The Quilt Show is done again for another year, and I have to say I’m quite glad to be home. It was a long five days away with hard labor, long hours, and in the end, only a little bit to show for it. Yes, it’s sad, but I worked out the numbers late Sunday and discovered that because this show is so expensive (booth, hotel, food, electric, gas to get there, etc.) I could have taught one class at the home studio, and made the same amount of money. Yup. That’s that harsh, cold reality and it’s not what you want to hear when you’ve been working so hard!
So while this is probably the last Houston Quilt Show we’ll do, it makes me sad too because we have so many friends there. It’s a cornucopia of design inspiration (and temptation) and I’m sure I’ll now go visit it one day a year instead of working it like I have. I’ll always have a fond place in my heart for this show, since the 2001 Quilt Show was where I discovered beads and bead weaving for the first time. I was enchanted from the very first moment. I couldn’t possibly have imagined where it would take me…I still pinch myself that this is what I get to do for my JOB.
We also had a nasty thief (or two?) at the show who was targeting vendors. My dear friend, Maureen (The Bead Corner) had her wallet stolen out of her purse which was under one of the tables in her booth. Can you believe the chutzpah? She wasn’t the only one. There were 4 or more thefts per day…on Saturday, 4 were stolen in just an hour. Heavy security presence didn’t deter them. Can they possibly know the grief they cause? Maureen had $800 in cash in her wallet that’s gone now. She worked HARD for that money, and was counting on it to, oh, pay bills! I sure hope somehow they catch the culprit.
I’m home Monday through Thursday, and Mom took Monday off too for recovery. I’ve got a little work to accomplish, but then I’m hoping for one sweet day off, as well as some beading time. Ironically, since it was so slow at the show on Saturday and Sunday, I got a lot of beading done at the booth. But that was “work” beading – ie, making samples – and I need some play and design time. I’m pretty sure Wednesday and Thursday are MINE!! Yippee!
I’ll go with you next year if you need a companion (and someone to keep you from drooling on the quilts). I am absolutely disgusted that someone would steal at the show what an absolute lack of class. Karma should bite that person right in the butt.
Sounds like you should either take Winston or ALL your shoes every time you go out of town. Safer. Glad it was a fun weekend at least.