Friday, May 27, 2011

Thursday, May 26, 2011

Spring Quilt Market in Salt Lake City

In under two weeks before Quilt Market, I managed to pull off creating ten 4x8 foot panels made of my superheroes and eight other large cut-out superheros for our booth. Not to mention logo designs, bag labels, water bottle labels and other various designs at the last minute.

I loved it!  I was in my element. And, isn't that the whole point? Work should feel delicious and rewarding and make your insides full of giddy.

The tables were covered in both my Lolly Dot print and Superhero City Nights. People dressed as my superheroes and for a moment there, seeing all my work showcased, I, too, felt for a few days ... super happy. Super satisfied. Superheroe'd out. I am thankful. I'm lucky, so blessed, with good health, somewhat decent genes and doing work that I love.

I flew into Salt Lake City for a few days and videotaped the events using a Flip Videocamera. I returned back to our Studio and edited hours down to just a few minutes. 

You can watch it here. (remember to turn on your sound). We really do have that much fun at our shows.  Thanks for watching.

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Behind the scenes of Michael Miller Fabrics

I have been busy.

It's all that hurry, hurry, rush, rush, hustle and bustle of getting things ready for Quilt Market. And now the time is finally here! Quilt Market in Salt Lake City is nearly lapping at our toes!

I often attend the International Quilt Market in Houston each year, but I rarely ever go to the Spring Quilt Market which hits different cities across the country every year. The last Spring Market I attended was in Portland, Oregon where I got to meet our first, brand spankin' new licensed designer Sandi Henderson and upcoming, still warm in the oven, Patty Young and Paula Prass.

I put this one-minute "trailer" video together and hope you take the time to watch it. It's behind-the-scenes of where I work! (All filmed on a Flip)



Here's another sneak peek at what I've been working on....

I designed ten 4' x 8' panel walls for our booth at Quilt Market in Salt Lake City to showcase the fabric I designed..... It's going to be a superhero theme!


This was inspired by the superhero fabrics I designed. (It's really blurry and it's not your eyes this time. I took it with my phone and and didn't look at it to see if it was clear or not). I am sleepy but feel happy and content. All the artwork I designed is out of my hands now and I just have to wait and see how the printers did and if they sent all the artwork in time to our hotel in Salt Lake City.

In case you didn't know ... I am praying for a miracle.

Friday, May 6, 2011

Memory Strategies

She said... "Help me remember channel 220."

I said, "That's easy! Think of that old TV show Room 222. Then think of Dolly Parton singin' "Two doors down, they're laughing and drinking and having a party.." What room is two doors down? 220!"

I smiled to myself at my quick logic to help her remember the channel.

She looked at me in disbelief. "Okay!"

I once lived at 2001 Range Avenue in Apt 222.

It was so easy to remember my address:
Movie: 2001 Leagues under the Sea...
Song: Home on the Range.
TV Show: Room 222!!

(That '60s show again starring Karen Valentine comes in handy a lot!)

But sometimes you just have to pretend numbers are inanimate objects. Like that time when I had to pick a friend up at a diner in the City at 983 6th Street. The ONLY way I could remember the address was think....  "If nine ate three... it leaves six."

I try to convince others how easy it is to remember things if they just create a story in their head.

They stare at my blankly. "Isn't it easier to just remember the number than to recall the story?"

I suppose it is for most things. But I've never remembered it any other way. I've always created a story.
It's something I've been doing all my life.

Like how else would I have remembered when a friend fell in love for the first time back in May 1980? It was because she said she felt fireworks when he kissed her.  M80s are large illegal firecrackers... that can cause harm, which come to think of it... the guy eventually DID break her heart .. so for now on, whenever I think of Lisa and her first boyfriend, i think of M80s: May 80.

In the late 90s, I taught my very young niece my telephone number: (Fourteen-Fifteen) Four-Five-Six- One Six-Two Six, pick up sticks.)  The pick up sticks was just a fun rhyme, but the actual number was 1 (415) 456-1626.

See what I mean? I don't know why I think like that. But I do.