The Gabby Gals Blog
Archive for the ‘Gals on the Go’ Category
Sunday, October 25th, 2009
Hi Everyone!
What an amazing adventure!!! I don’t even know where to begin. A few weeks ago, I had the chance to fly to Houston and attend the International Quilt Market with Janet and Joan. The first day was Schoolhouse where I went from room to room every half hour to see Fabric Designers, Authors and Pattern Designers show us what’s new. My favorites were Jo Morton (YEAH!!!) and Eleanor Burns (What A Hoot)!
Wake up Melonie, it's Eleanor Burns!
I even sat in one Schoolhouse of someone you may recognize.
Our Janet with Mary Jane Butters
That night I sat on the floor, outside Sample Spree, until they opened the doors. WOW!!!! It was like a stampede. Not many manners used inside Sample Spree, but great bargains! Here’s a look at the crowds:
Yes, I am having fun!
The next day I took a class about dying fabric with markers and then Market began. Again, WOW!!!!! On Saturday I took a class from Bonnie Sullivan, Kathy Schmitz’s sister. She is a wool lover too, and we made a felted needle keeper. Patterns will be in the shop soon. I met so many neat people, not enough room to list everyone.
Quilt Market - the ultimate shopping experience!
I had a wonderful time shopping for Calico Gals with Janet and Joan, but I really missed my family, my animals and my Calico Gals, (who I consider family!) One day home and I put on my sneakers, because the next three weeks is our journey to the new Calico Gals Barn!!! See you there in November!
Love, Melonie
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Wednesday, October 7th, 2009
Hey y’all!
I am blogging from El Paso, Texas, where I have the pleasure of visiting my oldest son, James, my daughter-in-law, Gail, and my adorably perfect grandson, Jacob. This is my first experience in a desert climate. Hot? Yes. Dry? Yes. But also very beautiful.
Franklin Mountains
A drive up into the mountains gave me numerous photo ops. Of course, a picture doesn’t really give the feeling of the expansive scenery that you get in person, but you get the idea.
El Paso city and beyond
I learned two very important things on this visit. First of all – don’t eat the green stuff. Days later and my eyes are still watering. Second of all – stay away from the cactus. And if it is growing over the sidewalk, walk around it. Walk way around it.
Ouch.
Tomorrow I’ll leave this corner of the Lonestar State and fly over to Houston for 5 days of Quilt Market. You’ll hear about that, too.
But what’s going on at home?
This was a tough time for me to leave Central New York. The builders of our new barn are finally getting to the fun stuff and I’m not there to see it, photograph it or post it on the blog. Here’s one of those hardworking guys:
Digger Bill
Bill has been digging holes and making an enormous mess outside for weeks. I took this picture last Friday. He was promising that he would fill it in and smooth it over. Bill’s wife is a quilter, so he is probably hearing it at home, too.
Future parking lot of Calico Gals
So this is why I need you to do a drive-by. What is going on over there? If you haven’t driven over to see where the new store will be, this is the perfect time. Drive over. Park out front and take a photo. Send it to me by email. Please!!
New barn October 2, 2009
This is what it looked like the last time I saw it. The grey panels are where the stone columns are going. In between will be cedar shingles. Is this happening? What about the doors? Are they on yet?
So, where is it, you ask?
The address of the new barn is 3906 New Court Ave, Syracuse, 13206. Put that into your google map. Better yet – here it is! Google Map for new barn.
There are many ways to get there. One easy way is to take Midler Ave North, through Eastwood. It turns into New Court Ave. The new barn is on the left, just before the No Name Diner.
Help me out here, gals! Send me a picture!
Posted in Gals on the Go, New Barn! | 6 Comments »
Monday, September 28th, 2009
All for a good cause…
Last week I traveled to Binghamton for a meeting of the Quilters Consortium of New York State. As part of the meeting was a tremendous display of amazing bras created by quilters for Breast Cancer Awareness.
"Thing One and Thing Two" by Deborah Naftel of Ithaca, NY
I took a few photos, but it was difficult to pick my favorites. The judges for the show included one of our teachers, Sharon Stroud. Tell us, Sharon, how did you ever choose? They are all so fun!
"Please Squeeze the Melons" by Tamara Burger of Binghamton, NY
"Don't Gamble with Your Life" by Mitzi and Stephen Jones of Ithaca, NY
The Brazieres for a Cure Project is presented by the Common Threads Quilt Guild in Vestal NY. The bras were donated by Maidenform. Originally they had hoped to get 40 or 50 entries, but were thrilled with the 105 original creations. The bras are not made to be worn (no really?), but the project organizer, Louise Tiemann gave us a little show.
Louise models "How Cold Is It" by Rick DeMars of Vestal, NY
The traveling Brazieres for a Cure show goes on through November 6th and ends with an auction. Check out their blog for more information and lots more fun photos.
Posted in Gals on the Go | 3 Comments »
Tuesday, September 8th, 2009
They must be quilting in the new barn!
