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...seemed to be very busy on one hand, and not busy at all on the other. I hope the market was successful enough to warrant coming back next year, but the classes were just EMPTY, and that's something I'm hearing from lots of people who went and took classes.
Ok... here's the rundown.
Friday morning I went to work at my usual 5:30am and got started on all sorts of analysis stuff. I'd finished a bunch of special projects the day before, so I was feeling pretty good I'd get what I wanted to done. 2 1/2 hours and many blank data monitors later, I don't have everything that I need, but I leave the office anyway. I've called ahead twice about early check-in, and a good room...
I get to the Marriot to not be greeting at all by the worst desk clerk I've ever encountered in my life. She didn't say Good Morning, and I think if she smiled it would cause her physical pain. Anyway, she was not very nice about the fact that I was checking in early. She was also adamant that the only room they had available was a courtyard room above the pool with lots of kids on that floor. When I told her that I was informed that there were 300 rooms available as of an hour and a half earlier, she stopped for a few seconds and then recovered. "Oh yes, we do. They're ALL courtyard rooms with little kids on the floor." I made her keep looking, and was informed that check-in was at 3.
I *KNOW* that, that's why I asked for EARLY check-in.
She finally found me a room (on the 7th floor) and was pained to hear that my roommate would be arriving around noon and would be checking in then as well.
After that wonderful experience, I headed to meet up with Annette at her room and to deliver the Secret Stitcher present that I was designated to deliver to her room. I know the SS in question was very anxious about this one because she wanted to make sure that Annette didn't have the pattern already and rushed it all together to make it an early graduation present for her - a fully kitted Emerald Mermaid (Mirabilia) in a lovely olive green and purple bag. I know she was fighting the tears at such a lovely gift. I was just amazed that I was part of this gift delivery (I love evil plots), and I've already written the SS in question about her reaction, and that I expect payment partially in chocolate now that I've bought Annette's fabric for the piece.
Ok... I think I've written too much already, and there's so much to cover, so I'll touch on some high points here and there, and put the stash list at the end...
Going to the Dracolair booth, buying Phoenix and hearing Alex tell us that it's a real treat watching Sarah operate the register. She looked up at me (it was my sale she was ringing up) and said that she hadn't made a mistake yet.
I told her it was still early.
Oh boy... what a look and laugh I got from that one.Chatting with Laura (Enchanting Lair) and Letha (Fantasy Crafts) is always an experience. Teasing and laughing with them is too. Working Letha's booth is always tiring - it's a high energy type of place. And meeting Ken (her newest associate) was fun too - these two are great and fun people.
Meeting Suz (of Woozle Madness and ferret fame) was fantastic! We roomed together (yes, world, you should have been scared) and had a blast at market, with chatting, with drinking Cuba Libres, and everything else in between.
I'd do it again in a heartbeat!
Staying up until midnight in Annette's room and Susan and Suz and Annette's mom and daughter was great... I love talking for hours in small groups like that because we all get to know each other a little bit better without other distractions. I hope I can continue to do that with lots of other folks.
Dinner at Pedro's on Friday night went fantastically well - we were short $1.90 after everyone submitted their cost of dinner and tax and tip (that had been added on). So I tossed another $10 on the pile and it was done with. They deserved the tip with the sheer size of the crowd we had (25 people).
It was great winding down in Sarah's booth at the end of the show (prior to booth breakdown). Alex and I chatted about all manners of things while Sarah took off for a nap in the car. When she came back, the last sale that would happen that day had just left a few minutes earlier and the booth filled up with a few people sitting on the floor chatting. It was a nice little space to have.
I wish I hadn't missed seeing Branch and Aurios because apparently we were passing ships in the night. I ran into my kids former babysitter and we chatted for quite some time. I missed saying goodbye to Annette and her group, but we'll meet up again, I'm sure.
I'm still tired and sore and exhausted from the whole thing, but it was one of the best times I've ever had, and I wouldn't change a second of it.
And now... the stash haul:
Dracolair - The Phoenix and it's accessory pack, and the accessory pack for Knotwork Winter and the one for the Medieval Tiles (not out yet, but oh boy is it gorgeous!)
Enchanting Lair - Be the Dragon
Something Different - Tile #3
Something Different - Evans-Morris Band Sampler
Black Swan - Sarah's Sampler
Xs & Ohs - Wine Dragon (white)
Xs & Ohs - Wine Dragon (red)
Whiskey Creek's Northern Beau Box
Magnetic Bracelet (MITI that everyone else took.... thanks Annette for talking me into that one)
Sea Urchin Bracelet (MITI - now I have the perfect excuse to learn to knit)
Unpublished Insertion Stitches II - the class... what a FANTASTIC class (thanks Jen and Annette for taking it too... I loved the company).
A new pair of Premax scissors jumped into my hands, as well as two lovely silver and crystal butterfly thread counters.
Cresent Colours threads: Snips and Snails, Candied Yams, Key Largo, Jelly Roll, Sunkissed, Cottage Garden, Sunset, and Betty Bluebell
new clothes: I got the Night of the Living Dead Stitchers shirt, and the cream colored long sleeve button stitching festival shirt, and the yellow scoopneck shirt from the CATS booth...I didn't know that there was a pawprint tac pin at the booth, else I would have nabbed one of those for next year's nametag - I'll have to see if anyone heading to Riverside would pick one of those up for me.
I went to Liz Turner Diehl's booth and got some magnetic beads, and a packet of some lovely purple beads to make another bracelet out of.
I also took Catherine Jordan's Overdyeing Class and learned to dye my own threads - so I have 20 skeins of cotton, a small amount of silk ribbon and 3 pieces of linen that I dyed myself.
Freebies: Fibonacci Sampler (Skinner Sisters), Cross Potent Chessboard (blackwork by someone new), Night Wizard (DD), and Fairy "au lait" (Black Swan)
Gifts for the little ones... I can't remember who the chart line was, but there was this cute little dragon named Puff, and another cute little purple unicorn named Diana, and those two patterns begged me to take them home and give them to A & B. So I did - and I'm pretty sure that they love them.
I think that covers everything...
