I’m taking a moment to toot my own horn because an absolute stranger made my day with those words.  I’ve been told for a long time now that my work is lovely and I should be selling it but it was often from people who had maybe the slightest of biases for me and what I do. Like my mom and best friends. And Frank. To hear it from a stranger who had no vested interest in my ego was really a happy moment.

First show
I had about a whole minute to snap some cell shots between people so I apologize for the crappy photos.
I even brought the big girl camera and never used it.
Such is life.

I’d been been plugging along on the whole crafting thing, but one week out I started to panic that I wasn’t going to do well, that it was a giant waste of time and money, that people wouldn’t think I did good work, and I wasn’t anywhere near where I thought I should have been for it.

What could I do though? I’d spent a bunch of money on supplies, registration fee, etc and I REALLY wanted to do well. I threw the crafting into overdrive and then spent the week alternating between excitement that I was finally doing this and anxiety that it’d be a huge failure. I carefully crafted, made lists of what needed to be done or purchased still and consulted with Sue for what I’m sure was ad nauseam for her. (I can not thank her enough for her thoughts, help, and company through this!)

Saturday morning, I walked into the event excited to do this and ridiculously nervous that one of two things would  happen: a) that everyone would hate my work, think it’s too expensive or just ignore me or b) that it’d be a huge hit and I would run out (seriously unlikely, I know) but I was still nervous.

I ended up somewhere in the middle. Almost everyone who stopped by and said hello had incredibly kind words to say about my work and although I didn’t sell out of things I was sure I would have, other things went like hot cakes. I spent the little bit of down time I had working on projects I’d brought to finish up.

Was it worth it? Yes. The energy, time and money were good investments in pushing myself. I had planned to take a break from crafting for the next week or so, but when I found myself awake at 2am Saturday night, I reached for a ball of yarn and a crochet hook to start something new. What can I say? I’m looking forward to finding another show to do and will need goodies to take.