Pages

Thursday, April 16, 2020

Another fine story

There is another "show" story I tell. My sister, too, and if she reads this, I know she will chime in. We're glad to have each other to swear to this, even while we are doubled in laughter, tears running.

In the beginning we had not established our raison d'etre; we did not know if we wanted to be spinners or weavers. Way back in the mid-eighties we began taking our tiny output to local shows, and always brought our spinning wheels.

For Jan, this was a life saving device, because way back then she was too shy to talk to people, let alone look look up at them. She always knew if the customer was a "be-backer" by the shoes. So she bagged and said "thank you very much" while I tended customers, wrote receipts and made change.

We were at a show at Schoenbrunn Village, spinning, talking to people who gathered to watch, making a few sales. Word to the wise: if you're serious about earning a living, don't demonstrate. You choke up your whole sales area in curious folks, who also beg to be allowed to try, and generally don't spend money.

The fleece we were spinning that day was "in the grease". There was no further processing to clean the wool. We had our cards and were carding the locks as we spun them. This can be a messy process, the vegetation the sheep wandered about in was amply embedded in the fleece and was falling into our laps as we carded.

Toward the end of the day we each had a fair amount of debris piled to our sides. Little stems, seeds and probably a bit of dung, too, though we would have skirted the fleece before we brought it to spin.

A young woman sat near us much of the day, watching us spin, asking questions. At the end of the day, as we were closing up shop, she stayed close, still talking. And the last thing she did was gather up our piles of carding debris, carefully wrapping all in some paper towels.

"Why do you want that?" one or the other of us asked.

"I'll take it home, plant it and grow my own sheep!"

When we retired at the end of 2003, we were established niche weavers at shows in the east of this country. There still were good stories to be had; some are coming back to me as I started to type that I don't remember any more. 

I think I'll make a list and amuse you as we sit at our virtual hearths, day after day, waiting for the end of the actual lockdowns.

PS: my sister moved from weaving to quilting, and is herself a successful business owner.


I have a few old photos archived. It actually took both of us to set up this steel framed booth. When I began exhibiting alone at shows, we bought a LiteDome, a lovely professional set up. But here is our first booth, quite home grown.

43 comments:

  1. Yes, more good stories like this, please. This is great, getting to know more about you. Oh, that's a song.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I had to read 'that bit' twice and am still giggling. Wonder what did sprout from your leavings?
    Please dig deep into your memory box Joanne - you have a way with words that will tell tales for us all the enjoy.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Replies
    1. C'mon Jan. Don't make me call you and ask you to read this.

      Delete
  4. I love this - what a story! It's hilarious but at the same time I feel sorry for that poor girl! It's great hearing about your experiences at these shows. I have gone to many quilt shows and often thought the people that ran them looked like they had a lot of fun and camaraderie.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I was in a play once with a woman (girl) who absolutely thought that pickles grew on trees. Now she is a true woman-of-the-earth with her own garden and chickens and beloved husband. It's really not that crazy that people have no idea where things come from that they use or eat every day. I mean- it's hard to imagine but it's not impossible.
    You DO tell a good story and I will take all you care to give.
    Thank you, Joanne.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I love to hear stories about how people developed their craft. More Joanne, more!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Oh my word! I hope you didn't burst her bubble~! LOL I have to ask, did you also sew all of the clothing on display there in your space? VERY nice quality garments from what I can see. Good advice about the demonstrating... you're right. I've watched a lot of demonstrations, but don't remember buying items from the demos I watched. Interesting.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, in the beginning we wove and sewed everything. "We" at that time included mother, who demanded to be released from the hospital following cancer surgery because "we have a business to run!"

      Delete
  8. p.s. What prompted you to begin selling at shows?? That's a LOT of work!

    ReplyDelete
  9. I enjoyed your stories and the girl who wanted to grow sheep :-)

    ReplyDelete
  10. I'll read all the stories you put out there.

