Decide what it is you want.

“Focusing on your purpose is everything. Don’t allow negativity to distract you from where you’re headed”

I want to start this blog by expressing my gratitude to all of those people who everyday take a little time out of their busy schedule to send me so many beautiful and encouraging words. Thank you from the bottom of my heart, it means a lot to me.

 I have always been a very private person. It was never “my thing” to go on the social media sharing everything I was up to. That has all has changed now. As many of you might have noticed, I’m currently all over the social media. Even on Instagram. Who would’ve thought, huh? The best part is that I am enjoying it so much. To wake up every day and share something with my friends and the new friends that I’m making in the process, is just fabulous. It feels like we are all connected now and there’s no excuse not to hear from somebody you have always cared about. And it’s a great idea to make new friends too. Who doesn’t love making new friends?

Throughout my life I have always been pretty much the same person. I would like to describe myself as an optimist, creative, and somewhat insecure. As a young boy, I was into a lot of things and they all had to do with arts. I was six years old when I first started playing the piano, at the same time I was into gardening, I used to go “antique shopping” with my grandmother and my mom and collect the most unique pieces I found. Then I started working with flowers, planning events, interior designs, raising my two kids (I was a housewife for 27 years), and in the middle of all that I started quilting.

I remember how excited I was about quilting. It was back in 2001 when there were just a few men quilters. That wasn’t going to stop me! I had always admired those incredibly talented women who had spent their lives creating such beautiful quilts. I wanted to do that too. I wanted to make something inspiring, something to be remembered for. “The fame” and all the illusion that we as humans like to create, was never part of my goal. All I wanted was to make quilts and most importantly something Remarkable that I could be proud of. I didn’t even know what the national quilt shows were back then.

Later on someone told me to enter my quilt in a show. Back then those shows were extremely hard to get into, let alone win! It was right at that moment when the competitive Mark woke up and said “let’s do this!”. Of course I didn’t get into the show.  In that moment I told myself that nothing worthwhile is ever easy and if I really wanted it I must pursue what I want and not give up.  It wasn’t that I wanted to win because I needed to be famous or because I considered myself better than any of my fellow quilters. What I really wanted was my hard work, discipline, creativity, and the long hours trying to make it happen, to be awarded. It’s a satisfaction when our work receives an award. And that’s all I really wanted, and yes, eventually I got it. If you knew me back then, you know I never bragged about it. I’m still not bragging about it because there is no need for that. All I did was create something I felt proud of, share it with the quilting community in the hope’s that they would feel proud of me as well. And that’s what I did with every one of my quilts.

Thank God, most people around me have always been the kindest, sweetest, and the most Remarkable individuals. But unfortunately I have had to meet several people that are just the opposite. People who have tried to discredit my work by saying the most negative things that come through their minds. And of course, my personality wouldn’t let me confront those people. I would just let that negativity go. I will never be unkind to anyone. At least not on purpose.  I keep creating, sharing my journey with the people that love what I do, having fun in the process. And in the end I will have had the last laugh.

It hasn’t been an easy journey for sure. It’s hard to make it when there’s a lot of jealousy, bad energy, negativity, favoritism and politics around you. But it’s not impossible. In the end, if you’re doing what you are supposed to do, and you have defined what is it you want, whether you have fun and do what you love or do a business,  you will always be a winner. Do what you do with good intentions.  Be honest with yourself and be consistent.

I want you to know that whatever it is you’re going through right now, it is only temporary. It will only last as long as you allow it to. Ultimately you have the power to decide what it is that you want to do with you your life and keep walking towards your goals.

Don’t be scared to start something new. Don’t rush yourself. Don’t pay attention to what anybody says about you unless it’s positive. Keep your life and your art in perspective. Keep going. Believe in yourself.  Things are not always going to go your way but no matter what, never, never, never give up!

Be happy, have fun, love, laugh, create, explore, be grateful for everything and live your life as if you have no boundaries. For everything else, just kill them with kindness.

Mark L Sherman.

We should all get along like these butterflies do. Shot taken at the Butterfly World, Pompano Beach, FL.

Quilting Your Way Out

Throughout their lives, quilter’s, just like the general population, experience all kinds of life stress. Death, divorce, illness, financial problems, family problems and problems with friends to name just a few. As I discovered first hand, the difference between quilter’s and everyone else is that we have a built in support group. People that are there to carry us through those difficult times. Ladies that are there for us when the best medicine is a hug and a few kind words.

One of the lowest points of my life was the loss of my oldest brother Bob. He and I were in a motorcycle accident when I was six and he was sixteen. The accident left him paralyzed from the neck down. Even though for most people this would have been the end of anything that resembled a normal life, with excellent rehabilitation thanks to Rancho Los Amigos Rehabilitation Hospital in California, he went on to have a beautiful full life. My brother Bob went on to get a master’s degree, he married and purchased a home in Los Angeles and lived totally independent. When Bob passed away it was truly one of the lowest points of my life. I was so sad that he was gone. At the time I was living in Florida and he and his wife lived in California. I did not know that many people in Florida but I was a member of a local quilt guild. After the funeral in California, I returned to my home in Florida. When I walked in the door there was one card on the counter waiting for me. The card was from the local quilt guild. I opened the card and the words touched my heart and brought me to tears. “We are so sorry for your loss. We are here for you. Let us know if there is anything we can do”. The reason that I was crying is because I knew that they meant every word printed in the card. In fact, when I attended my first quilt guild meeting I must have received fifty hugs that night and many more kind words. That was just the medicine I needed at the exact right time.

How does this apply to you? Please find your local quilt guild. There are millions of these in every community around the globe. Make friends and spend time with these ladies. Learn from them and expand your quilting horizon’s. Just at the time when life throws you and unexpected punch in the stomach I promise you that you will not be alone. There will be people there for you to give you just the right medicine that you need, a true friend!

Pennies from Poppy

Las Vegas is such a vibrant crazy place!  We really enjoyed our visit. There is nothing quite like Vegas with its lights, shows, casinos, hotels, shopping and restaurants. There is never a dull moment.  We saw O, the wonderful Cirque du Soleil water show at the Bellagio and Terry Fator (ventriloquist who won America Has Talent a few years ago ) in his headline show at the Mirage. Next week I will tell you about a couple places you might not have thought about visiting while on vacation out there.

Here is the view from the Bellagio with the moon over Las Vegas.

Moon over Las Vegas strip and fountains at the Bellagio

And of course, there is nothing like the magnificent ceiling of glass flowers by Dale Chihuly in the lobby of the Bellagio.  If you are a quilter, you will not be able to stop staring at the artistry of this profusion of color and light. It is truly inspiring.

Beautiful Chihuly ceiling at the Bellagio hotel

While Sherry and I walked along the Las Vegas strip, we kept thinking about our visit there with my mom, dad and our kids when they were little.  Poppy and Mema took the kids to see Siegfried and Roy, still the unbeaten best show ever in Las Vegas. Poppy would take them on the roller coaster over and over at New York New York and over to Circus Circus for the lights and shows. He never seemed to tire when it came to the kids.

After their Poppy died in 2001, the kids would find pennies on the ground and we came to call them pennies from Poppy.  The weird thing is that we found them all the time, sometimes in shiny clusters of four, often when we were talking about him or just needing a little pick up. 

Believe it or not, while walking in Vegas and talking about the fun we all had with Poppy, I looked down and there was a bright shiny penny. I picked it up of course and as I always do, I thought, "Thanks Poppy."

A penny from Poppy in Las Vegas

Who leaves you pennies?

Mark