Screen Printing & Wampas

In first grade I took forever to pick out my first t-shirt design. I chose a really cute kitten sitting next to a sundae and I spelled out my name with matching fuzzy letters. I loved the way the heat-transfer smelled!


Over the years I've made fun t-shirts for families, vacations, teams and special events. We tried spray-on tie die this year at our middle son's birthday party (it worked great!).


It was fun this summer getting a close-up look at the screen printing process. When I picked up my Village Athlete shirts, Steve from Sport Products gave us a tour.


The shirts are placed on little holding platforms and then the screen design/frame is squashed down over the shirt. Then color is scraped/painted back and forth over the stencil-like cutout screen, leaving the desired print on the shirt. The shirt below took three applications of white in order to show up on the dark red shirt. Then the shirt rides along a conveyor belt and goes underneath an oven to set the design.


We also checked out the embroidery process. I forgot how many stitches per minute this machine is capable of, 1,500 maybe?

I love the color and fabric of my shirts this year (blue shirts in box above). I intentionally kept the text subtle and basic.

FRIDAY FUN:
"The Wampa almost killed Luke," says our middle son. "If he was around at dinosaur time paleontologists would now be searching for him." (Declared during an afternoon session of the Empire Strikes Back.) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wampa

Questions for You:
- Do you have a favorite t-shirt from your childhood or now as an adult?

- I thought the ice-cave fuzzy guy from Star Wars was called a Wompa, but now I know it's a Wampa.

Ferris, Donkey Kong & Fast Times of Summer!

In the spirit of Ferris Bueller, I'll say, "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in awhile you can miss it."



Summer = fast. Here are a few captured moments:


- Rollin' with Donkey Kong: Track camp was fun, we all spent time playing (yes that's a Donkey Kong monster truck)! Read my earlier posts about track camp:
http://ironmakeover.blogspot.com/2011/07/track-camp-1980s-meets-2011.html
http://ironmakeover.blogspot.com/2011/07/400-m-super-8-get-in-game.html



- Fields, fireworks, freedom: I spent the 4th with my family -- fireworks, lake swimming, food and fun as a fam.


Trails & TRX: I celebrated freedom by running on the trails and later enjoyed my TRX.



Questions for You:
- What's the best thing about Summer?
- How are you staying active?
- Favorite Ferris Bueller scene?

Track Camp - 1980s Meets 2011

In the summer of third grade I ran the 400. Our city held community track meets at one of the high schools. My younger sister and I ran several events. She excelled at short bursts, like the 50 and 100 m dash. And I preferred longer events. At school I also liked the hurdles and high jump and once tied an older boy for best high jump. (Read the rest of my previous post here.)

This summer our oldest son Truitt went to track camp and ran his first 400. It was his favorite event that day.

I loved watching him run. Like me he started slow and let his pace build along the loop and in the final stretch he passed three kids before the finish. His younger brothers and I cheered from the stands.

And before we went home, I took his picture on the track. I had my photo in mind, but hadn't studied the details to try and replicate one with Truitt. Looking at us side-by-side I see:
- His posture is better.
- His shoes are nicer.
- Our stance and hand positioning is similar.
- And by luck, our position along two different tracks is similar (off by a lane).

Questions for You:

- What do you see?

- What do you have in common with your kids?

400 m, Super 8, Get in the Game

In the summer of third grade I ran the 400. Our city held community track meets at one of the high schools. My younger sister and I ran several events. She excelled at short bursts, like the 50 and 100 m dash. And I preferred longer events. At school I also liked the hurdles and high jump and once tied an older boy for best high jump.

The 400 drew a mix of kids, boys and girls ages 9-12. My dad gave me a pep talk pre-race suggesting I run a steady lap vs. starting off too fast and then burning out. So when the pack pulled away, I stayed steady, determined to run the race correctly. My dad filmed the race with 8mm. He zoomed out, panning between the race leaders and me, running on my own in last place. The gap grew and Dad's camerawork was unsteady, likely due to laughing (in a good way.)

• I didn't fall.


• I didn't pull a hamstring.

But there I was in last place -- and I chose to keep running following the plan. I caught and passed someone in the final stretch.

The 400 is one of my favorite life moments. There are so many races worth running, experiences worth having. If you're curious about a sport, get up and go. Stop waiting for the perfect moment -- it's not coming. Instead, give yourself permission to be a beginner and go. Get in the game.

The film is a family favorite at holidays. It makes me laugh too. I asked Dad to help me transfer it to digital format, even if it means filming the screen and then uploading. 8mm transfer is tricky with audio and super old equipment.

Questions for You:
- What track event is your favorite to watch or compete in?
- Have you seen Super 8? I loved it. I miss making movies as a kid.

Favorite Track Moments
Bonnie Richardson, a girl from Texas, wins the state team track title by herself. Twice.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1160517/index.htm

Eric Liddell's 1924 Olympic 400. Watch the Chariots of Fire clip.
http://youtu.be/GPB7r0UpNIE




Derek Redmond's 1992 Olympic 400 semifinal.
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/espn25/story?page=moments/94
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Heather Doriden's 600 M race at Big 10 Indoor Track Championships
http://youtu.be/uqnqLrakxY8