilting on this one that again accentuates the design. These are all available. The patterns for these are all in the book Little Gatherings by Lisa Bonjean. Available at shopmartingale.com or wherever you buy books.