Saturday, September 3, 2016

Block Party Update !!!



Wow! It is September already!  Summer is coming to an end in Beautiful Vermont.  I recently started a new job (you know, the one that pays for my happy hobby!!!!) and every morning I get to round a corner on the only highway that runs through Vermont and see the most beautiful scene of Camel's Hump.  My most favorite mountain in the entire state!  I hope to take a picture but here is one I found that was taken from the 'other side' of the mountain and of course is the snowy scene I just can't wait to see again.  If you are going to live in Vermont, you need to love winters - which I do!!!!

Ahh, but I digress!  I finally finished the Pictogram Block Party Quilt by Judy Nowicki.  What a fun time I had with the class! We met almost weekly through the summer.  We learned so much about our Embroidery Machines!  The placement functionality is so critical in a quilt like this.  Each block had at least 3-4 placements.  We all found the Frixion Gel Pens SO wonderful for these blocks.

Here is the top draped over my couch.  The quilting ideas are flowing.  Each block will be custom quilted!  I have a few quilts to put on Little Miss Lovey before this one.  Hopefully it will be on the machine in a couple of weeks!




I'm already starting the next quilt. I tested thread colors to go with "Walking On Sunshine" by Wilmington Prints.  Fabric is available on www.cadicorners.com. My first sample is shown here on the left.  The CDs and thread packs will be available soon.  I'm going to start with a wall hanging and I want to use the cool new Embroidery Batting

Happy Stitching!!








Tuesday, May 17, 2016

In Just a Few more hours.......

For those of you following my posts, you know that my dear sister Cathy (author of CathysChatterReview.BlogSpot.com) and I have a lot in common.  We bridge the gap in our locations through having an online fabric shop (CaDi Corners) plus the new studio which will soon be open to the public and doing the shopping for it and our customers! 

This week Cathy and I will be thinking of you, our customers as we set out to make purchases at Spring Market (we are getting a bit low on fabrics, patterns and notions) and just to spend some much needed sister time.   We are SO looking forward to meeting the fabric designers and teachers, friends we have made along the way, taking classes ourselves and of course spending time picking out some beautiful fabrics.  Already we have a list we are working from because of the great feedback we get from our customers and students!!! 

Oh, before I forget.....Opening our studio to the public happened a little sooner than in our original plan ~~ we are officially taking appointments!  Our Contact information is on our Website - www.cadicorners.com ~ feel free to call for your One-on-One!  This One-on-one can be for browsing and shopping, taking a class or just stop by to chat ~ bring your show and tell!!! 

Be sure to add us to your daily reading this week!  We will be posting pictures of our fun time!!!!

Until then, Happy Stitching!!!!!

Here is a picture of the quilt we were privileged to be a part of with Little Miss Lovey!!!! (that would be our Gammill Longarm!)


Thursday, May 5, 2016

CaDi Corners' Studio!

Oh, dear! It's been way too long since the last update.  Been SO busy!!!  First of all, the studio is in ready to use mode!  The electricity is in, the lights are in, the walls are painted and now the floor is painted!  Last to be done is the ceiling, but I still haven't quite decided what to put there!!!

It is SO light and cheery that when I came upstairs I was surprised to see it was rainy outside!!!

For anyone who is in the St. Albans VT area, I will be holding an evening session and a daytime session for the Judy Nowicki Block Party Quilt at Cowles Quilting Machines on North Main Street in St. Albans!  Get your reservation in and come down and see what I have completed so far!  We have reorganized the Cowles Machine and Class Room areas!  The Quilt Blocks are hanging on the design wall with some of the other class samples in process!!!

In preparation for that class, the Embroidery Club this month at Cowles will focus on "Re-Hooping" and some fun techniques I have learned along the way for the optimum success! When you are done the blocks look like they were all done in one hoop!!!!  These techniques will be used a lot with the Block Party Quilt because every block has multiple designs in each one!  So much fun!!!

Here is the finished Block:








Thursday, April 21, 2016

Design Wall??? Yes!!!


