Horseshoe Here We Come!

 

We're a week away from the Spring Horseshoe Craft & Flea Market and the Siouxsiequeue's gang has been hard at work preparing for the big day. We're looking forward to seeing everyone next Saturday, and who knows, we might even have some special guests and a surprise or two in our booth. 

Also, don't forget that Horseshoe is the first show in our mad dash of three shows in three weeks! We'll be at the Castle Rock Ducky Derby on the 14th, and our very own Craftstravaganza will be on the 21st, but we'll have more info on that next week.

Remember the time I met Chewbacca?

 Last weekend Siouxsiequeue's went to Starfest, and we completely rocked it! As you may remember, we finalized the details for this show at the 11th hour, and I am neither the most graceful nor gracious person when I'm under the gun. I had stress related dreams every night leading up to the show as well as the entire time we were at the show. My personal favorite was a dream where Jeremy and I were already at the show and a friend of ours walked by the Siouxsiequeue's booth with his wife, looked me right in the eyes and told me not to forget tasks I'd not yet completed and items I'd not yet packed in real life. Very helpful, but friend in the dream neglected to share any winning lotto numbers or the secrets of life, the universe, and everything.

So Jeremy and I scrambled, packed, and made frantic arrangements until it was showtime. We arrived at the venue to find that our booth was immediately inside the front door, which was completely amazing, and with enough time to avoid a frantic setup. We had two tables that formed a nice corner space and while we would have liked a bit more room we still had a great spot. The show was scheduled for Friday evening, all day Saturday, and all day Sunday, and I have to admit, most of the weekend was a complete blur.

We saw a lot of old friends and met so many new friends, we couldn't have asked for a better time. Nicole came on Saturday armed with peanut butter sandwiches and enough satsumas in her bag to make Terri Lynn proud.

After Nicole arrived at the show Jeremy took over the booth so I could have a break, do some shopping and visit the Peter Mayhew (Chewbacca) autograph line. Nicole graciously agreed to photograph the meeting for me, but as we know, no good deed goes unpunished. I had a total fan girl break down while we were standing in line, shaking and laughing, and totally losing the ability to intervene to save my friend while she was being trapped by an over zealous, though well meaning fan.

Then it was our turn in line. Mr. Mayhew was very nice and allowed Nicole to take several photos, which is not usual practice at this particular show. He signed the photo I had purchased especially for the occasion, shook my hand, accepted a gift that we'd brought for him, and even suggested that we all look at the photos Nicole took before I left, just to make sure that they turned out. It was a fan moment made in heaven and increased the fondness and good feelings I already had toward the Star Wars franchise.

We tried to hang out and little on Saturday night after the vendors room had closed, but after a full day and a half of working we all had a difficult time staying awake. At least until the Battlestar Galactica fans threw a raging party in the hotel room across the hall from us. Those kids really know how to have a good time, and if we hadn't been so exhausted I'd have gone over and had a drink with them.

By the time Sunday rolled around Jeremy and I were completely exhausted. Neither of us had slept very much going in to this, and not at all once we were there, but we managed to get up and prepare for another day. Jesse had volunteered to help me out on Sunday because Jeremy had to go pick up Eric from Camp Grandma and the doggies from the kennel.

Sunday was much quieter than the previous days and afforded us the opportunity to really visit with customers as well as some of the other convention guests. Mark Sheppard from Battlestar Galactica and Firefly made a visit to our booth as well as LeVar Burton of Star Trek: The Next Generation and Reading Rainbow fame. Both gentlemen admired several pieces and were really nice to visit with. My fan quotient was still pretty high, but no visible shaking could be seen. I hope.

We left for the show on Friday with a trunk full of merchandise and returned with less than half of that on Sunday evening. I can't help but think on how things will be after a whole year to prepare and plan for this show, and in fact, I booked next year before we even left on Sunday evening. I can't wait!

So at the end of everything we found out what we can do on short notice, how many days we can go without sleep without cracking, who our friends are, and that we cannot stay on the same floor of the hotel as the BSG fans, even though we still love them.

P.S. You can see more of our photos from Starfest over at our Facebook page.

What?

Today is Tuesday, which makes it blog day here. I was all set to write about all of the preparations we've been making for the Horseshoe Craft & Flea Market, and how it's our first show and only 25 days away, but then my phone rang...

I'd applied to be a vendor at Starfest last fall, but due to, well, I don't actually know what it was due to but I'd thought that show fell apart and we moved on. They called me this evening to finalize things before the show, on Friday. Yes, this Friday. April 15th Friday. Three days from now. Friday.

Needless to say, I'm freaking out.

So come see us at Starfest this weekend, get your geek on and I'll be back with a real update next week.

Whoosh!

That was the sound of the weeks before our first show flying by...There's just about a month before the Spring edition of the Horseshoe Craft & Flea Market and I can't wait! We'll be returning to the market as a Featured Vendor & we're so happy to announce that we've partnered with folks at Horseshoe to do a blog give away this week. Jeremy & I took a moment over the weekend to start staging the tent & displays for the market. We've made some new displays, bought some new things, and re-purposed a few items so I really wanted to lay everything out and get a feel for how things are going to go up, especially since we tend to have pre-dawn set-up times. I think the new displays are shaping up really well, I posted a picture of part of the display over at our Facebook page.

