Almost time for Houston

Is anyone getting ready to head to Houston?  This will be my first year and I was not able to find a hotel room close by, so I opted to board a bus with a lot of other quilters in San Antonio and only be at the Quilt Show for the one day this year.  I can get a better feel for just how much time I want to spend there next year, and hopefully be able to make hotel reservations close to the show.

I am participating in a show in two weeks.  I hesitate to call it a craft show because that conjures up a vision of booths and tables.  This is a juried show with only a set number of artisans.  The hall is setup like a gift shop where all the same type of items are displayed together.  There is a Christmas tree where everyone who made ornaments hang them all together.  Jewelry is in one area, and so it goes with all the other categories of items.  This show has been going on for 20 years and it is an annual event for many of the patrons.  People try to get there early on the first day to have their choice of ornaments.  No one who is a participating artisan is limited to what they can sell, but it must be made by that artisan.  I have only been to the show once because I have not lived here that long and was not aware of it until last year.  I was asked to submit my application for consideration... I'm not real sure what I have got myself into.  Hopefully all of the items will be good sellers.  I will be happy if I sell half of what I take there to be sold.  If my husband decides there is something he can make for next year... my membership permits my husband to also create items for sale.  There are several couples that are part of this organization. 

I have done some quilted items, a few stuffed animals, lots of ornaments, several stockings, some toy items, and lots of other miscellaneous creations.  I did some calculating earlier today and at the moment I have over 100 items and I think I'm almost out of steam to start a
nything new at this point.  I may leave it where I'm at and start planning for next year.  Once you are in, it is your decision to opt out for the following year.  For me, the option to do this next year will depend on how well I do this year.  It requires a fair amount of time and effort... I do have to consider that everyone else had almost a whole year to prepare for this upcoming show and I had half that amount of time considering when I knew that I had been voted in.

I am at countdown to the Houston show followed by countdown to OAY (Once a Year).  I'll be very happy when this year's OAY is finished so I can get back to some serious quilting.