So now we're packing up for the San Joaquin Valley Quilt Guild Show in Fresno. I'll share something very personal...I'm not fond of packing. We just packed for the retreat last weekend, & now here we go again.But it's so exciting to plan out what to take. We can't possibly take everything in the shop, so the decisions are tough. We're taking a lot of batiks, some new panels with their coordinates, some cute new kid prints, & several new collections with their free patterns. I'm even prepared for Fresno's new Modern Quilt Guild. I have some kits packed, some gorgeous batik rolls, & some sweet new 10" cuts & rolls.
It's hard to know what everyone will want, & try to guess what other vendors won't have. I don't want to take the same stuff everyone else takes. So I'm wandering the shop, filling boxes with a variety of stuff that may or may not be right. It's such a disappointment when a customer comes up at a show & asks for something that I left back at the shop. "Why, yes. I do have that. But it's back in Porterville."
Oh well. It will be fine. It will be lots of fun. Especially after the UNpacking & set up are finished. (And before the packing up to come home begins.)
The best part of vending at a quilt show is meeting so many new people. The other vendors are always very nice to us newbies. We learn a lot from watching them work. Some of them do this every week, & they have it down to a science. You can bet they aren't blogging tonight about how they don't know what to pack! They're very kind & helpful answering our dorky questions, too.
The folks who run the show are always so nice to us, & we really enjoy all the new friends we meet. So far, every show has brought us new friends who come to visit often. I love seeing them again at the shop.
If you're in the area, check out the show here: http://www.sjvqg.com/. And when you come by, be sure to say hello. We won't even make you help pack. ;)
After all that, I think a nap might be in order, but not until after some long-awaited family time.