Speaking of our Facebook page, last Friday we welcomed our 100th friend! In celebration of another incredible milestone we did a prize drawing. Five of our lovely friends won bracelets & pendants as a "thank you" for all of their support and encouragement! Congratulations to our winners, and everyone stay tuned for more surprises!

We're also in the middle of the application process for Craftstravaganza! We've had a ton of talented artists submit applications for our event, and we're so excited for the show. There's still time to submit an application, please visit our website for the application & for more information on the show.

Don't forget to join me this week for the Pesapallo Vest class over at Stash. This super cute cabled vest is knit in a great summer yarn and I can't wait to get started. This two part class begins on Wednesday, April 6th. Please visit the Stash website or call the shop at 303-660-YARN (9276) for more information or to register.

Last, but certainly not least, we've been working on a ton of new things for the market season as well as our Etsy shop. These bags are just a couple of the newest items, and I've been posting photos on our Facebook page, so keep checking in. So as usual, we've been totally swamped with work, preparations, and plans, but I wouldn't want it any other way.

I told you someone would ride a unicycle

This week I was writing the April newsletter and I told the subscribers that if our blog hit 600 views someone would probably ride a unicycle. This morning we hit 605 views, so here's Jeremy riding a unicycle while wearing his "Adventure Time" hat. Enjoy!

Siouxsiequeue's & Stash Present: Craftstravaganza!

Craftstravaganza is back!

Join Siouxsiequeue's & Find Your Stash for the second season of Craftstravaganza. Set beneath the shade tree of a charming house, Craftstravaganza vendors will offer an assortment of handmade products made by local artisans. Our first fair of the season will be held Saturday, May 21, 2011 from 10 am - 3 pm at Find Your Stash in Castle Rock.

Call for Vendors!
Are you interested in participating in Craftstravaganza? We will be accepting applications for vendors March 15 - April 8, 2011. For consideration please complete the application form. Please visit our website or email us at craftstravaganza@me.com for more information.

And Then We Were Swamped...

I can't believe how busy we've been lately, both around the studio and around the house. We're gearing up for shows, promoting our own show, supporting Eric's sudden dream of basketball stardom, caring for over-dramatic doggies, and wishing our Dads a Happy Birthday.

I'm going to start with the last part first. Yesterday was my Dad's birthday, it was also Jeremy's Dad's birthday. How weird is that? Well, I guess it isn't that weird because yesterday Jeremy was telling me that in a group of 57 people there is a 99% chance that two of them will have the same birth date. These stats came from Wikipedia, so take it as you will. Anyway, I really want to wish the Dads a very Happy Birthday. Jeremy and I wouldn't be the same without you, and Siouxsiequeue's wouldn't be the same without you. As I said in the March newsletter, thank you for your support, the use of your power tools, and for driving across Colorado to come see us at markets and shows.

Besides birthdays we are experiencing Eric's very sudden interest in athletics this week. Jeremy and I are not very athletic and Eric has never really expressed any interest in participating in sports. So color us surprised when he comes home from school one afternoon and announces that he wants to play basketball at school. I don't even know the rules of the game, but we bought him the gear he needed, filled in the forms, and most importantly, wrote out the check. His team has had two games so far and they are getting trounced. It has been merciless, this week they lost 23 to 7, but the kids look like they are having a good time and I guess at the end of the day that is what is most important. And maybe a little defense. Go Bears!

Also on the home front we have Cymru (pronounced Kimree). We have two Welsh Corgis and Cymru is the youngest. When we adopted her she had some health issues and we have struggled with the results of that her whole life. She has to have filtered water, a special diet, and periodic steroid shots, but we love her anyway. This week, after we'd already been for a routine vet visit, she had a serious flair up of her condition. There was blood, there was panic, and of course it happened during dinner. Jeremy rushed her off to the vet only to find out that our dear sweet Cymru, who has nothing to do all day but nap on cushions, go for walks, and play with toys, is stressed out. She is not ill, and the vet suspects that she never really has been, she is just stressed. If Cymru has a stressful life, what hope do the rest of us have? So Cymru the Drama Puppy has been getting a pro-biotic supplement, extra naps, extra toys, and extra walks to help her reduce her stress...I wonder if that would work for me...

And as busy as things have been at home they have been even busier in the studio...

We've been working like crazy as we make preparations for the first Horseshoe Craft & Flea Market of the season. We've been making jewelry, sewing, and putting the finishing touches on the new display pieces. It is pretty comical to see things around her as we get closer to a market day. There is stuff all around the house as we start staging the display, packing, and put the final touches on things. It's not at all uncommon to walk into our living room this time of year and see the tables full of merchandise, trunks, and totes. I always feel like we're never going to be ready for the next show, and somehow we always manage to pull it off.

We're not just gearing up for Horseshoe in May, but also the return of our own Craftstravaganza! We're partnering with Stash again this season and we're really looking forward to having the opportunity to work with our friends and fellow artisans to offer an assortment of locally handmade crafts in a charming outdoor fair.  Please visit the Craftstravaganza page on our site for more information.