I just couldn't sew long before realizing I really needed a design wall.  I used to just throw everything on the floor, but NOW I have all these open walls!!!! So, off to the store I trotted to purchase Velcro and this is what I ended up with:

Look how nice those first 4 blocks of the Block Party Quilt look on the design wall!!!  I'm not so crazy about block 2 and may make it over again, but I'm giving it some time to grow on me.  Let me know what you think!!!!

And, then of course I needed to slip in a UFO so I could feel productive!  You know how it is.  You get on a large project and feel like you haven't produced anything for all your labors. Well, that is what all those UFO's are for, slipping in now and again so you can 'feel' productive!!!  Finally I managed to get the borders on the Disappearing Pinwheel Quilt.  It's hanging there ready for when I can put it on Little Miss Lovey!!!!!


Wednesday, April 20, 2016

Do I study OR Sew???? How about BOTH!

Well, as you know, I am taking college classes online and so there has been a daily struggle for when my sewing studio was upstairs alas, I did not have room to study.  I had to run the length of the house from kitchen to sewing room between school work and sewing projects.  And of course the only time I could do both was when I was keeping my machine busy with embroidery.

Well, take a look!  I have room to do both!!!  That great table my dad made me with coffee, homework where I can keep an eye on the embroidery!



All three of these machines got quite the workout yesterday and on the back wall there will be yet a fourth when my Longarm is delivered!!!! 

Look you even get a sneak peak at block number 5 in the Block Party Quilt! Ahh, but there is a story there. The block you see on the machine alas ended up in the 'oops' bag.  I got way to anxious to complete it and on the very last hooping, made a big mistake.  But do not despair, I managed to complete it just moments ago.   It's coming in the next post!!!!

Tuesday, April 19, 2016

Block Party - Block Number 5!!


There just aren't words!!! This one is SO pretty!!!  Let me know what you think!  Is anyone out there who is doing this quilt or has already completed it?  I would love to hear from you!  Leave me a note!

Also, if you are planning on taking this class, be sure to call Cowles Quilting at 802-524-2551 and sign up. 

In My Studio!!!! Woo Hoo!!!

Dear Readers,

I know it has been a while, but I am happily in the studio and finding it SO nice to have a space that is so organized and spacious!!!!  I just have to figure out what I want on the floor and ceiling. But that can wait because I have sewing to do!!!!  I'm sure you can understand!

Here is the main Work Area.    My dad made the pine table and I love having it in the studio!  My dad was a really wonderful man, full of energy.  He started college late in life and became a school teacher.  He was an awesome wood worker and I am so grateful to have some items he made for me over the years. 
 
 
 This is a picture of the work area from the other angle.  See how much room I have?  Way over in the corner is where I put the shipments together for the Online purchases at www.cadicorners.com.  I even have an antique rocking chair for those chill out moments and hand sewing parts of the projects I work on.  Did I tell you have piped in XM Radio??? I'm so happy about that!!!!


And this, my dear friends is the new home for Little Miss Lovey!!!! My Statler Longarm which is soon to be delivered!!!!  Can't wait for that to be tucked in nice and neat!!!!

 
That is it for this post!!!!!
 
Come back and see what I'm working on!

Wednesday, April 13, 2016

New Sewing Studio - Moving forward!!!

After a few delays, I am SO happy to report that the electricians are here!!!!  I can't wait to see how everything looks with LED CAM lights all over!!!!  There is SO much room - it is a full three quarter the size of the house footprint!!!  Oh My!!!

So, what have I been doing while waiting on the electricians?  Sewing of course - back on the kitchen table and counter and floor!!!!  Living on Toast and Coffee because there just is no room to cook while doing these blocks! 

Here is block Number 3!  They just get better and better!  Judy Nowicki - beautiful creation!!!!  I took a sneak peak ahead hoping that the center block is coming up soon, but No indeed! It will be the last block in the quilt to be completed.  Oh well.  One block at a time!

Oh, and I made my first big boo -boo and selected the wrong file to stitch first, so all that stabilizer and fabric just went into the scrap heap for Block 4 and I'm starting over!  And keep watching for the Class Listing from Cowles Quilting. These classes will be held at 268 N. Main Street in St. Albans.

Happy Stitching everyone!

