Between Shows

 

This blog has been hard to write this year.  Yea, I know you have heard this from me already this year.  But I think I am getting over it.  I want to show you why.  These flowers were waiting for me when I arrived home. 

The first two shows this year, Road to California and the Rusty Barn Phoenix Show were much better  than last year.  That of course makes me feel better.  But the 1700 mile drive from Phoenix to the plant was a bore.  On the other hand, nothing on the vehicle broke!

We are home this week but next week we leave for Greenbo Lake, KY for a longarm retreat at the resort at Greenbo State Forest.  We will be helping the Nolting dealer for a few days putting on the retreat.  If you want to have some fun and get a good close look at a Nolting, without a lot of people watching over your shoulder or you just want to come and attend a class or two.  We will be having a great time.  Of course our products will be there for sale along with the Noltings. 

After Greenbo we are off to the Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival in Hampton, VA.  We hope to make three in a row that are better than last year.

Come visit us at Greenbo or at Hampton.

In the Desert

Phoenix, AZ

 

We finished up Road to California and headed for Phoenix.  We stopped at Palm Springs and visited Indian Canyons.  I had seen a segment on TV about the canyons and thought it would be nice to visit and see it for myself.  If you are interested in how primitive peoples existed in the desert you will find the trip interesting.  The canyon is remarkable.  Water was flowing quite rapidly but a half mile away there was no evidence of it in the river bed. The date trees ended and the water simply sank into the sand.   The Indians that lived there were restricted to the local area to find food and shelter.  But they had water.  Water is so critical in that area.  Looking down from the canyon to Palm Springs makes me wonder what would happen to all the people if the power grid failed and water became scares.

We have finished up the first day in Phoenix.  We have a new location near the front door.  Sales the first day were on the high end of normal.  The difference between our first two shows is pretty significant.  But we have two more days and then we head for home for a week.   It is about the coolest Phoenix show we have had.  But I will not complain since at home the weather is in the single digits and my home driveway is a block of ice.

Last night we had dinner at our favorite dive in Phoenix.  It is a small Mexican Restrauant on Mc Dowell just west of 27th.  It is called Sinanola?  I can drive there just keep forgetting to get the address. If you are here you should try it.  Just don't expect the waitress to speak English.  Spanish is the language of the day.

Knock on wood the truck has operated flawlessly so far on this trip.  I am so looking forward to getting home.

Starting a new year

 

Ontario, CA

Road to California is one of our best shows of the year.  This year it is also our first show of the year.  Getting going has been an issue since I started loading the trailer.  Normally we warm up for this show with a show in Oklahoma.  But this year and the next year that show will not be the week prior to Road.  Each year after a couple of months off from show, not from work it seems you have to retrain yourself not to make mistakes and forget things.  Patricia and I have check sheets and lists of items we need to take.  All so the little mistakes can be avoided. 

You know what they say about the best laid plans of mice and men.  It started just after we left on our 2000 mile drive to California.  We were filling the truck with gas in Beloit, WI and my wife called to tell me I had left my overnight bag on the couch.  OK no big thing except it had my prescription medication that I am supposed to take morning and evening.  Again I can control my blood pressure for a few days without it, right!  Sure I can, sitting in a car what could be upsetting.  Besides, we were far enough from home that the cost to ship it to me was less that the cost to turn around and go back and start all over. 

All was fine and we headed for Wichita, KS.  From my house it is 14 hours to Wichita.  For Patricia and I it should be a relatively easy trip home after MQS in May.  Spent the night in Wichita and then I remembered why I needed my overnight bag.  No toothbrush. No comb. And you don’t need to know all the other things I needed.  Now it was look for a Wal-Mart or Kmart or someplace to buy a few things.  Going southwest out of Wichita, if you go too far you don’t find a lot.  We did find a stretch of road where there were not services of 75 miles.  Well, this part of the trip ended well because it ended in Albuquerque, NM with Virginia and Mike of Creative Curves, for a great meal and good conversation.

Next day we got up and headed west again.  If you really love the high desert I suppose the trip is interesting.  I grew up in a desert and I like rain even the frozen stuff.  So if I could skip it this part I would be happy.  About 50 miles east of Flagstaff, AZ is a hole in the ground, called Meteor Crater.  Can’t tell you how many times I have driven past it on other trips.  Since we only planned on driving to Kingman, AZ for the night we decided to take a little detour.  Everyone should see and think about how small the rock was that made that hole and how big the hole is.  Enough said.

