Willow Bend Creations

Well, we spent Wednesday evening in the presence of a great artist and quilter, Mary Stenros from Soldotna, AK .
What an experience.
She taught, she inspired and she made this beautiful 71 oF day even more beautiful.
www.willowbendcreations.com

956 East Redoubt Avenue
Soldotna, AK 99669
907/260-1662
Lone Star By owner Maribeth Miller

Welcome to the Calico Cow
907/895-9895
www.thecalicocow.com

April (Ignore the snow) at the Calico Cow

Hi from the Calico Cow!!!

I'd say we're definitely in the "break-up" season. Nice enough to get out of the house, but not nice enough to get in the garden - just right for quilting!

We met with our fabric rep last week, and are so excited to get all the new fabric we ordered! We jumped in with both feet with some Kaffe Fassett and Amy Butler - how fun! And we have new minky on its way, lots of new batiks, and oh, I can't even remember it all!
We already have the new Robert Kaufman "Last Frontier" fabric in, which is great, since last year's has been gone a while. We also have some new Moda jelly rolls and charms packs with companion fabrics - pretty pastels, modern medium-tones, and some woodsy flannels. Some of them have already flown out the door!

Wednesday night, April 29th is a REALLY cool class, especially if you've heard of or seen the Alaska State 50th Aniiversary Quilt. Those from Delta may have seen it last month at the Delta Community Library. Well, Delta's block was designed by Mary Stenros of Willowbend Designs in Soldotna. Mary is going to come and teach us that very block, or any of her other designs. The class will run from 5:00 pm til 9 or 10. This is a unique opportunity! She has so many great tips so share! There are so many of her patterns to choose from, and we have most of them, except for the new ones. Check out her website and decide which one you want to do. Then buy your fabric (so you can prewash it ahead of time) and your fusible web, and you can get your pattern when you get here for the class. We will be restocking our supply while she's here, too. Don't miss it!

We are working on dates for Eddy to teach the Professional Tote again, I think Marcia is going to do Quillows, and Jackie is planning a kid's camp for sometime this summer!

Don't forget Friday night sewing for $5, or just come and shop. It's so much fun, like a quilting party, every week!!

I'm sure I'm forgetting something, so make sure you stop in at the shop, to check out the new fabric, and see what else is new!

Happy Spring!!



Maribeth and Jackie
The Calico Cow
P.O. Box 648
1380 Richardson Hwy
Delta Junction, AK 99737
www.thecalicocow.com

New Photos March 2009-Stop on in...we have new fabric and MORE

Welcome to the Calico Cow 907/895-9895 www.thecalicocow.com

SPRING SALE!!!! 25% off EVERYTHING!

Just think, spring is on its way! (please tell me it is!) Since
it's been such a long winter, we are really going to celebrate
spring this year with a huge sale! The 1st day of spring is March
20th and National Quilting Day is March 21st! So starting the
previous Saturday, the 14th (which is a guild craft day at the
shop) we will be having 25% off of EVERYTHING in the store, except
of course consignments and already marked down items. No punches on
your punchcards on sale items. The sale will run from March 14th
through the 21st.

March 20 & 21 are the days of the FMKQ Spring Fling. The shop will
be open as always until 9:00 pm that Friday, then we will have a
special day that Saturday being open from 7:00 am to 7:00 pm to
accomodate our Fling guests who want to shop, but don't want to
miss any of the Fling, either. Don't miss the big sale - this good
a sale doesn't happen very often!

Please note: the class that was scheduled for March 28th - the
variation on a square-in-a-square - has been rescheduled for April
18th. Hopefully this will be better for some of you who are on
overload from the Fling. It's a really cute quilt done with jelly
rolls or fat quarters. Come and see the sample at the shop.

Don't miss the chance to see the State's 50th Anniversary quilt
show at the Delta Library. It's supposed to be running from today
(the 9th) through the 23rd. Delta of course has a block in it. It
should be spectacular!

