Here's the next installment of the ladies of the We're Still Kicking Quilters group. If you're not familiar with this group, check out the previous installments on the sidebar under the 'We're Still Kicking Quilters'.
MEETING NINE AT GERT'S HOME
“Did you hear
how much we made at the Fall Festival?” Ida Rose asked over the
individual conversations as the women were relating their stories
about the Fall Festival to each other.
“Did you see the
little boy fall into one of the quilts...”
“My grandchild
rode a carnival ride for the first time...”
“I didn't know
how easy it was to make those kaleidoscope patterns...”
“Did anyone try
Elsie Jean's new pie recipe...I heard it was a winner...”
“I don't think
there was any time that we didn't have at least 25 people looking at
all our quilts...”
“My bones ached
for a week...”
“I think over
thirty folks signed up to get information about our guild...”
“That was the
best bar-b-que I have ever eaten...wonder how they made the sauce...”
“I'll ask again,
does anyone know how much we made at the Fall Festival?” Ida Rose
asked again, this time a lot louder.
“I'm not sure of
the exact amount, be we got enough donations to cover all our
expenses and still have money left over.” Anna Mae answered. “And
everyone was happy about the number of folks interested in joining
our guild.”
“I think this
turned out to be better than having our quilt show alone.” Wanda
Kay added. “And I was able to hand out cards about the opening of
the shop. A lot of women were happy to have a local place to get
fabric and yarn.”
“I heard that
from several folks also” I said. “So, I guess that's going to be
our next project, huh?”
“Yep” Wanda
Kay replied. “I think the first thing we need to do is finish
getting the papers in order and checking out our local regulations.
Once that is done, we need to get the shop ready which means rolling
up our sleeves and getting dirty. There's a lot of cleaning,
painting, building shelves, etc., etc.,etc! I wonder now if a January
opening was too hopeful.”
“We will all
pitch in, Wanda Kay,” I said, “and each of us can check out
things on our own. For instance, I will check out the regulations for
having the coffee/tea bar.”
“And I can work
with Gert” Martha Kerine added, “and check out the food
regulations and requirements.”
“Have you
decided on the different areas of items you want to stock?” Anna
Mae asked.
“Well, mostly
quilting and fabric,” Wanda Kay answered, “but several ladies
asked about yarn, so I want to add that area. So that's two -
quilting/sewing and crocheting/knitting. But I think we need to have
some general craft supplies, and maybe a children's craft area. What
do you guys think about other crafts like scrapbooking or jewelry
making? I'm not really into either but, again, several folks asked if
those supplies would be available...and then there's embroidery and
journaling and...”
“Hold on, Wanda
Kay,” Anna Mae interjected. “We don't need to have everything for
everyone. I think we should stick mainly to fabric and yarn and
embroidery crafts to begin with. We can add a small section of
general craft supplies with a little of everything, but I do mean
small. And I do like the idea of having something for children. The
very first thing we need to do is see what type of inventory that
shop that's going out of business has and go from there to fill in
any holes there are in the the inventory. Then we can see what type
of demand is out there. I hope you still want to have a small book
area that includes both how-to books as well as some mysteries.”
“Believe it or
not,” Wanda Kay said, somewhat relieved, “I am happy that you're
there to rein me in, Anna Mae. I was getting overwhelmed with
everything. I mean, the number of fabric lines alone are enough to
make me dizzy! And yes, I want to have a book section. Some suggested
that maybe we could also have some magazines. What do you think?”
“I think we
should take Anna Mae's advice and start out small, Wanda Kay.” I
answered. “I was wondering how expensive our inventory should be?
Seasoned sewers and knitters will want the better quality, but people
new to either may want the less expensive stock.
“Start small and
build inventory,” Anna Mae added. “But a variety of quality is
also a good idea. I'm not talking about the cheapest of everything,
but say we have someone interested in knitting. Are they going to
want to spend $49 on a skien of hand dyed, hand carded wool? Probably
not, so we should carry some less expensive.”
“So, when are we
signing the incorporation papers?” Ida Rose asked.
“Carl's brother
is drawing up the papers for us this week.” Elsie Jean answered.
“He isn't going to charge us anything except the registration fees.
So, at our next meeting, we can celebrate our new project by signing
the papers.”
“That sounds
great!” Ida Rose said. “Who knew I would be part-owner of a
fabric and craft shop?”
“So are we
definitely going with the old bank building, or is there any other
place to consider.” I asked.
“I haven't found
any other spaces.” Wanda Kay answered. “But if any of you know of
an available space, we could go and look at it.”
“There is that
old school building out on route 9 but it may be a bit out of the
way.” Martha Kerine said. “And I'm not sure what type of
condition it's in. Other than that, I don't know of any other
commercial space available in the area.”
“Well, I like
the bank building because it is in town and easy for everyone to get
to.” I added.
“Tell you what,”
Wanda Kay suggested. “Let's take a good look at both places,
compare prices and conditions and then make our decision.”
“That's a good
idea, Wanda Kay.” Elsie Jean responded. “How about this coming
Saturday. We can get the keys to both places and check them out.”
“And I think if
I bring Daniel along, he can help us with the conditions of each
building.” Ida Rose added.
“That is an
excellent idea, Ida Rose.” I said. “I'm not too sure what to look
for when judging the condition of a place. I imagine it's more than
liking or disliking the paint color.”
“Oh, Gert,
you're much more of a handy person than anyone else here.” Wanda
Kay responded.
“So, who is
going to check out the store that's going out of business?” I
asked.
“I thought that
Anna Mae and I would drive over and take a look, that is if you have
the time Anna Mae.” Wanda Kay answered.
“How about
tomorrow?” Anna Mae asked.
“Sounds good to
me.” Wanda Kay said.
“I will check
out the computer programs to see which would be best for our
business.” Elsie Jean volunteered.
“I guess I'm the
odd person out.” Ida Rose said. “Is there anything I can do,
Wanda Kay?”
“Yes, I was
hoping you would check around to see if there are folks who can
teach. Maybe crocheting, knitting, something for children...and, of
course, quilting.” Wanda Kay answered.
“Sure, I know
quite a few folks who would be great teachers.” Ida Rose replied.
“Well, I guess
that's it for today...how about lunch...and maybe some quilting
afterwards.” Martha Kerine suggested.
“I have lunch
already and, yes, it would be a good idea to do some quilting.” I
said but thinking to myself that this was almost too easy and
whenever I felt that...things had a habit of going awry.
Little did I know
about the mystery that was going to fall into our laps. Stay tuned...
Hope you enjoyed this installment...
Next one's a doozy...
Thanks for stopping by...
Talk with you tomorrow...