I picked Luke’s Diner as the center of this graphgan because it is the center of the GG’s world. So much happens not only at Luke’s, but Luke himself plays such a big role in their lives–he cares so much for Rory that he assumes a fatherly-ish figure always concerned with her well being and his back and forth friendship/love interest with Lorelai. No matter their relationship status is at the moment, he’s always there. The rock. The center piece of their puzzle. BONUS SQUARE #1 IS HERE! In tribute to Sookie St James, I give you her square: My favorite part of her graph is her funky headscarf. You can always find Sookie in a fun and funky printed bandana on her head in leiu of a chef’s hat. And I love that about her! And since Jackson Belleville had such a big part in her role at the inn (being the produce man and all), I threw in a tomato to represent Jackson. GILMORE GIRLS CAL–WEEK #2 This week is an ode to the Gilmore Girls’ diet. You know, one of the things they’re known for…their ability to eat copious amounts of food with zero nutritional value. And then wash it down with coffee. And more coffee. And more coffee. What would a Gilmore Girl graphgan be without a Poptart or a cup of Lorelai’s “coffee coffee coffee?” So, paying tribute to their iron stomachs, I give you the graphs for Week #2 of this GG CAL: GILMORE GIRLS CAL BONUS SQUARE #2 In keeping with the junk food aka Gilmore Girls diet, our bonus square this week is…insert Lorelai’s not-so-good drumroll…PIZZA! GILMORE GIRLS CAL — WEEK #3 What would Gilmore Girls be without the iconic Stars Hollow Gazebo? Many a festivals and events take place around the center of this quaint little town–from the Revolutionary War renactments (where Kirk dresses as a woman) to the Old Muddy River Bridge Knitathon. The festivals are some of my favorite events in Gilmore Girls and it is only fitting that the gazebo has a spot on our graphgan. The same sentiment goes for the Dragonfly Inn. A staple in the town’s bed and breakfast industry, the Dragonfly Inn deserves a spot as well. GILMORE GIRLS CAL BONUS SQUARE #3 The Gilmore Girls left us with a ton of fun one-liners and memorable quotes. One I see most often on the internet is, “Oy with the poodles already.” GILMORE GIRLS CAL – WEEK #4 The rebels. This week pays tribute to the rebels in the Gilmore Girls–the Life & Death Brigade and Hep Alien. One of my favorite episodes in the entire Gilmore Girls series is season 5, episode 7, “You Jump, I Jump, Jack.” In this episode, Rory is whisked away for a weekend with the Life & Death Brigade so she can cover a story for the Yale Daily News. My favorite scene is when Logan takes Rory by the hand and the two then jump off of a scaffolding in a stunt. This iconic GG scene symbolizes Rory’s awakening, where she is opening herself up to adventure and stepping outside of her comfort-zone bubble. Many will argue that this is symbolic of her relationship with Logan, but I think it goes beyond her relationship with Logan. Now, I know a true fan will argue that the umbrella Rory used in the ‘You jump, I jump, Jack,’ scene is black. But I went with the vibrant blue of her scarf. So if you were wondering why I used that blue, well, that’s why. And what better way to incorporate Rory’s BFF, Lane Kim, into our graphgan than to add Hep Alien? We all remember Lane’s penchant for hiding forbidden music, clothes, make-up, and food from her mother in the floorboards of her bedroom. Lane followed her passion for making music by rebeling against her mother, and met her husband and the father of her twin boys in the process. In Omnia Paratus, Latin for ‘ready for anything,’ is the motto of the Life & Death Brigade, and has become quite a memorable quote from the series. You don’t have to do the quote, but if you want to, here’s how I did it. To do this writing on the umbrella, I simply made a long chain and sewed it on! Simple as that. I placed stitch markers to mark the tops and bottoms of the rows I used to place the motto on to help keep the letters as even as possible. It was a lot of trial and error with the placement, but my patience paid off. Here are a few progressive photos: GILMORE GIRLS CAL BONUS SQUARE #4 What’s a mother-daughter relationship show without…the grandmother? One of my favorite characters in Gilmore Girls is the grandmother, Emily Gilmore. I wasn’t always a fan of her’s, but eventually her witty comebacks and sophisticated sass won me over. I wanted something that reminded me of Emily’s sass and spunk, but had a touch of elegance. I went with a background similar to the color of a box from Tiffany’s for class, and a tube of Vicious Trollop lipstick with some red wine. I was sooo excited to be able to add some Vicious Trollop to the graphgan. GILMORE GIRLS CAL – WEEK #5 Any true Gilmore Girls fan knows that Rory’s heart used to belong to Harvard, but that all changed when she decided that Yale was the place for her. So, to pay tribute to that great institution where many many things happened for Rory, here is a square for Yale: This week starts the tribute to each of her main squeezes in the original series run I have a square planned for each of her big love interests from the original series. Now, I won’t take sides with the whole #teamdean #teamjess #teamlogan thing. I think that each guy came into her life and fit her story just the way it was. Just like our own lives–the people we meet shape us and contribute to who we are today. With that said, this week is Dean’s turn. Ah…first love. This was such a sweet and innocent time for Rory. Something I could never get over was the car that Dean built for her! Seriously, who does that?! I thought it fitting that Dean’s square be a tribute to Rory’s first car built with love and sweat by Dean himself. GILMORE GIRLS CAL BONUS SQUARE #5 I couldn’t have an Emily Gilmore square without a square for Richard Gilmore on this blanket now, could I? Richard was often quiet, but when he spoke, it was of importance. He was strong with his words and convictions, but always had a heart of gold especially for the ladies in his life. GILMORE GIRLS CAL – WEEK #6 So Dean was Rory’s first love. That was interrupted by the resident ‘bad boy’ in Stars Hollow– Jess Mariano. I understand the bad boy appeal after the do-gooder Dean, but I had a hard time trying to figure out how best to represent Jess. His love of books for sure, but I’m saving books for later. I always think of the episode ‘A-Tisket, A-Tasket’ where Jess bids on Rory’s picnic basket at a town function and outbids her current beau, Dean. This seemed to be the very beginning of their romance, even though she was already with someone. Next up in Rory’s line of suitors is Logan Huntzberger. Logan was Rory’s college love. It is with Logan and the Life & Death Brigade that Rory comes out of her shell and steps away from her comfort zone. He helped Rory open herself up to adventure at right time. Their witty banter and deep thoughts are represented by the love rocket Logan gave Rory when he went to London. The depth of thought that went into the gift and Rory’s research and revelation into what it meant for their relationship at the time, is pretty symbolic of the relationship those two had. GILMORE GIRLS CAL – WEEK #7 The squares for this week come from the revival. Those final 4 words. Rory: “Mom?” Lorelai: “Yeah?” Rory: “I’m pregnant.” I used an apple to represent Rory’s pregnancy because we all remember the scene from Season 5, Episode 21 “Blame Booze and Melville,” where Sookie is in labor and Lorelai is freaking out thinking she’s pregnant because she was craving an apple. She tracks down a doctor to tell her the story of how when she was pregnant with Rory, she kept craving apples, which is not the norm for her, and she thought she might be pregnant again. Long story short, Lorelai wasn’t pregant that time. I figured with a palatte that only that mother and daughter duo share, Rory would also crave apples when she was pregnant. One of my favorite characters on the show is Kirk. He plays everything from a DSL installer to the guy that runs the Black, White, and Read theater part of the bookshop to an Ooooober driver. No matter what Kirk is doing, he always brings a smile to my face (or a cringe if he’s doing his interpretation of his own birth). I thought it only fitting that Kirk had a square on our blanket, so I give you Petal the pig.