Now after Flagstaff, AZ we were on the downhill part of the trip and gas mileage improves for a while.  Coasting downhill is so much easier than maintaining speed uphill.   The rest of the trip that day was uneventful and we had a good rest in Kingman.  Next morning we got up and were having breakfast when in walks Cindy of the Stencil Store.  It is wonderful to be traveling and bump into others in our industry.  There are so many hotels there are so many miles and we all start from so many different spots.  We had a very nice conversation and compared notes on our shows in March in Lancaster, PA.  Plans are moving forward nicely. 

Next stop is Barstow, CA.  I have a family obligation in Barstow.  My parents are buried there and I stop each year to place flowers on their graves.  Our next stop is the truck stop in Apple Valley where we got our Suburban and Trailer washed.  Look for it in the parking lot at Road to California. Finally, we were on our last leg into Ontario.  Then Murphy struck again.  I left my laundry bag in Kingman.  Don’t worry,  it’s on its way.  It should be here tomorrow.

I must be getting old and have CRS.  See everyone at the show.  Let’s help the economy get better.

Ready to leave Houston

The whole Houston thing is over.  For us the crowds were good and willing to buy our products.  We ran out of some products, but not our most popular items.  I really never know what people are going to buy at this show.  Perhaps it is because they come from all over to attend the show and if enough come from one section or another it affects the buying patterns.

Some vendors complained the crowd was not as good as last year and I suppose that may be true considering Hurricane Sandy pounded the New York New Jersey areas just before festival.  I am sure more than a few were not able to fly out or were delayed.  Even several vendors were delayed and were not able to set up for preview night.  It is such a shame when that happens because booth space is very expensive and you need all the selling time you can get.

We tore down the booth last night and it only took 2 hour and 45 minutes.  We were away and at dinner with Sue and Jon of Patten that Quilt by 8PM.   Today we will put our personal stuff in the car and head for home.  We should arrive by Tuesday night.  Garmin says we are 1203 miles from my home.  I have already voted and on Wednesday when I wake up we will know who or president will be for the next four years.  I am so tired of this election cycle.

Houston

So far preview and first day of festival have been very long hours.   This show simply has long hours.  Yesterday we started the show at 10 AM and ended at 7 PM.  That is a long time to be on our feet.  And   be on your best behavior at the same time.  Today we are up at 5 AM and have gotten already gotten our emails from yesterday done.  Worked up a new proposal for a European distributor with whom we had dinner and worked on new products for them to carry. 

We will need to be at the show at 8:30 AM today in order to get a parking place close to the show and more importantly in the shade.   It is really hot down here this year.  I remember the years I needed a coat.  Not this year.  The show will go until 7 PM.  On the bright side the time changes back to standard time on Sunday so we can sleep an extra hour tonight.  So there are 3 more days of festival.

Come on down and see the special we have to offer.

Wisconsin to Texas

Two uneventful 600 mile drives and we are sitting in a hotel near Hobby Airport in Houston.   I have to tell you about eatinf on the road.  On Saturday shortly after we left Wisconsin, we realized we would be going past Sikeston, MO at the right time to eat at Lambert's the home of the Throwed Roll.  If you have never eaten there you have missed an experience.  I would tell you more but it would ruin your first time.  So we skipped lunch looking to have an early evening meal.  We get ther and the parking lot is sort of full, which is pretty normal.  Find out the wait is one and a half hours.  No Lambert's on the way to Houston, we will try on the way home.  Last night we went to a Tex-Mex for dinner.  Stay away from Gringos.  Food lacked flavor and was served cold.  There was a huge crowd, so somebody likes it. Maybe tonight we will have a better experience.

Today we are going to spend the last day of Market walking the floor to see what’s new and exciting for our customers.  This year we added wooden hoops into our inventory.  Now we are seeking more new quality items to add to our own assortment of quality Quilter's Rule products.

Tomorrow we will get up early and go stand in line with our truck and trailer to wait to unload.  I am looking forward to that about like I look forward to a toothache.  On the other hand we will have plenty of time to catch up with old friends.

Almost Ready for Houston

It has been a week filled with turmoil.  We have been learning to use our new silk screener.  You would not think something a little bigger would be so different.  Oh well, we are getting the hang of it.  Today we were printing 48x96 mats. 

Tomorrow we will pack the trailer and on Saturday we will head for Houston, just a short hop lasting a couple of days.  We have not had to do this trip for a number of years as we had a contractor who did Festival.  But this year the show falls to Patricia and I.

Remember, if you will be in Houston for Festival on Wednesday evening for preview.  Join us for the  fun come in costume and have the pass word for special savings.  Challenge is “Who Rules” Answer is “Quilter’s Rule” the correct answer will get you a special discount on your purchase.

I think the best think that will happen is while I am traveling home from this show the election will be over.  I will be able to watch TV without political ads. Both sides can stop telling lies and making unfounded accusations.    And maybe with a little luck and a lot of hard work things will start to get better in this great land of ours.