Hope to see you all soon!
Maribeth and Jackie

Welcome to the Calico Cow
907/895-9895
www.thecalicocow.com

2-22-09

Welcome to the Calico Cow
907/895-9895
www.thecalicocow.com


Hi again, everyone!
Just wanted to let you know about the 2 classes we have coming up.
Pinwheel Play on Sat February 28th taught by Jackie. Not a beginner
quilt, but it should be fun. See the beautiful sample hanging over
the railing in the hall.

And then we have a Variation on a square in a square taught by Marcia
on March 28th. This is a great beginner quilt. And you should see the
cute sample she has up in the classroom! It can be done with charm
squares and jelly rolls or with fat quarters. So many options!
Hope you can join us for one of these classes.


Also coming up is the guild's Spring Fling in March. Watch for some
specials in the shop celebrating the Fling, and National Quilting Day.
See you soon!

Disappearing 9 Patch for January 2009 Class

Welcome to the Calico Cow
907/895-9895
www.thecalicocow.com

Happy Holidays

Hi, and Merry Christmas to everyone!We hope you are all having a great time getting ready for Christmas and/or other holidays, you have all your handmade gifts and shopping done, and are just relaxed and waiting with quiet expectation for Christmas morning! One can always hope!

Well, to celebrate Christmas and the end of 2008, we are having a sale! From December 26th to December 31st, the last week of 2008, we're having 20% off Batiks, Christmas fabrics, Books and Patterns. Come on in and have some relaxed shopping time now that Christmas will be over, and plan your next project!

Of course, we will be closed on Christmas Day and New Year's Day, but we will be open our regular 10-5 hours on Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve, for any last minute shoppers. January will bring some classes, which aren't set in stone yet, but I think the repeat Disappearing Nine Patch will be the end of January, and we're hoping to have a bag class and another class or two in January/February.

We'll keep you posted.Take care and have a Jolly time this season with family and friends! ----and don't forget to get a little quilting time in :)

Welcome to the Calico Cow
907/895-9895
www.thecalicocow.com

November 12th update

Hi, just thought I'd send you a little reminder of what's going on here at the Calico Cow. Nov 15th (this weekend) is our pillows and wallhanging class with Marcia. She has great ideas and techniques for pillows and is always creative with wallhangings, too. It's not too late to sign up, but do it soon! Nov 22nd - Fractures! Those cool looking wallhangings you've seen in the classroom, taught by Carol McConahy from Fairbanks. It looks like such a fun technique, I hope no-one has to miss it! I've got my main fabric chosen already! Dec 6th - beginner class - the disappearing ninepatch. This is a great class for beginners to get the basics of quilting, and make a nice small lap quilt. It's also a fun new, fast technique for more advanced quilters as well. I'm encouraging brand new beginner quilters to come the night before at no extra cost to get the basics of cutting down. Then we will have a break until after Christmas on the classes, since everyone is so busy with Christmas events, etc.

Be on the lookout for a BEAUTIFUL block of the month coming in January.. Robert Kaufman fabric's Chelsea Garden. You may have seen it advertised.

As always, we have new fabric, books and notions in:
Laurel Burch Christmas fabric
new Buggy Barn and Art to Heart books
Triangulation CDRoms - print any size half square or quarter square triangle on paper to sew them on - any size, as many or few as you need, from your own computer - cool, huh?
Restocks of things we were out of like Decorbond, Applique pressing sheets, quilting gloves, etc, etc, and new PINK travel cases.
Come and browse if you haven't been in for a while, or even if you have! Remember we're open Friday nights until 9:00! And every other day except Sunday, 10-5.
Happy November from the Calico Cow crew!

