Hesitantly Nervously Exceedingly Excited

Well, I did it....

Actually, I did it a couple months ago...

I have threatened to do something like this for a long time and always managed to come to my sense in just the nick of time.

This time, I was under the spell of a bottle of wine and Elaine's snake eyes.  I think I was hypnotized and by the time I came to, the shackles were already around my ankle and I was trapped. 

To be fair, I had been warned to never look Elaine directly in the eye... rumor has it that if you look into her eyes, she can talk you into ANYTHING!!   My only defense, as I remember it, was that it was very good wine !

Ok, that's not exactly how it happened... no...  that is EXACTLY how it happened!

Drum Roll Please....

I am very happy and very proud to announce that I have been named 2018's Vendor Coordinator for the Arizona Quilt Guild's annual quilt show, which is held at the Mesa Convention Center each March.

Last year's Coordinators, lets call them L and B, met with me at a Denny's a few months ago to discuss the process, the paperwork, and hand off a stack of lovingly organized forms, lists, and maps. 

That day, L and B shared their experiences, both ups and downs, and gave me a list of suggestions to make my term as Coordinator smooth and easy (my words, not theirs).  The girls had faced a few challenges due some very unforeseen circumstances, as they had to jump in at the last minute and take over for someone who could not complete their term as Coordinator.   I listened intently, took notes, and wondered, more than once, if it was too late to move to another state.   Could Elaine find me if I moved? 

By the way, I swear I saw L and B dancing on their way to their car as we left Denny's, twirling each other around and singing and throwing their hats in the air.  I thought they were acting odd so, of course, I yelled at them to see if they were ok...  they stopped, looked at me, then simply disappeared.  I think they ducked and hid behind cars in the parking lot.  What was that all about ???   Do quilt guilds participate in reciprocity if I high tailed it out of town??  I could dye my hair...  speak with an accent....  Could I trust my friends to not turn me in?

I am teasing...  really and truly, I am teasing.   Those ladies were, and are, awesome; they have lent additional advice, answer tons of questions, and have been incredibly patient with me.

In the last several weeks, I made a concerted effort to work through the documentation and process based on the information L and B were able to compile from prior years and organize into something amazing for me.  Then I considered the weather in southern California.  No...  that's not far enough away...  Georgia is too humid.... and it would have to be somewhere without mosquitos...

To soothe my nerves about all of this, I spent a few hours using the skills I picked up at my old job on a couple of the forms and letters, clarifying a few statements, moving a few things around so it made more sense to my little pea brain, and making a few formatting changes.   Do what makes you feel better, right?   Maybe southern Illinois? No, they get too much snow...

Today was the first official meeting of the quilt show committee.   I suppose its too late now that I finally figured out where I could move.

Was I nervous? YEP!!

After all, I didn't break into the business slowly by helping an acting Vendor Coordinator a year before taking on the whole thing myself..  NOOOOO that would have made too much sense.   I just jumped in!!!  That Elaine and her snake eyes.....   

During the meeting, I presented my new forms, raised a few questions, answered a few questions, offered some ideas, and best of all, they were openly interested in some of the ideas. 

As soon as a few office chores are completed and the forms are loaded onto our website, I can begin recruiting vendors and then the fun really begins !

Now, because you and I are all such best friends, I am going to tell you a little secret:  I didn't announce this position prior to today because there was still that chance that I could get moved out of state in time... or maybe I could have had the dog eat all the paperwork....  Daisy had already agreed to do it for me if I put some peanut butter on it for her.

Elaine, thank you for offering me this position!  

Celebration may involve another bottle of wine but it will have to wait until YOU are in another state.   I hear you might be working on trapping some volunteers to man the AQG booth at other events.

2018 is the 40th Anniversary of AQG so the theme for the 2018 quilt show is, of course, Ruby Extravaganza!  What a perfect year for me to be so involved because ya'll know how much I love RED and there should be a TON of red quilts there!

I expect to see each and every one of you at the show in March.  Stay tuned for updates!

Here's to 2018 being the best AQG Quilt Show EVER!!