Designer Row: Before & After

As promised:
here we are on the classy side of the street across from Camp Michael Miller
(for a better look- check out their blogs- waaay better photos)

Patty Young
before:

after:
bright happy fun colors and great sewing patterns
on top of all that she's a great photographer too!
Pillow and Maxfield
before
after:
Valerie Pillow & Anne Maxfield
wow! 1st time booth- born pros- gorgeous

Sandi Henderson
before:

after:
warm, yummy inviting - it all just works together so well-
well deserved ribbon there: merchandising award!

Paula Prass (and husband Tim alias McGuyver)
before:

after:
modern,sophisticated always "just right"
"once an interior designer always an interior designer"

Houston Quilt Market

Creativity Booth Award
this is how it ended
But this is where it started:
with a theme and a challenge: pull together gnomes - vintage trailers- and a classy group of independent designers together in one cohesive group of booths.
first the trailer:

Before

During
(held together with starch)
After
Ta Da!!
doesn't that look like we twitched our noses and voila! booth done?

but of course - here's the real story
(someday I'm gonna do this time-lapse photography style)
If they bring it WE will build it
Trees to be assembled limb by limb

and here's the talent behind the talent.
Tom builder of dreams
Becky
invent and sew
Jean
aka
"THE GNOME"

Deb
head down stitching fast

note the corner sign post:
Paula Prass, Sandi Henderson, Pillow & Maxfield and Patty Young on the classy side of the street.

next post we'll cross the road for a visit

The Luck of the Gnome

Click on image to view larger

It's Michael Miller Fabrics' 10th anniversary and we're celebrating at Quilt Market
with some-all-out-fun-times in the booth!!

In addition we'll be hosting 4 schoolhouses
(15 - 30 min. free seminars previewing new items, trends and techniques-held the day before market starts )
all on Fri. Oct. 9th - room #372D

10:40 - 11:10am Kathy Miller (me)- 10 years of making it fun!

11:15-11:45am Rob Appell- going wild with Michael Miller Fabrics

11:50-12:20pm Sandi Henderson & Paula Prass- creating fresh shop displays

12:25-12:55pm Swirly Girls : subject-risk free Block of the Month

as Sandi said in her blog: settle in and get comfy- these'll be jam packed with all the new designs we've been knocking ourselves out to share, not to mention the goody bags and door prizes!

Northwest Fabric and Notions Show

For those of you wholesale buyers in the northwest please stop by and visit us. For directions and other frequently asked questions click here.
And once again another cute skirt above in our beautifully rendered Charlotte trimmed with Ta Dot. Made using once again Serendipity Studio's upcoming pattern Emaline!

L.A. Int'l Textile Show

It's showtime folks! We're in a fabric flurry here at Michael Miller as we plan, prep and hit the road all over the country for the many different wholesale shows this fall. For those wholesale customers in the L.A. area c'mon by! The cute skirt above (on my cute niece) is from Serendipity Studio using our latest Plain Jane prints - due in stores end Sept/early Oct. (To any of you retailers selling this group: feel free to post your info in the comment section of this post)

International Textile Expo in Vegas

It's been a busy summer behind the scenes here at Michael Miller. Lot's to share and preview in the days and weeks ahead! For those of you that are wholesale customers : we'll be at the upcoming Las Vegas International Textile Expo Sept. 15 - 17th.
You're getting a SNEAK PEEK of a fabulous new sewing pattern: Emaline from Serendipity Studio made up in our newest girly floral Savannah and trimmed in Patty Young's clover dot along with Paula Prass's garden trellis. floralicious!

Dress up in the forest

Seems like I've been here, there and everywhere this summer, but my favorite was the blissful time spent with my grandchildren at the family cabin in the forest near Yosemite.

and yes, I used that time for some shameless fabric promoting photos!

I talked Samantha into a little dress up time with these adorable skirts from one of
Cindy Taylor Oates' Patterns
don't ya love the touch of tulle!

But now onto the fun stuff: collecting the pine cone babies

that go to bed in their bark beds with moss tufts for pillows.

what looks like a twig to the untrained eye is really a "toy" to help them fall asleep.

.........these are the good times........

Paula Prass giveaway!

Still submerged but hoping to surface soon- till then, get on over to Paula Prass's oh-so-fun summer soire giveaway!! Really , I can't wait to read the winner's story - Paula's too!

Patty Young giveaway!

I've been submerged here - we've all been hyper busy planning lots of exciting things to come - but I wanted to surface and make sure you're aware of the giveway happening on Patty Young's blog. check it out!

Laura Gunn debut at Quilt Market

It took a year and a half to bring Laura's paintings to life on fabric and boy was it worth it!
We're thrilled with the results and the response !
Her booth was chalk full of artful Lantern Bloom goodies

a good luck doll from her Mom, Elinor Peace Bailey

Here we are at school house showing the paintings that started it all

Laura sharing the quilt designed by Marinda Stewart

for the free down loadable pattern click here

Laura's adorable patterns

a great line - in the bag!

Spring Quilt mkt Pittsburgh 09

I'm back from market and scrounging around for pictures- I swear next market will be different- I'll come prepared with a fully charged camera and stop what I'm doing long enough to take some pictures!! I PROMISE!

Thankfully, I work with great people who came through once again!

All Smiles
2nd place award for multiple booth category! L to R: Sandi Henderson,Christine Osmers, me, Paula Prass, Michael Steiner, Patty Young, Deb Buchanan, bk row: Becky Bennett, Susan Day, Jennifer Storey, Debi Porreca, Ben Rubin.

that's the icing on the cake

now for the behind the scenes view of market- start to finish

A birds eye view of our booth (the Aqua row 2nd from the bottom) note the sunlight streaming in! Pittsburgh is my all time favorite convention center! Natural light- a huge plus at a show!

believe it or not - this stage has taken hours
it takes a village to raise a booth
somehow this will all come together

order through the chaos
showtime!
(note quilt pile-up- these are hard working show pieces, too many to hang, pawed through over & over)
and then it's over
what goes up- must come down- dismantling of the hidden kitchen
(yes, a well fed crew is...a well fed crew)

hard to believe this part goes quicker than set up

reverse construction

we all place bets predicting the finish time - imagine the antics- by this time we're all punchy
sorry- too exhausted for the empty booth photo
next post - show pics!