Classes at Calico Gals Syracuse
March 2012
Candice: The Perfect Purse with Kathy Barden
Syracuse, Saturday, March 3rd, 10:30 am – 4:00 pm
Candice is the perfect purse to carry all your things. Learn to make the innovative “Fat Pocket” with a faux gusset – it’s great for bulky items: a tablet, eReader, journal or simply to keep your papers/receipts/coupons in order. The top is secured with a zipper while an outside slant pocket makes for easy access to gloves and grocery lists. Practical and pretty, too! Learn about working with fusible batting and interfacings, the use of “D” rings in handles and “lazy girl” zipper insertions. Leave with an almost completed, professional looking purse and the knowledge to finish it at home. Fee: $35
Early Blooms Rug Hooking with Melonie Unger
Syracuse, Monday, March 5th, 10:30 am – 12:30 pm or 5:30 – 7:30 pm
Rug hooking is an old-fashioned craft that is gaining popularity again. Join Melonie and learn to rug hook with wool strips or needle punch with heavy yarn on a cloth base. Create a 17×17 floral mini rug or wallhanging beginning with instruction on transferring your pattern onto the base cloth.Then get busy hooking or punching your design! Experienced hookers and beginners will enjoy working on this project throughout the winter. Fee: $20
Textural Landscape with Sharon Bottle Souva
Syracuse, Tuesday, March 6th & 13th, 5:30 – 8:30 pm
Learn to create original simple landscapes using techniques in appliqué, reverse appliqué, texture and random piecing while making a small original wall quilt. Experiment with these techniques and use them to enhance your pictorial quilted art. Sharon will demonstrate the use of freezer paper pattern making, teach composition and perspective, show quilting stitches using variegated threads and talk about creative binding options. This class is a great opportunity to work with a popular local fiber artist. Fee: $50
Sew Trashy: Denim Duffle Bag with Gay Silkey and Melonie Unger
Syracuse, Wednesday, March 7th, 2:00 – 4:00 pm or 6:00 – 8:00 pm
Denim is the perfect choice for recycle projects – it looks good, wears well and we have lots of it! Learn to disassemble those jeans, cut your pattern pieces and create a duffle bag. Wonderful project and makes a great gift too! Fee: $20
Spicy Spiral Tablerunner with Sue Ellen Romanowski
Syracuse, 2 Wednesdays, March 14th & 28th, 10:00 am – 12:00 pm
Check out this fun, colorful, curvaceous tablerunner! It’s a bargello that twists and shouts! Sue Ellen has taught the bargello square and round – now she’s adding a spiral to her repertoire. The pattern has a few challenges, so it’s best to get some help from someone with experience. Join this class and learn tips for choosing dynamic color combos, building strata, plus cutting and assembling the fabric wedges. Great class, great project! Fee: $38
Feathered Jewls Hummingbird Wool Table Mat with Melonie Unger
Syracuse, Wednesday, March 21st, 10:30 am – 12:30 pm or 5:30 – 7:30 pm
Winter is the perfect time to work on wool projects. This fun class features Melonie’s practical tips for working with wool appliqués. Learn the ins and outs of transferring designs, cutting, fusing and embroidery with wool. Your base will be ready and your stitching will be started in class. Create a beautiful hummingbird table mat or wallhanging that makes a wonderful gift! Fee: $20
Oh, Henry! Quilt with Margaret Lambert
Syracuse, Thursday, March 22nd, 5:30 – 7:30 pm
Start with a fun fabric panel or large scale print, add 6 fat quarters, and just 22 simple seams later you’ll have a quilt. Oh, my . . . Oh, Henry! This clever quilt goes together quick as a wink and a nod! Perfect for a kid’s quilt and or choose the larger size and big folks will love it, too. Great project for confident beginners and intermediate quilters. Quilting experts will just have a blast with it! Leave the class with 1, 2, 3 or even all 4 rows of your top completed. Fee: $20
Binding Basics with Sue Ellen Romanowski
Syracuse, Saturday, March 24th, 10:30 am – 12:30 pm
New and experienced quilters! Learn the tips to finishing your quilt edges with traditional French double-fold binding. Lots of important information will be shared in this class including strip cutting, beginning, mitering corners, and making those smooth connections at the end. Sue Ellen will bring a small quilt for you to bind in class and keep for future reference. Learn a lot and head off to finish your own quilts! Fee: $28 includes kit and handouts
Feather Adventures Machine Quilting with Beth Broadway
