The Gabby Gals Blog
Archive for the ‘New Barn!’ Category
Monday, November 16th, 2009
Gather at the new barn
Calico Gals is the place to be and this week lots of people agreed! The Gals hosted three local quilt guilds on three different days. The guilds brought their members and lots more people stopped in to see what the excitement was all about.
On Monday, Candlelight Quilt Guild showed up with homemade chili and cookies. Gotta love it! Elizabeth Balderrama and Sharon Jarvis hosted the table where Elizabeth was proudly showing the current issue of Quick Quilts. Yes – that was her quilt on the cover! Congratulations to the team at Seams Like a Dream Quilt Designs.
Elizabeth and Sharon "wrap it up" at the Candlelight Gathering
On Tuesday, the Towpath Quilt Guild showed up in force! They were also enjoying 2 days of workshops with Barbara Persing and Mary Hoover, the popular designers of 4th &6th Designs. We were thrilled to see Barbara and Mary stop in to our new store. (Guess what… they liked it… a lot!) And we like them… a lot! They took a few minutes away from stacking bolts on the counter to autograph their books.
Barbara and Mary - just say hi!
Not to be outdone, the Plank Road guild members descended on Wednesday, with Charlotte Angotti in tow. What? You don’t know Charlotte? She fills the room with fun and laughter wherever she goes! Visiting from Myrtle Beach for 2 days and teaching at the guild, Charlotte climbed over boxes and settled into a rocking chair in our loft. We discussed the possibility of turning the loft from box storage into a stitching lounge. (What do you think about that?) I couldn’t get enough of Charlotte, so I accepted the invitation to meet her and the guild gals at The Retreat in Liverpool for dinner. Good food and great friends – can it get any better?
Charlotte, Shirley, Linda and June - wait for me!
Meanwhile, back at the store… Joan Ford was teaching one of her Project Therapy classes. When you join this group, you become part of Joan’s design process for her Scrap Therapy patterns. Everyone in the class is a pattern tester and Joan values the feedback that results. Barb Sunderlage, from Brewer Quilting and Sewing Supplies, “dropped in” from Chicago to take Joan’s class. Brewer is the exclusive distributor of the Scrap Therapy program and they love Joan as much as we do!
Barb and Joan choosing fabric for the Project Therapy class.
Let me ask you this…
What is your favorite part of Calico Gals new store? Everyone seems to have an opinion, so let’s hear them! We will take some pics to share. Here is the first one: Kathy B’s favorite thing in the new barn is the toilet paper holders. Here’s a great shot of her demonstrating just how wonderful they are. Thanks, Kathy, for your valuable comments!
Kathy, in her Spooktacular garb, shows off our TP.
Posted in Events, New Barn! | 2 Comments »
Saturday, November 7th, 2009
Hard to believe, but it is for real! Calico Gals has moved into the new barn at 3906 New Court Ave. Phew! As part of the Spooktacular Bus Tour, we were hosting 5 buses from PA and NJ beginning October 30th. I set the goal to do this in the NEW barn and although there were some days we had doubts… it happened! Those builder/carpenter/electrical/heating/painting/paving/carpet guys are my heroes! Just look what happened in the last 2 weeks!
They are working, but I'm a little nervous!
The painters came in and joined Shawn and Mark, Carpenters Extraordinaire.
And then, there was light! Doug, from Doug’s Electric, lit up the place. I got a little picky about light bulbs. Lights are important when buying fabric, right? Doug made it good for us.
Ta Da! Yes, Doug, it looks great!
Meanwhile, back at the old barn in Fayetteville… we got a team! It was time to pack it up and load it on the truck.
Where did we get all of this stuff? Nina refuses to take it with us! Garage Sale!
We are taking this, right Melonie?
Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone who carried everything down the stairs an loaded it into a 24ft truck. Viki and Wenda packed it so tight, there was no room for air!
This is what a Quilt-Shop-in-a-Truck looks like. In case you wondered.
On to the new store – wait! Store that truck for a few days, they aren’t ready yet!
Paving in the pouring rain. These guys work hard!
It stopped raining and the siding guys got to work the very next day. Carpet went in on Friday and we unloaded the truck Saturday morning. No time to waste! The flurry of activity in the new barn was topped only by the sale in the old barn. Everything out of there! The gals worked hard cutting fabric by the mile! The customers worked hard carrying it to their cars! And then it got really quiet.
