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.

California to Wisconsin what could go wrong?

We finished up at PIQF with sales ahead of last year but lower than our best year.  We did something right getting out of the show because we did it in less time then we have ever done. Then we started home with the intention of going to Tracy.  Missed a turn and crossed a bridge at Vallejo that cost $20.00. Wee rn into congestion, road construction and heavy traffic at Travis Air Force base near Fairfield and it was 10PM.  I cannot believe how much the roads have changed in 36 years.  They actually built roads that weren’t there when I lived out there and I thought the State was broke.  We ended up in Auburn for a short night’s sleep. 

Next day we set out for home and got about 30 miles from Battle Mountain, NV with a failure in a wheel bearing.  We limped into Battle Mountain calling everyone we could find to help us.  A company called Atlas was able to help.  They did not expect to find any parts in the town but a local Napa dealer had the bearing and seal we wanted.  Of course it did not end there; we had to find a new hub because the race had spun and was no longer tight.  This meant we had to drive 70 miles to Elko and back again to replace it.  They were kind enough to stay late and complete the repairs and we were on one our way again about 6:30 PM. We spent over 6 hours getting going again, fell way behind in our effort to drive 750 miles each day.  We ended the day in Wendover, UT on the west side of the salt flats at 11PM.  At that point we were 126 miles behind our goal.  And we really need to be at work on Thursday morning and I wanted to watch the debate Tuesday night which meant we had to be in a hotel room early.

Tuesday I woke at 4:30 and we left.  About a half hour out of Wendover on the salt flats I sneezed and got a bloody nose.  Pulled over and let Patricia drive while I nursed my nose.  Got it stopped and we continued in to Salt Lake City, then up to hill to Wyoming.  Of course there was a high wind advisory.  Started at 35mph wind gusts and got up to 50 plus by the time we got to Laramie.  The best thing was the wind was from the West and we got great gas mileage.  We made it to North Platte, NE by 7:55pm and got to see the whole debate.

Just 751 miles left, what could go wrong.  It started raining just past Des Moines and rained the rest of the way home.  Nearly 6 hours of rain and the last 3 in darkness.  What could go wrong?  Trips like this I wonder why I do what I do.  Oh I remember it pays the bills and I like people.  I will write again when I leave for Houston.  Pray for a better trip.

PIQF Preview

Yesterday we set a record for set up!  4 and half hours and we were done.  We did leave behind the bargain barn and the books and patterns which would have taken about another hour, but I put together a hand quilting frame and that took me an hour.  I guess that makes things about even.

The quilt frames are quite nice.  Very smooth and they come unfinished so you can finish they to compliment your home décor.   Quilters Rule will be carrying these frames in several sizes and shapes to meet your quilting needs.    Just a little different from the machine quilting supplies for which we are known.

Most people came to the show last night to see the quilts.  I was actually surprised by the crowd last night, but as I said most came to see the quilts and will start shopping today.  I hope.   

Santa Clara

We arrived in Santa Clara last night about 10 PM.  The good news was that we got the truck back on the road for under $250, including an oil change.  We lost a bearing in the tensioning roller on the fan belt.  I was really worried that we had a much bigger problem.

Spent the afternoon with my brother and got to see my great niece.  She has grown so much in the three years since I last saw her.  Unfortunately everyone else in the family had to work yesterday.  So after dinner we left and drove the last 134 miles to Santa Clara.  It started to sprinkle just as we arrived and while we were unloading the truck it poured.

Today we have to set up and preview is from 7pm to 10 pm.  It will be a long day.  Let’s all hope a lot of people come and are in a buying mood.