They Came, They Saw, They Bought

We had sizeable crowd as soon as the doors opened yesterday at 10 am:

Sales were brisk, in all areas, for several hours. We took several large quilts down off the walls when they sold and replaced them with other ones. People visited with the crafters and each other. Some asked questions. I heard lots and lots of positive comments about the quality of the items for sale. We offer handmade products, not homemade ones, and the difference is noticeable.

I took notes—so many notes. I expect to take even more today. I was happy with what I sold and am getting a much better idea of what I should concentrate on for next year’s sale. One obvious strength of this group is that each member has different interests and different styles, which makes for a very diverse collection of goods.

One of the bright spots of an already wonderful day was getting to meet blog reader Sarah Anderson in person. She recently moved to Montana and lives just a few miles from the Mennonite Church. She popped in to the sale to introduce herself and say hello. Sarah is a fiber artist and author of this book:

I am so happy that she has moved into the neighborhood! I might have to get out my spinning wheel again.

A couple of shoppers came in and recognized me as “their pianist” at the Lutheran church where I play for Advent and Lent. They are gathering in person again, so perhaps I’ll play for them this year—it’s been almost two years now since I played there.

Tera stopped by and said hello, too. I was hoping she could go to Spokane with me next week because she has a sock knitting machine and the sock knitting machine group is having a big meeting there, but she’s already committed to another event.

I did a lot of visiting, so much that I had to find a quiet corner late in the afternoon to regroup. If you tried to have a conversation with me then, I apologize if I was less than scintillating. I was almost as worn out as I used to get when I taught knitting classes.

The sale opens again today at 10 am, so if you weren’t able to get there yesterday, come out today. I promise you that there are still many wonderful items available.

The last couple of weekends have been balm to my soul. If you had asked me 25 years ago where I thought I would be right now, I am not sure this is what I would have described, but this is exactly where I am supposed to be right now. And for a little while, at least, it feels like the universe has righted itself.