Syracuse, Saturday, March 31st, 10:30 am – 2:30 pm
Beth loves quilting feathers! When she read Patsy Thompson’s new book on machine quilting feathers, her mind was poppin’ with ideas and a desire to share her passion of machine quilting with others. Learn to quilt feathers that softly curve around the outside border or create an amazing design that fills your background. Great hands-on class. Never be afraid of feathers again! Fee: $38
April 2012
Mondo Bag with Kathy Barden
Syracuse, 2 Mondays, April 9th & 23rd, 5:30 – 7:30 pm
The Mondo (an adjective meaning very or extremely) Bag is just that – very large, and extremely handy! It’s perfect for carrying your show-and-tell to guild meetings or all your clothes for a weekend away. It’s a super diaper bag, even for triplets! The Mondo Bag can haul a ton of stuff! Learn to use fusible grids for perfect intersections. This is the project for those irresistible jelly rolls and Bali Pops! Warning: don’t tell your friends it was “a piece of cake” or be prepared to take orders. Start in class one and finish the bag in class two. The Mondo Bag is easy enough for the beginning sewer and fun for the exper t too. Fee: $30
Textural Landscape with Sharon Bottle Souva
Syracuse, 2 Tuesdays, April 10th & 17th, 5:30 – 8:30 pm
Learn to create original simple landscapes using techniques in appliqué, reverse appliqué, texture and random piecing while making a small original wall quilt. Experiment with these techniques and use them to enhance your pictorial quilted art. Sharon will demonstrate the use of freezer paper pattern making, teach composition and perspective, show quilting stitches using variegated threads and talk about creative binding options. This class is a great opportunity to work with a popular local fiber artist. Fee: $50
Begin at the Beginning with Nina Dukette
Syracuse, 3 Wednesdays, April 11th,18th, & 25th, 5:30 pm – 8:30 pm
New to quilting? Or, just looking for a powerful refresher? Nina teaches the tips and techniques that you’ll need to begin your next project. In three sessions, become familiar with the basic steps of quilt construction, accurate rotary cutting, machine piecing, basting, machine quilting and binding while making a decorative table runner. By the end of the class, you’ll have the confidence to start your own quilt. Class includes discussion of fabric choice and preparation, threads, needles and much more. Fee: $45
Through My Window with Nancy Graham
Syracuse, Saturday, April 14, noon – 3:00 pm
Just as easy as can be! Create a stained glass type window on your focus fabric for an amazing visual effect. Customize your project with your fabric choice – landscape scenes, animals, florals, holiday, children’s prints and more. You’ll never look at fabric the same way again! Learn to frame your project with a border and finish it off with machine quilting and embellishment ideas. Great results for beginners and loads of fun for everyone. Fee: $20
Stormy Weather with Melonie Unger
Syracuse, Saturday, April 21st, 11:00 am – 3:00 pm
The beautiful Stormy Weather quilt looks complicated but is really very easy! The elongated star points add an interesting element to the design. Learn a few ways to make triangles with different angles. Make several quilt blocks using your new skills and get a head start on this 56″ x 72″ quilt. Fun to do! Fee: $30
Thread Painting with Debbie Butler Miller
Syracuse, Sunday, April 22nd, 12:30 – 3:30 pm
Learn to paint with all the pretty threads in your sewing box. Watch an interactive demonstration of Debbie’s thread painting technique and then take off with your own fun! Students have the opportunity to practice, practice, practice with a design sandwich supplied by Debbie. Machine capable of free motion required. Fee: $25
T-Shirt Quilt Event with Gay Silkey and Melonie Unger
Syracuse, Sanders Creek, Saturday, April 28th, 9 am – 2:30 pm
Pull out that stack of T-shirts you have been saving to make a quilt! T-shirts make great quilts, but there are some tricks to working with them. Melonie and Gay have been teaching the Sew Trashy series for a few years, and they love working recycled items into treasures. Take the class and learn about layout, cutting, working with knits and assembly. Go home with a good start on your project. The size of your finished quilt will be based on the number of T-shirts used. Make a memory quilt or the perfect gift for birthdays, students and athletes. Fee: $38 includes lunch! Class is being held at the beautiful Sanders Creek Facility so everyone has lots of room to spread out!