    ReplyDelete
  11. That's hilarious, Joanne! The work you had to sell all looks so very beautiful.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Lol. People never fail to amaze me!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Many thanks for the smile which is splitting my face.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Wow. Hard to believe but it doesn't surprise me. Too funny. Thanks for the laugh.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Bless her heart. I wonder how many sheep sprouted. :)

    ReplyDelete
  16. That is too funny! Yes more stories like this are needed during this time!

    Betty

    ReplyDelete
  17. My jaw just about hit the table when I read, "...I'll grow my own sheep"
    I love the picture of your first booth, full of things to sell.
    I'd love to read more stories as you remember them.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Hari OM
    ......BBBWWWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHABBBBBBAAAAAAAAAAAA... OMG...
    As one from shepherding and weaving stock, I found this one to be absolutely delightful. More tales please!!! YAM xx

    ReplyDelete
  19. Hahaha! It shows how far away from nature some (Some?) people are apart. Here some children (Some?) believe that milk grows in plastic containers or bottles.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. PS: AND I will tell it to my best friend Anne: she owns four beautiful sheeps.

      Delete
  20. I'd rather like to grow my own sheep at the moment. It's really far too quiet, even the seagulls seem to have taken a vow of silence.

    ReplyDelete
  21. I am sure it is good to look back on those times together. Your sister has obviously overcome her shyness if she is a successful business owner. I wonder if that woman is still awaiting her first crop of sheep?

    ReplyDelete
  22. You hear anything and everything when you work with the public. That what makes it fun, interesting or just plain crazy.

    ReplyDelete
  23. I remember the gist of that story. There are a lot of crazy things we experienced and commented on over the years and we would have jotted things down to write that book later if we weren't so busy getting ready for the next show. It was an interesting way to make a living, to say the least. One of the women we met in Hudson at the Montessori school show is in my longarm guild. She vividly remembers me from that show. I don't remember her. Her biggest impression of that show was that none of us selling things we actually crafted made enough to even buy lunch that day, but the people selling stuff from God knows where, which we fondly called 'shit on a stick', sold well. Lesson learned. I did remember how poorly that show did, and how we laughed to get through it.

    ReplyDelete
  24. That woman probably has a HUGE flock of sheep now and the last laugh is on you!

    ReplyDelete
  25. I don't even know what to say about the sheep.

    ReplyDelete
  26. Totally impressed with that booth and your creations on sale. Wow. Yes a demo is a poor thing at a show, I learned that from knitting at tiny shows, people just wanted to be taught (for nothing) and then never buy.

    Love your stories.

    XO
    WWW

    ReplyDelete
  27. I'm visualizing a wool sapling. ;)

    Thanks for the yarn! (Har-har.)

    ReplyDelete
  28. And look at all those wonderful jackets. And thee wonderful tent. And........

    ReplyDelete
  29. Lovely tale Joanne. I used to spin, dye, design and knit/crochet my own creations. I would do this all winter in the Highlands in order to sell to the visitors in the summer. Another tip about taking this hobby up make money... don’t, the rate per hour is negligible, as you well know. Like your sister I now do ‘folk’ patchwork, I call it ‘folk’ because it is simple, oh and on the rough side. I inflict it on my friends and during this lock down I am happily making cards for them ... whether they want them or not !?!

    LX

    ReplyDelete
  30. "I'll take it home, plant it and grow my own sheep!" I love it! I'm always amazed at the way sheep can run up and down mountains without falling off. Much more nimble than us humans.

    ReplyDelete
  31. I love that story - thanks for sharing it. I look forward to others!

    ReplyDelete
  32. I'm hoping to grow some sheep this spring, along with some green beans and cherry tomatoes. Do they require a ton of light?

    ReplyDelete
  33. Does your sister do the quilting for quilt tops that other people have embroidered? I embroidered two years ago and they sit in a basket for lack of quilting. I don't know how to quilt and don't really want to learn.

    Love,
    Janie

    ReplyDelete