Nothing left but the empties.
Wow.
OK, something happy… We did it – well the guys did it – we just cheered and moved a lot of stuff. And then slept really well. I’ll throw the Spooktacular stuff into another post. I took the last 2 photos this afternoon.
Did we do good?
New home - come on over!
Posted in New Barn! | 1 Comment »
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 »
Friday, October 2nd, 2009
It’s going to be a quilt shop!
Well, of course, it’s going to be a quilt shop… a really great quilt shop! But right now it’s still a bunch of choices and decisions. Our new landlord, Bob Pomfrey, and I scheduled a quick meeting this week at Edward Joy Lighting. We had to pick out a few things for the new barn. Like lights and fans and sconces. Well, a couple of hours later…
"You pick one." "No, you pick one."
Ceiling fans… mezzanine office lights… bathroom vanity lights… outdoor lights by the door… outdoor lights on the pillars… don’t forget the sconce on the stairway.
Oh - look over here! More choices!
Really it was pretty fun. We kept thinking about the barn theme and that helped narrow down the selection. And our final choices are great! Of course, some things you just have to try out. Here’s Bob being a real good sport and holding the new wall sconce in place.
We both liked this one.
Sconce, sconce, sconce. I just love to say that word.
Running out of time
Did I mention that I am leaving for Texas on Sunday? I am combining a trip to Fall Quilt Market in Houston with a side trip to visit my oldest son and family in El Paso. I’ll be gone for 10 days.
What?! 10 days?! Are you sure this new store is opening in a month?
Yes, I have complete confidence in Doug and his teams. But, this also means that I am out of time. I had to make FINAL choices this week. So here it is – after agonizing for weeks – we have a decision.
Carpets and walls and trim.
It’s not much to look at, but you do get the idea. The cedar samples were today’s dilemma. Calico Gal, Angela M, came by for a color consult and general moral support.Together we decided to stay with the lightest stain. However, I will be gone for 10 days. (Did I mention that?) I am just going to take a deep breath and get on that plane. Whatever happens… happens.
Oh, I almost forgot! The ceilings are painted! And this is how they did it.
Looking great!
Something else – we got doors!
Aren't these beautiful?
Bob choose these doors without my help. Probably was a lot easier that way. The french doors go to our new multi-purpose room. We plan to use the space for kit cutting and preparation. Our new kitchen is in there, too. You are invited in whenever you like. In fact those beautiful doors will be open most of the time.
I think I mentioned that I will be going to Texas for 10 days. I plan to take my laptop to keep in touch. Joan and Melonie will be joining me at Quilt Market to do a little shopping for the new store. We plan to pick up a “few” things. Luckily for Bob, he’s not needed this time. I am sure he is very relieved. I’ll post some pictures to keep you in the loop.
Posted in New Barn! | 2 Comments »
Saturday, September 19th, 2009
Let’s start with the guys!
I mean the guys working on the new barn.
No place to park!
Many of you have done a “drive-by” to see where the new barn is being built. Sometimes you can’t even see the barn because of all the trucks and vehicles. This is a good thing!
Hard hat area
This day I had to climb over and under to get inside, and then I was so surprised! The sheet rock is up and the walls are really walls! Wow – it looks so different!
Here is a photo taken from the loft looking down into the classroom area. Note that I said, “down.” That’s right, the classroom is on the main floor. The windows are wonderful and check out those outlets – all around and in the floor.
Calico Gals' new classroom
Meet Doug.
Hi Doug.
Doug is the hard-working contractor for the new barn project. He is the one pulling all the pieces together to make it happen. I think he is doing a great job and I am sure you will agree.
Now meet Shawn.
Hi Shawn.
Another nice guy, Shawn is adding the trim to the inside. Look closely (at the board, not at Shawn). That’s cedar! These guys are all into the idea of creating a new barn. So the wide trim around the windows, doors and loft will be rough cedar. Really is beautiful (again, the boards).
And we thought quilting was messy!
OK, I'm outta here.
And just in case you are wondering about all of the digging going on…
Big Dig
No, we are not putting in a swimming pool. This is going to be the “Underground Drainage Detention Basin.” Now you know. Now we all know.
So where are the bras?
Stay tuned. Next post. I really do have something to show and tell about bras.
Posted in New Barn! | 4 Comments »
