Zig Zag Blocks

The Sometimes Crafter provides a tutorial for making zig zag blocks, and she says even fairly new quilters can make them.

Star blocks

Diary of a Quilter gives you step-by-step instructions with lots of pictures to make this star block.

Nebraska Block

Triangle Squares

How about a triangle square? Learn how to make it at Mrs. Schmenkman Quilts.

Got Fabric?

And you know that anytime you need fabric or ideas you can just stop by the store and talk to one of the gals. Tell them the Web Gal sent you!

KeyBank chose to feature Janet, who is also on the Key4Women National Advisory Board, in a new print, radio, and Internet ad campaign. Award winning photographer Christopher Wilson was brought in for the March 29 shoot along with photo assistants, production assistants, grips, stylists, and executives from the KeyBank corporate office in Cleveland.

Video still from the KeyBank shoot

Click here to view the video ad (it will open in a new window). It’s a big file, so please be patient while it loads. If you have trouble viewing the video, visit KeyBank’s Calico Gals page, and watch it there.

What a flurry of activity the store saw the day of the shoot. Here’s a peek behind the scenes.

Setting up for the shoot

Photographer and assistant setting up for the Key Bank shoot

The photographer directing Janet and Nina at the Key Bank shoot

Janet and Nina during the Key Bank shoot

Lots of camera and lighting gear in the shop

Setting up the lighting equipment

The crew and Key Bank staff in the loft

Janet in the closet recording with the sound guy

Congratulations, Janet! We’re so proud of you!

In 2011, The Modern Quilt Guild had a monochromatic challenge. Of the three winners, this one, in shades of pink (pictured above) is my favorite.

The quilter says that Josef Albers’s work, “Homage to the Square” (above), was her inspiration.

Although you can find a few touches of colors other than blue, this gorgeous quilt, featured on Sew Mama Sew, is mostly monochromatic.

Here’s a pretty vase of flowers, all in shades of yellow, by lululollylegs.

This quilt, by Elizabeth Barton, in shades of green suggests a landscape of trees and houses seen in the evening.

Here’s one in shades of purple from polyesterstella on Flickr.

Are you inspired? Stop by the store, and let the gals help you choose an assortment of fabrics in shades of your favorite color so that you can get started on your monochrome masterpiece!

Books will be available for purchase, incuding Marie’s newest, Ties That Bind. There is no cost to attend, but please contact the store hosting the event if you plan to attend.

Susan Wiggs, New York Times bestselling author of Just Breathe, says about Marie’s novel, A Single Thread:

“By the time you finish this book, the women in A Single Thread will feel like your own girlfriends—emotional, funny, creative and deeply caring. It’s a story filled with wit and wisdom. Sit back and enjoy this big-hearted novel, and then pass it on to your best friend.”

Top Shop Tour

Did you ever notice the little weeping cherry tree in front of the Syracuse store? It’s the inspiration for the Four Seasons Sampler! Isn’t it pretty? It’s just one of several patterns you will receive when you attend the Top Shop Tour. This 4-shop shop hop starts Friday and lasts for 10 days. That gives you 2 weekends to get to every shop! Click here for the map to get you going.
All four stores in this hop have been featured in Quilt Sampler magazine as a top shop. Passports are just $5 and are packed in a very cute lunch bag. Take the tour and pick up all the fun patterns at each store. The weeping cherry tree is in the Calico Gals pattern pack. And then there are prizes . . . really good prizes totaling over $1200. You have to go to all four shops to be entered to win, so let’s go!

Jelly Roll Floor Pillow

Living with Punks shows you how to make a puffy floor pillow for your favorite youngster or youngster-at-heart! Calico Gals has a wonderful selection of Jelly Rolls that would be perfect for this project.

Easy Pillow Cover

The Easy Peasy Pillow Cover from Miss Make is perfect for the beginner. Those with more experience can whip up a batch in an afternoon for all their best friends!

Carry Along Floor Pillow

Make this floor pillow for the little traveler in your life for trips to Grandma’s house, story time, and sleepovers with friends. Find the tutorial at Sew4Home.

Personalized Pillow

The tutorial for this pretty appliquéd pillow comes from Honey Bear Lane. Make one for each member of your family!

Simple Envelope Pillow Cover

Here’s another simple pillow cover that a good first project for a beginner. From Momtastic, this envelope pillow cover tutorial provides clear instructions and big pictures which makes it easy for you to make.