May 2012
Machine Quilting 101 with Wenda Coburn
Syracuse, Saturday, May 5th, 10:30 am – 1:30 pm or 2:00 – 5:00 pm
Do you enjoy making quilt tops, but have trouble completing the project? Sign up for this class and learn all the basics of quilting your quilts on your sewing machine. Wenda will start out teaching important basting techniques and move on to straight line and free motion quilting. Class includes demonstrations and discussions of tips and tools that will improve your stitches. Bring your machine, threads and muslin squares to practice your new skills. Fee: $30.
Log Cabin with Sue Ellen Romanowski
Syracuse, 2 Mondays, May 7th & 21st, 10:00 am – Noon
The Log Cabin block is the all-time most popular quilting block. The design versatility seems endless! Marti Michell has figured out an easy way to make perfect blocks easily. Join Sue Ellen and learn Marti’s foolproof method. Your seams will be straight, your points will match and everything will line up! Create a table runner, bed runner or a quilt to fit a bed. Fee: $30
Wool Flower Table Mat with Melonie Unger
Syracuse, Wednesday, May 9th, 10:30 am – 12:30 pm or 5:30 – 7:30 pm
Hand stitching through wool is truly a pleasure! Those who have tried it, find themselves addicted to this beautiful craft. Beginners and competent wool stitchers alike are welcome to join Melonie’s wool classes. Learn to trace the pattern, cut the pattern pieces from wool, assemble the mat and add embroidery embellishment. Fee: $20
Reversible Hat with Nancy Graham
Syracuse, Saturday, May 12th, Noon – 3:00 pm
Make this clever hat in any size: small, medium or large. Learn about working with fusible fleece, sewing on a gentle curve, choosing and using a decorative stitch for accent, and creating the reversible effect with 2 fabrics. Add tulle netting to the brim, and your hat becomes perfect for gardening and hiking. Finish your hat in class and go on to make a bunch of reversible hats for yourself and for gifts. Fee: $22
Spring Blooms Fun and Done Table Runner with Wenda Coburn
Syracuse, Tuesday, May 15th, 6:00 – 8:00 pm
Wenda has taught many different “quilt as you go” techniques, and this is by far the easiest and her favorite! Create a table runner to get a sampling of this fantastic method. Then, go ahead and toss appliqued spring flowers over the top. It’s an adorable project that works up fun and fast. Finish this and you may want to continue with a larger version. Fee: $20
My Best Friend with Debbie Butler Miller
Turn a photo of a favorite pet into a quilted wallhanging!
Syracuse, 2 Saturdays, May 19th & June 2nd, 11:00 am – 4:00 pm
The beautiful work of textile artist Debbie Butler Miller amazes all who see it. Now you can join Debbie and learn to capture your best friend’s joy of life forever in fabric. Class includes personalized full-size pattern created especially for you from your photograph. In this two session class Debbie will share her technique of fusible appliqué and thread painting.
