Where in the world is ......... ?

Greetings from Osaka, Japan!

As the new year approaches, Japan is getting ready for the Year of the Rat.

Japan has always been into "cute". Case in point, the ever popular Hello Kitty shown here in a rat costume as a mascot/ key fob to be hung on your cell phone. Haven't taken a poll here but it seems that everyone has some sort of mascot/charm hanging from their phone.

Gingko trees along the streets in Osaka, Japan.

Here's something they never told me when I majored in textile design ages ago: That a career in textiles would lead to travels around the world, and, in my case a lot of it in Asia. For me this has been the best of all worlds. I love travel, long flights to read and think and the thrill of the hunt, whether it's sourcing new fabrics or finding great art reference. And then there's the side perks: shopping and eating!

I love all Japanese food.


Most departmaent stores have an entire floor full of not only Japanese sweets ( yum) but chocolates and goodies from all over the world.



The best way to get to and from Kansai Airport and Osaka, the Rapit train, only $13 !

Quilt Market Follow-up

First just a quick note about the TRIMS : To all of you asking ; When , Where and How to buy our fabulous new trims : They won't be available till January but I'll post a vendor list in a couple weeks of those carrying the complete collection.

Unfortunately I didn't get a lot of time to get out of the booth (next posting) and roam the aisles, and when I did my camera wasn't always with me (haven't quite "got" this blogging-reporter thing down yet!). But here's just a few of the terrific people I saw (and had my camera with me) at Quilt Market.


Rob Appel sporting some of his free form stitch work. New ideas are all over Quilt Market and a lot of it is in the aisles. This is why I love going to Market! It's it's such a creative fest!


Cindy Taylor Oates wearing our Dandy Damask print has the cutest Mommy and Me Aprons!

Ellen Medlock and her wonderful purse patterns.

Hoodie of Hoodies' Collection. Here she is with her fun eclectic booth.

Liesl of Oliver + S debuting her patterns for childrens' clothes with beautifully illustrated paper dolls by Dan Andreasen.

Sandi Henderson of Portabello Pixie with her wonderful husband Dustin and me. Notice the quilt she made out of the strike/offs (test samples) from her Ginger Blossom Collection coming in January.

Me and Edie McGinnis with Mark Lipinski of Quilter's Home Magazine debuting his Katmandu print Line for Troy fabrics.

follow up with the winners

If you haven't given me yr snail mail address or received an email from me asking you for it, Please email it to me at: blog@michaelmillerfabrics.com

This applies to the first 24 comments on the November 19th post and the first 14 comments on the November 27th post

Thanks to all of you for the terrific response!

And the winners are!

Hey! The response to our offer of free Ruffle Rac and Bias Trims to the first 15 of you to email has been so fantastic that we're pulling an OPRAH and sending them to all who responded! Don't worry that includes all of you who posted comments too!
Thanks for your response!

Did ya wonder what happened to me?

Okay, okay, I'm now the very last person to report back from Quilt Market. Truly sorry to have left you all hanging like that. Let's just say "I'm not the multi- tasking - wiz-bang - do-it-all- and- sure- I-can- add -blogging- to -the -list- person- I thought- I- was!"

But here I am back with you and ready to make up for lost time! Remember when I said "Wonder what this pile/mess is? Stay tuned and all will be revealed?"

Well, that mess is our new line of trims!!!!! Ruffle Rac (ruffled ric rac) and bias trim (half inch double fold bias tape). They're sooo fun in our Kid Check and Garden Pindot prints and colors. The ideas are just starting to percolate as to all the cool things that can be done with them AND THAT'S WHERE YOU COME IN!!!!!!!!!!

We're offering free samples to the first 15 crafting/ sewing/ blog-reading fabric lovers out there that email me at blog@michaelmillerfabrics.com.
More to come soon (I promise), with all the pics that we took at Market!

New York Countdown

Thought you might like a peek into the pre-market frenzied world of the Michael Miller crew in New York. It goes this way twice a year as all the details come together before each Quilt Market. Dare I say like a "well oiled machine"?! Here's just some of the group that make it all happen: Alfredo, Lorenzo, Alla, Anushka, Allison, Erica and Christine. The rest were probably answering the phones, loading the elevator or flagging down the truck.










Wondering what that pile/mess is?? Stay tuned, all will be revealed at market :)

Sneak Peek!

Here it is! Our first Organic Cotton Collection. Our group has worked really hard to bring this to market. It won't be available in stores till January, but it's all so soft and pure we couldn't resist sharing the news.

Did you know that organic cotton has to been grown for at least three years without chemical pesticides, defoliants, or fertilizers? It costs more because organic farms are more labor and management intensive. They're also usually smaller and do not receive federal subsidies like conventional farming.
For more info visit these sites: The Organic Trade Association and Sustainable Cotton Project.

Here's some of the cute stuff we've come up with and there's more to come!

Houston, we have a problem

Houston, we have a problem. No, not really. We're just in lock-down mode getting ready for Quilt Market in 10 days!

I'll share a very special sneak peek tomorrow.

But for now, I thought I'd share some real life, behind the scenes shots of life here in the west coast studio. Inspired by J. Caroline's blog posting of real life in the studio. I'm ready to come clean (not to be confused with "cleaning"). It doesn't get more "real" than right before Quilt Market. Actually, this picture is pretty organized, being you can still see the floor. Trust me, that will disappear in the next few days, as things get down to the wire. Since I'm a "visual" person I like to have everything out where I can see it. "Out of sight, out of mind" Everything at my fingertips.

Here's my prized possession, the Featherweight 221 passed on to me from my Mom. She became a Home Ec. teacher with this and passed it on to me when I started sewing. I have a fancy schmancy machine (needs servicing) and an expandable sewing table (no room to open it up at the moment), but as you can see, this fits well on the only uncluttered space left.

Let it Rain

Today's adorable project was made by "MeMa" (aka our talented Northwest Sales Rep; Susan) for her little "Beanie". Using J for Jump in Cotton Laminate and trimmed with red Garden Pindot, a big red zipper and the perfect touch of red ric rac, (love that ric rac) this is just too cute!

Susan used a Butterick pattern as the starting point. Other than trimming the seems to cut the bulk and a few pins in the seam allowance, no special treatment was really necessary. (no special needles or thread either).

What a cutie!

Splat Mat

Got a kid? Got a mess? You need Splat Mat!

Heck, we all need this!

Not too long ago we introduced Laminated Cotton to our line. It's been a big success for totebags, rain coats and now ... splat mats!

Joanna of Stardust Shoes has done it again with a great idea and some really ingenious sewing tips.