Women Igniting the Spirit of Entrepreneurship (WISE) is a resource for women business owners in the Syracuse area. In preparation for their April 3 conference, they’ve made up a poster and asked members to finish the sentence “I am . . . ” and send a photo to the WISE Facebook page. Janet stitched hers to say “I am creative.” And boy is she ever! Look for more news about Janet in the coming weeks. She has some exciting projects going on!

Calico Gals has a free pattern for you! Make a fun little Twisty Bag that sits upright on your counter and holds thread snippings, paper scraps, and other little bits and pieces.

What do you put in your Twisty Bag? Email a photo of your Twisty Bag to me the Web Gal, and I may feature it on a future blog post! Download the Twisty Bag pattern and instructions.

Have you seen it yet? It’s the latest Internet meme, and it features our own Kathy Barden as the illustration for “What we’re actually doing”! We don’t know who created it, but it sure is fun!

See the original image of Kathy in Janet’s blog post.

Prints Charming March Madness Edition

The Syracuse University Orange may not have sewn up the championship (yet!), but the gals have sewn up their support! In the photo above Marcia and Janet are showing their Orange pride with quilts made with a special edition of the Prints Charming packs: 76 five inch squares of blue and orange fabrics. Cut those squares into quarters and fuse them onto a panel of 2-1/2 inch Quiltsmart grid. The easy instructions (created by Marcia) to make a banner or pillow are free for the asking. We are proud of our team, and you can show your own team loyalty by easily modifying the grid layout. The March Madness pack makes two banners – one for you and one to share with another fan! Let’s Go Orange!

Prints Charming packs are new each month and available for $15. Join the Prints Charming Club (just $20) and save $5 off every pack you buy all year long!

Folks interested in historic quilts can travel north to Sacket’s Harbor to view the Great Lakes Seaway Trail Quilt Show, featuring the War of 1812 Quilt Challenge. View quilts made in period-correct 1812 style from quilters in the U.S. and Canada. This show takes place in Sacket’s Harbor at the Seaway Trail Discovery Center, the Sacket’s Harbor Art Center, and the Sackets Harbor Visitors’ Center on March 17 and 18.

From the official website: The year 2012 is the 200th Anniversary Year of the War of 1812, much of which was fought along the Great Lakes Seaway Trail. The 2012 Great Lakes Seaway Trail Quilt Show will feature the War of 1812 Quilt Challenge featuring “cot to coffin” size quilts in 1812-era fabrics.

The annual show focuses each year on a different theme associated with the byway and fills the three floors and nine rooms of the Great Lakes Seaway Trail Discovery Center, a building that was built with native limestone in 1817 as the Union Hotel. The show features national and international quilting artists’ creations, vendors, demonstrators, and an exhibit by the Orleans County Country Barn Quilt Trail, a 22-mile loop tour off the Great Lakes Seaway Trail byway to see more than 40 barns painted with quilt block patterns. The quilting tradition is a popular cultural and arts heritage travel theme for the Great Lakes Seaway Trail which has clusters of Mennonite and Amish quilters, particularly in the Chautauqua and St. Lawrence County regions of the byway.

On Sunday, March 18, at 12:00 pm and 3:00 pm, at the Discovery Center, fifth generation quilter and teacher Shirley Robinson will give a presentation entitled “Quilts of the Nations.” She will portray a woman born in the late 18th century as she traces the development of American quilting from colonial days to the mid-19th century.

Visit the 1812 Quilt Challenge blog to read more about the show. On this blog you will also find a wealth of information about early 19th century quilting.

Shamrock Wallhanging

This project from Better Homes and Gardens calls for different shades of greens in a variety of patterns to make a pretty shamrock wallhanging.

Bandana Dress

Momtastic has a tutorial to make a darling dress out of bandanas. Okay, I know what you’re thinking, “It’s too cold to wear that dress in Central New York on St. Patrick’s Day!” Yes, but imagine it layered over a turtleneck and leggings! Cute, huh?

Popsicle Bracelets

Popsicle stick bracelets also from Momtastic are fun accessories to wear with the bandana dress. Use scrapbook paper, yarn, stickers, or markers to decorate the popsicle sticks. The popsicle stick prep work must be done by an adult, but the decorating is something kids can have fun with.

History of the Irish Chain

Women Folk tells us that the Irish Chain was probably developed in the United States in the early 1800s but may have its roots in Ireland. Read more at Women Folk.

Triple Irish Flower Chain

Now that you know all about the Irish Chain, how about making one? Moda Bake Shop has a tutorial for a lovely Triple Irish Flower Quilt employing a modified Triple Irish Chain.