Begin in Session 1 with a concentration on appliqué and color placement. Add dimension and shading with thread painting and bring your quilt to life in Session 2! Fee: $75
Design Your Own with Sharon Bottle Souva
Syracuse, Tuesday, May 22nd & 29th, 5:30 – 8:30 pm
Break out! Step away from using premade patterns and learn to enhance your abilities in creating original quilted art. Sharon has been making her own original designs for nearly 25 years. She can help you focus on imaginative design, and take time to explore color theory, composition, and fabric choices. Use your sewing skills in a whole new way. Begin a wall quilt in this very fun class. Fee: $50
Wool Appliqué Sweatshirt with Melonie Unger
Syracuse, Wednesday, May 23rd, 10:30 am – 12:30 pm or 5:30 – 7:30 pm
Start with a purchased sweatshirt and end up with a unique item of clothing. Melonie will get you going and teach you the tricks to adding wool and cotton appliqué and embroidery to a garment. Cozy, comfy and oh so cute! Fee: $20
Danny Zuko with Lynn Schantz
Syracuse, Wednesday, May 30th, 1:30 – 4:30 pm or 5:30 – 8:30 pm
Here’s a holdover from the movie Grease! Grab yourself a Bali Pop or jelly roll and a 1/2 yard of background to create this fun 20 block quilt. Partial seams make a quick and easy block. If you’re in a good girl mood, make it a Sandra Dee quilt! Join Lynn to create a 48″ x 60″ scrappy delight! Fee: $25
June 2012
Americana Rug Hooking with with Melonie Unger
Syracuse, Wednesday, June 6th, 10:30 am – 12:30 pm or 5:30 – 7:30 pm
Rug hooking is an old-fashioned craft that is popular again. Join Melonie and learn to rug hook with wool strips or needle punch with heavy yarn on a cloth base. Create an Americana mini rug or wallhanging starting with Melonie’s pattern shapes and adapting your own ideas. Class includes instruction on transferring your pattern onto the base cloth and hooking or punching your design. Experienced hookers and beginners will enjoy working on this project. Fee: $20
Tin Roof with Wenda Coburn
Syracuse, Saturday, June 9th, noon – 3:00 pm
Pull out that Square in a Square ruler – Wenda’s got a snazzy new technique to show you! Learn to make precise triangle units and assemble them into this beautiful quilt. Wenda is a Diamond Certified Square in a Square teacher who enjoys sharing efficient cutting and piecing techniques. Try it – you’ll like it! Fee: $30
Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star with Melonie Unger
Syracuse, Wednesday, June 13th, 10:30 am – 12:30 pm or 5:30 – 7:30 pm
There is nothing like a classic star quilt! Join Melonie and learn to cut, piece and assemble stars by the dozen. Use your stash to create a scrappy masterpiece or plan your colors around a theme. Finish blocks in class and get a jump start on a full-size quilt. This can be your summer project! Fee: $20
Button Bracelets with Wenda Coburn
Syracuse, Wednesday, June 20th, 6:00 – 8:00 pm
Quilters are crafters too – especially when it comes to “quilty” projects. Pull out that jar of old buttons (we know you have them), and turn them into pretty button bracelets. Wenda taught the staff to make these bracelets and now we are wearing them and making them for gifts. It’s easy to learn and fun to do. Fee: $20
Knit Flounce Scarf with Melonie Unger
Syracuse, Saturday, June 23rd, 10:30 am – 1:00 pm or 1:30 – 4:00 pm
It may be summer, but this scarf is the perfect take-along project! Fun and flouncy – the secret is in the loopy yarn and the simple knitting stitches. Finish most of your scarf in class. Make several and be ready for gift giving this winter. Experienced knitters and competent beginners will love it! Fee: $20
Machine Appliqué with Beth Broadway
Syracuse, Thursday, June 28th, 6:00 – 8:45 pm
Are you working on the Birds, Basket Blooms or Butterflies Block of the Month? Or would you like some great tips on improving your machine applique skills? Join Beth for a fun class in machine appliqué, including all the things needed to prepare your background, use of fusibles, proper placement, and the many tips and techniques that will make machine applique go smoothly. Students will have the option of working from Kim Schaeffer’s Flower Festival book or on one of the Zebra Patterns kits. Fee: $28