I have always wanted to sell at a craft fair. I make things here and there and wondered if people would be interested in buying my wares. I almost tried several times in Georgia but couldn't find anyone to do it with me. I didn't think I had enough variety. Last year I found out our Church holds an annual craft fair so Mary and I went to check it out. I thought this would be a nice, small place to try out a craft fair. So, this past year I have been making things and messing up the house with all of my supplies. Can you find the cat?
All of my spare time these last few months have been making things. After Church one Sunday, a member came up to me and asked if I could come over to her house to meet someone. All I could think about was getting home to sew pot holders. She said she was having a visitor that she believed was a relative of mine. She mentioned that my Mom and her started talking one day about this visitor and that she lived in Arizona but came to Iowa once or twice a year. She and her husband still own a farm in Delhi, which is near Earlville where my mom is from. I told the Church member maybe next time, but then I thought maybe I had better find out who this was. I went to her house and sure enough, I met a family member I didn't even know existed. She is my Grandmother's brother's granddaughter. We had such a good time talking about our family! Turns out her husband grew up with the Church member's husband. We plan to invite her to our cousins lunch next time she is in Iowa so my sisters can meet her too.
A few weekends ago, Mike and I headed up to Black Earth, Wisconsin to pick pears and pick up Sherry's pot people for the craft fair.
Mike, Brice, and I had to fight the sleet and rain to get the pears. Brice was surprised that I would put on an animal hat. I told him I was okay with that because I wouldn't be eating it. This hat was extremely warm. My head was sweating.
Sherry mentioned the Church across the street was having their Lutefisk festival and we should go try it out. When I heard this was white fish soaked in lye, I decided if we did go, I would just eat the potatoes. We went, not to eat, but to see what it was all about.
Sherry introduced me to some friends and we stood and watched the eating fun. I was ready to go but one of the servers wanted us to meet her daughter so we stood a little longer. I mention this because of the timing. When we walked up from the basement, I saw a woman heading up another flight of stairs with a Georgia sweatshirt. I couldn't let her get away so I yelled " Is that a Georgia sweatshirt"?
It was and she came back down the steps. She just graduated from the University of Georgia. She lives in Madison, Wisconsin but spent six years in Athens. We were so excited to meet each other. Remember, this is a very small church in the middle of nowhere. What small world fun!
One time this past week at work, I received a phone call from a student who wondered if all of her transcripts were here. I looked and found she had gone to Kennesaw State University in Georgia. I told her I moved up here from Athens and she said her brother is going to UGA right now. We had fun with that.
Another day at work I was walking across campus and passed a student who had a Topsail sweatshirt on. Again, I couldn't let this one go and yelled " Is that a Topsail sweatshirt you have on"? It was. Topsail, NC is where my niece Meredith's at that time boyfriend but now husband, lived for a few years. It was a beautiful place on the island where you could see the ocean and the inlet waters from his back deck. This student's boyfriend is stationed near there. I told her my Topsail sweatshirt was in my office and that I wear it everyday while walking during my lunch hour. We talked a little but she wasn't as excited as I was and looked like she was in a hurry.
Then I received an email from a student's mom who said her daughter was planning on coming home for the summer and needed a letter of good standing so she could apply to the school in Georgia. I emailed back and told her I wasn't sure what school her daughter planned to go to but I had worked at the University of Georgia for 21 years. She email back to tell me they are from Iowa but moved to Dalton Georgia (carpet capital of the world). I returned saying she did what we did, moved far away while a daughter was still in college and I mentioned Young Harris College. She then replied saying her Mom's friend owns a house in Hayesville NC and drove through Young Harris last September. Hayesville is 10 minutes away from YHC and where we stayed last May while Maggie graduated. I blogged about it. Anyway, we became email friends.
When Sherry delivered the plants to my house, she helped me sew some pot holders. You will see the big pot cat, which didn't make it to the sale because Mike liked it too much.
This past Saturday was the craft fair. Mary helped me and thank goodness she did. We were busy. People were attracted to our table because we had so many things to look at. I don't know how many times we told people that Mary, Jo, and I go garage sale-ing and thrifting to find the pots for Sherry to put her plants in. They thought that was the coolest thing. This photo is actually in our living room, to see how we should set up the tables.
People were very interested in Molly's paintings, especially when I told them the story about Mom teaching piano for 65-70 years, accumulating a lot of music and then Molly, her granddaughter, wanting to preserve them by painting on them.
I had several people ask how I was going to make money if I only charged $2 for pillows and $1 for pot holders. I told them I needed to get rid of fabric. What I was really thinking was price low, sell a lot, make money.
These photos are from the actual craft fair. Can you find Mary?
The photo below shows my pot holders, which I sold out of. Doesn't everyone sell pot holders at a craft sale? Yes, but mine had heat resistant batting and I was only asking $1 each. I sold out and now have a request for more.
Unloading a packed car, selling, and then loading a less packed car, and then unloading at home, exhausted me. When I was able to relax with a glass of wine, I instantly fell asleep in my chair at 7:30pm. I got an excellent night's rest and then called Mary Sunday morning at 9am to tell her I planned to go to Church and to call me to let me know if she was still planning on going. She didn't call back and I was headed out the door at 9:40am. I thought I would call her one more time, to see if I should pick her up and that's when she asked if I had set my clocks back. Mike and I had forgotten, even though we talked about it all week. I think that is the first time that has ever happened. So, I had an extra hour to clean up the craft fair mess in the house. I have a clock at work that is always confusing on the Monday after the time changes. This is not a mirrored image.