People have been driving by the construction site and telling me that nothing is happening. Not true! There is a lot of inside work going on in there. What are they doing? I have no idea! Construction guy stuff, I guess.
Last week, they sprayed foam insulation on all the walls and ceiling. Close-up it looks like marshmallows! Farther back and it looks like snow on the inside.
Marshmallow frosting everywhere!
I was sure this would keep us toasty in the winter and cool in the summer. But, Bob P, the owner decided to add more insulation to the walls. He wanted to be sure we aren’t bothered by noise from the street outside. The gals are a little concerned that he has driven by the old barn during some of our classes… maybe he wants to keep the noise inside! Anyway, they brought in a product that we can understand:
They use batting, too!
Before they cover all of this batting with sheet rock, the ducts for the air conditioning were going in the ceiling.
Looking in the rafters
Here’s a little teaser for you. Guess what we are getting…
Don't tell the guys!
Are we building a sewing center or a sports bar? Hmmm… mostly a sewing center.
And on the outside…
What are these things?
I am told they have something to do with drainage for the property and the parking lot. OK, makes sense.
Gals are busy, too.
We are running around, getting ready for our fall activities. The newsletter is printed and stitched and heading to the post office. Web Gal Lisa, is frantically adding the new classes to the website and calendar. The teachers are finishing up their supply lists and bringing in their samples.
We pulled out the Adopt-A-Bolt tags that we use every year for our big sale and we have to change them. This year it’s 30% (not 25%) off every bolt you finish (Monday the 14th thru Sunday the 20th). We usually pull small bolts off the wall and cut them into fat quarters. We have been leaving them for weeks so you have lots of littles to choose from.
Parade of Homes starts on Saturday. Our beautiful new Koala Sewing Studio is scheduled to be delivered tomorrow. We ordered an exotic Brazilian Cherry finish that will look amazing in this house. I won’t tell you too much more because I am going to take pictures for the Gabby Gals blog. Wait a minute! Stop out and see it in person! Here’s a coupon to save a dollar off admission.
What did we do during our free time? Went to the fair, of course. We enjoyed the quilts and the tomato sandwiches. Kathy Barden sampled the deep fried dill pickles and actually liked them. We didn’t go on any rides, but we still had a blast. Just ask Melonie and Beth.
Got milk?
Posted in Events, Gals on the Go, New Barn! | 1 Comment »
Thursday, September 3rd, 2009
Baby Lock Tech
Nina Dukette, the Calico Gals Sewing Machine Department Manager and I flew out to St. Louis last weekend for the annual dealers’ conference sponsored by Tacony Corp and Baby Lock Sewing Machines. It’s 3 days of classes that cover everything from new products to marketing to merchandising. I love it – especially the business classes. Nina really likes the hands-on sewing seminars and I have to admit, I enjoyed them, too! We stayed at the Hyatt, right across the street from the Gateway Arch. That was a bit of a distraction for me. I took the following photo from one of my classrooms.
Gateway Arch beckons
I have proof that I was able to focus. Check out this leaf:
Stippled leaf
It was a great class taught by Eileen Roche, the designer of the innovative Stipple! technique. In less than three hours, I had appliqued, quilted and pieced a three block tablerunner. Eileen has videos on her website, if you want to see it in action. Nina took the same class, so she has a tablerunner, too. Stop by the shop to see our samples in person! This dynamic quilt was made with the same technique:
Wouldn't this be great in those bold contemporary fabrics?
Now, take a close look at the next sample. How do you think I did that one?
Hand or machine stitched?
If you guessed machine, you were right. This is a sample from the new Baby Lock Sashiko machine. It is the first of it’s kind and it is truly incredible. This machine uses only a bobbin – no top thread at all. This is another one you will want to take a look at – first on the Baby Lock website and then in person at Calico Gals. We asked them to ship one to us right away. Yes – you can sit down and try it. You have to!
Ok – I’ll stop being a show-off and show you something Nina made. Isn’t this cute? Yes, we had fun sewing!
Nina's tag
If you are wondering why you never heard about our Embroidery Club, it’s because we don’t have one. YET. When we get into that new barn, we will get it going. We don’t want to be carrying those heavy machines up and down the stairs. Of course, that won’t be a problem in the new barn because the classroom is on the ground floor!
Back to St. Louis… It was Nina’s birthday while we there, so we celebrated with Sandy Pirdy. Remember Sandy from Creekside Fabrics? From Summer Sewing Spa? Oh… that Sandy! We walked to a restaurant called:
Believe it or not, it was pronounced “Calico’s.” The food was delicious. Just take a look at these happy gals sharing a piece of birthday cake that they couldn’t finish together!
We came home with lots of new ideas to get going in the old barn and carry on to the new barn. I plan to stop by the construction site and get some new photos this week. In the meantime, I’ll leave you with another builder’s inspiration.
Always look up.
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