Welcome to the Calico Cow
907/895-9895
www.thecalicocow.com

New Schedule

• Hi Everyone!
  'Bout time I got a newsletter out! It's been a while! Meantime, we've been trying to get some class dates nailed down, so we know what to tell you.
  Here's what we know so far for classes:
• 
  October 18th - Raggedy Pumpkins wallhanging with Marcia. It's a cute fall wallhanging done in raw-edge applique - EASY! She'll show you some new techniques.
• 
  November 15th - Pillows and wallhangings with Marcia. She'll show easy pillow techniques and lots of ideas for pillows and wallhangings - great gifts for the holidays!
• 
  November 22nd - "Fractures" taught by Carol McConahy of Fairbanks. Really cool technique never taught before in Delta! It expands a fabric motif into a larger
  design that has been shifted and rearranged to give the effect of looking at the motif through shattered glass. She has several samples here at the shop.
• 
  December 6th - The long awaited beginner class! The "disappearing nine-patch" with Maribeth. You'll learn the nine-patch, a very basic traditional quilt block
  (with infinite possibilities by itself), then learn how to turn it into something completely different. This will be lots of fun for any skill level - it's a craze sweeping the country!
  Come and see the samples at the shop. If December is just too busy for you, it will be repeated after the first of the year.
  We'll take a break for the rest of December, since everyone is so busy, and come back in January with another beginner(and above) class with Jackie. The pattern is called "Lindsay".
  Very modern. She also has a class she'd like to teach using the new "layer cakes" the pre-cut 10" squares, but they are going out the door too fast to plan a class for! Once we get a few
  in stock, we'll schedule that one. Maybe we can get Eddy to do another bag class soon, too.
  If you haven't been in for a while, you'll have to come in and check out the new things; there's always new fabric coming in - we have some great new fall and Christmas fabrics;
  new books, like "Big Blocks,Big Quilts" that uses the layer cakes, "Lone Star Quilts and beyond" by Jan Krentz, "Table Toppers celebrating the great outdoors" by Debbie Field,
  and "Not your Grandmother's Log Cabin" by Sara Nephew and Marci Baker; new notions like mini crafting irons, pink Side-winders, 2009 calendars, etc, etc, etc.
  Oh, and if you haven't heard, or you forgot, we are now open EVERY Friday night until 9:00 pm. You can come and shop, or bring your sewing machine and latest project, and spend
  the night sewing with friends new and old for only $5. It really is a lot of fun.
  Take care everyone, and we hope to see you soon!
  The gang at the Calico Cow
  
  Welcome to the Calico Cow
  907/895-9895
  www.thecalicocow.com

Calico Cow Celebrates its 5th Anniversary

Yes, can you believe it? Calico Cow is 5 years old!!! Time flies when you're having fun! And to celebrate, we are having a crazy dayz sale, all next week. We WILL be open on Monday, Labor Day, and the sale runs through Saturday the 6th. We'll have crazy deals, like a dollar table, 75% off some items, and great daily specials you won't want to miss! Come in on Monday, and find out the specials for each day of the week.

Another anniversary celebration we are kicking off this fall is new fun thing. Instead of having pizza night and brown bag night twice a month, we will have it EVERY Friday night. We'll be open til 9:00 every Friday, and if you want to join us for sewing fun, it's just $5. Work on your latest project and get ideas from your fellow quilters, too.

Classes coming up - today is supposed to be a fat quarter bag class with Mallory Rush, our favorite teenage sewer/quilter. Don't know if it's happening or not, but if it doesn't, I'm sure she'll reschedule for later, probably after soccer season. It's a perfect fun class for any young person (of course, you're only as old as you feel) interested in sewing.

Marcia is planning a great wall-hanging class for the end of September. It has 4 maple leaf blocks, would be a good beginner class, and can be done with charm squares or regular yardage. She also plans to do a raggedy pumpkin wall-hanging in October, and a pillow and table runner class in November.
Jackie is going to teach a Turning Twenty soon, and I'm working on a sample for a beginner-friendly quilt called disappearing nine patch. Stay tuned for class dates, or check at the shop.

FMKQ guild will have their regular craft day on September 13th, with a really cute pumpkin wall-hanging by Lee Ann. She made the pattern herself! Of course, as always, you don't have to be a guild member to come! The guild is also having Gayle Hazen from Fairbanks coming Sept 19, 20 to teach classes, stop by the shop or contact Lonnie Miller for details. The guild's fall retreat is coming up at the end of October at the Taste of Alaska Lodge.

I think that's it for now, it sounded a lot better when I typed it last night BEFORE I LOST IT ALL! Arggh! Hope you all have a great Labor Day weekend, and don't forget to put in the Calico Cow on your to do list for the week!

Maribeth, Jackie, Eddy, Marcia, and Dave