Friday, November 14, 2008

Rollercoaster Ride

I have had some very good sales at our church's Festival of the Arts, and it feels so good! The scarves have gone well, which always makes me happy, and then last Sunday I learned that one of my quilted wall hangings had been sold! Actually, the purchaser had had a sold sticker put on it, and she was going to return on Monday with a check for it and a scarf. I was elated, as this was one of my first wall hangings to sell, except at auctions where I have donated them. Yesterday morning, the purchaser called me on the phone to explain that she was: a. retiring shortly and will be on a tighter budget, and b. her home really didn't have a place for the piece. So, did I mind if she backed out on the purchase? Naturally, I was very disappointed, but what could I say?

My dear friend Roberta, aka Dr. Sock , was due to arrive shortly for a dyeing session, so I put on a happy face and made myself promise that I wouldn't burden her with my sad news. Well, that lasted about 5 minutes! Roberta is such a friend: she listens, commiserates, and then helps me walk through my emotional mine fields! Plus, we had the pleasure of mixing dyes and then putting them on yarn!!!! WooHoo!!!!

Here's Dr. Sock preparing her dyes:


We had soaked my yarn and her roving in a solution of vinegar and water for a half hour:


In all of the excitement and eager anticipation, I forgot to take pictures as we added the dyes to the yarn and roving, but here's my second batch after I got it out of the microwave (yes: all done in the microwave!!):


And here it is after it had been washed out and was ready for drying:

I know, I know: only I would wear socks knitted with wild yarn like that!

This is my first skein of yarn: it's a lovely blend of black, chocolate brown, and a bit of dark blue:


Barker's the perfect dyeing companion........and he wears the colors of the day well!

Roberta and I got to clowning around with my yarns:


As you can see from the above shot: a session with Dr. Sock is the perfect antidote to an exposure to disappointment!


PEACE!

6 comments:

Gerrie said...

Sorry about the sale loss, but take heart - even my daughter Lisa is losing sales right now. Remember, it was not your art, it was the money. We are all thinking twice these days. I just love the brown, blue combo yarn - really lovely. Nice to see you having fun with Mrs Sock.

Jeannie said...

So glad to see a stint of dyeing put a smile on your face. I too, love the blue, brown combo. So sorry about the lost sale - the perils of the economy. Have a fun weekend. Cheers.

Barbara said...

That stinks that your sale fell through. I'm sure that the woman who wanted your wall hanging felt awful that she couldn't go through with her purchase! It sounds like Dr. Sock came in the nick of time! It's so important to have good friends!

Peace!

Mai-Britt Axelsen said...

If that lady hadn't insisted on the 'sold' sticker, you might have sold it to someone else. The being soo near to having sold your first quilt, Grrrr.

I too have never sold a quilt before, but have one on commission, that I haven't finished yet.

We need more Dr. Socks in the world☺.

Karoda said...

keep the woman on your mailing list anyways...she is a perk in that she is just one more person who loves what you do. i'm going to be thankful that you didn't need the sale in order to buy food, pay rent, etc. how is that for flipping the script...maybe not as great as a day with Dr. Sock but just a little drop in your joy bucket!

Mai-Britt Axelsen said...

How right you are Karoda, puts it's all in perspective, thanks.