Monday, April 11, 2016

Step 3 - Lights and Action!!!!


I know it has been a while, but as you can imagine, there is always the possibility of delay when construction of any kind is in the mix.  But, I have been assured there will be electricity by the end of the day Wednesday this week!!!! Woo! Hoo!!!  With that behind us, then on to setting everything in its proper place!

But in the meantime, I have been painting new shelving, mapping out where everything goes and just having a good time making decisions, and changing my mind, oh yeah, making decisions over again!!! But that is the fun stuff!!!!

To keep my sanity while waiting on the electrician, I have been preparing for a new embroidery club series.  This one is going to be fun!!!  I saw this quilt made up several years ago and have had it on my list of to-do's for the past 5 or 6 years!!!!  Here are some pictures for you.  I have Block 1 and 2 Completed!!!


Tuesday, March 29, 2016

Step 2 - Fresh Coat of Paint

Well, I am well into the second step of transforming a very open basement into a new Sewing Studio!  The difference is amazing!  It looks even bigger now that the ugly gray is covered with a pretty sort of antique white!!!

As with most projects, you think you want to go from A to B, but then there is always going from A to B to C in the back of your mind.  This project is no different.  A to B means that just the Sewing studio portion of the basement would get a fresh coat of paint, A to C means the entire basement gets a fresh coat of paint.  So, you guessed it - I just can't stop!!!!  I must do the other walls and the bathroom while I am at it!!!! So, it will be a few more days before I can post a true "Done Step 2" update!!!

In the meantime, I was able to put music in the space and so now I'm just hopping while working to some great XM Radio!  How cool this is!    See it dangling there??? :-)




And below is the nice toasty fire!!!!  And check out that Chimney!!!  No more dark gray and black!

 















And take a look here. See??? There is no way I can just stop in the middle of the wall just because it won't be a part of the sewing studio!!!   

Have a great day and thanks for following me during this fun project!!!!! 

Friday, March 25, 2016

Step 1 on New Studio - Complete!!!

Woo, Hoo!!!!

What a TREAT to have such a toasty, warm and very spacious place to work in!!!!  I'm very happy for the great job Allen Hulbert's Plumbing and Heating of St. Albans did!!!  They made quick work of it, very professional - left everything so clean and neat it was hard to see anyone had been there, but for the new Heater installed and some fixed plumbing!!!!  A big shout out to anyone in St. Albans looking for a plumber - you can't go wrong!!!!

So, here it is!!!!
 
Next Step - painting the walls!!!! 
 


Wednesday, March 23, 2016

New Sewing Studio???? Oh My!!!

Today, March 23rd, 2016 marks a monumental occasion in the history of CaDi Corners, LLC in St. Albans Vermont.

Up until now, all the shipping for CaDi Corners LLC has been in a very small room in the house.  But today, (and the noise is quite the testament!) a new studio is beginning to take shape!  Step 1 is the installation of a gas heater that looks very much like a fireplace in the location I have been encouraged to use for CaDi Corners studio. 

I have a great big open basement with outside entrance and everything!!!  Soon, it will be transformed!  I even have before pictures to share - soon!  Step 2 will be painting - and yes, it is sitting here on the floor waiting until the plumbing is completed!!!!

So, what I wanted to share with you all today, is that within a not yet determined number of weeks, we will be in full swing.  And I hope you will join me on this very exciting journey.

One of the neat things that happened today is that my plumber (yep, I needed to get some of that done first!) told me his mom, who recently passed, has a bunch of fabric that he would like to donate to CaDi Corners!!!  What this means is that during our grand opening and beyond, we will have some opportunities for ladies to make up quilts, blankets, pillow cases and more that will be donated to several different charities!!! I'm so excited to be able to honor his mom in this way and know it will be a fun time to boot!!!!

So, that is it for today!  I suspect you will hear more in the days and weeks ahead!  Thank you in advance for joining this journey with me. I hope you will leave a comment or two letting me know what you might like to see in this space!
The wall where a fireplace will be!!!
And Future Home of Little Miss Lovey - our Gammill Longarm

Home of the Future Fabric Corners and Workroom!