Bad Combination

Duly noted: grilled cheese and french fries was a bad choice for dinner and my stomach punished me for it. Luckily I recovered in time to watch the women's figure skating wrap up with the long program. I'm going to blame the Olympics for keeping me from getting anything really productive done this week - just when I think I'll take a break from watching it and get up to do something, they'll start a new, interesting event, or start up a series that's not interrupted by commercials, or I'll notice that it is somehow 10:30 at night (how did that happen?). Somehow, I managed to be minorly productive last night and address envelopes for catalogues.

I also managed to get the website updated (yay!). Both the newsletter and the gallery pages have been updated with the new designs. I must say, as much as I like drawing and detailing the big dragons, the little dragons (the ornaments and the freebie designs) just seem to have their own character. It is funny how they seem to live in such a small design space - and believe me, it is not easy getting a dragon squished into a 50x50 grid!

Anyway, plans for this weekend include clearing up the chaos that is the design room. Then hopefully, playing with paper and pencil for some new design ideas that are germinating. Of course, there's always the business side to take work on, somebody has to do it, and I don't think I can talk the cat into doing the work!

Sooo Tired Again...

I tried to catch up on some rest President's Day, but somehow it didn't seem to happen. I did get caught up in printing, so a bunch of packages are going out to the post office this afternoon. Yay! Still have to finish cleaning up the disaster area that is my design room. Maybe tomorrow. And I think I've just about talked myself into doing the big summer trade show, so I'll be preparing the paper work for that tonight. That's a big, scary step, especially after last year's trade show fiascos. But this is where the industry should be going (doesn't mean it is where it is going, though). And somewhere along the line, I need to find some time to sit doiwn and work on the new designs that ticking around in my head and get them out on to paper!

Anyway, time to dash. I promise to (1) get the website updated with the new designs real soon (2) write longer entries in the blog (3) get more sleep

Oh, I did add something to the website, a Frapper map with all of the shops that carry Cross Eyed Kat designs (and the shop list has been updated from Nashville). If you go to http://www.crosseyedkat.com/purchase%20frame.htm and click on the link in the map (or better yet, just go to http://www.frappr.com/crosseyedkatshops) you'll see it. There are actually two Canadian shops, but Frapper wouldn't take the cities (complain to Google, not to me), and be sure to scroll up to see the pin in Alaska, too (of course I didn't map the online shops)! You may have to click the link that says "show rest of markers" to force all the markers to show up.

I think I'm awake

We did manage to make it home last night, or should I say very early this morning. Mocha (the cat) was extremely happy to see us (or at least me) and insisted on some petting and loving before I could go to bed. The trip took a little extra time because we had to stop in Memphis and visit my Grandmother who is in the hospital. She is getting better, though, so that is good news. The last part of the drive from Texarkana to Houston is the hardest, because it goes through all the small towns and there is alot of slowing down and speeding up to do.

Market overall went very well. We beat the snow in Friday and were one of the lucky ones who's room was ready. We started to set up the room and had it mostly done before I had to run off to the "Meet and Greet" event Friday night. There I handed out all of the catalogues that I brought and had a sneak preview of the Fantasy Faire for those shop owners who were interested in that. Saturday was an early start for breakfast before Market, then the final preparations before opening the doors. The first hour was very quiet, but everyone must've started on a different floor because we were busy before lunch! I had fortune cookies to give out (and still have some left over) to go with the new "Fortune Cookie" designs. By the end of the day Saturday, my feet were really protesting! It was snowing again outside, so we decided to just stay in for dinner. Sunday was quiet, as is usual for market, but we tried to keep resonably busy. I ran a few errands that day as well - doing some networking. I think the new designs went over very well - I know I sold out of one of the Fortune Cookies, and came close on the other one. I didn't have very many of Egypt left and I definitely didn't do a large enough initial print run of the snowfighting dragons, so a bunch will have to be shipped this week.

Tonight I'm ready for a good night sleep!

Snow fell on Nashville

Well, it is not quite as bad as in the Monica Ferris book Crewel Yule, but we did just beat the snow getting into Nashville. It seemed to fall for quite a long time, but luckily it did not stick on the ground, so I don't know how badly it has impacted the market. There still seem to be quite a few shops here. We're pretty much in the hotel for the duration anyway! Market seems fairly busy regardless of the snow. I forgot the camera connector, so pictures will have to wait until next week.

Almost time to go, almost ready!

All the patterns are done! Yay! That's the imporant thing. Printer was giving me trouble last night on the catalogues, so I gave it up to finish bagging patterns. Tonight will be a flurry of packing, then print as many catalogues as possible until I either run out of ink or get fed up with the printer and give it a swift kick.

Tomorrow, I'll be visiting my Grandmother, who lives near Memphis. Then Friday, off to Nashville for set up and Market! If there's time, I'll try to do a couple of live blog updates while the market is going on. I did manage to finish the Cross Eyed Kat quilt top, so I'll have pictures of that to post once it is hung up.

Sometimes I wonder how I got myself into all of this. Me, hanging out with the likes of Dragon Dreams Jen, Teresa Wentzler (who sadly won't be there this year), and Doug Kreinik. Me, selling my designs at the same market as Just Nan and other "Big Names" in the industry. But there I am, (or will be shortly) and even though we're all told "Cross Stitch is in an industry slump", I'm determined to pull through because, hey, my designs are just different enough to attract a different kind of stitcher (or so I think). Anyway, Nashville, here we come!

Now previewing for a limited time only....

Ok, now run out to your LNS and tell them that you MUST have the Cross Eyed Kat Fantasy Faire Limited Edition AND the companion design, Snowfight: Red and Snowfight: Blue. :)

Ok, I might be able to eek out on just 4 ink cartridges. The printer is complaining about being low on black ink, but it will do that until it runs out. I think I have printed what I will of the designs. If I run out of something, it will have to be shipped. That just leaves the catalogue. And there was much rejoicing!

Coming down to the wire

All of the full sized patterns have been printed and bagged - yay! All of the half sized patterns have been printed, but they still needed to be cut, folded and bagged - arg! And a few more of Snowfight: Blue could be printed, and catalogues need to be printed (and stapled) - arg! And I'm going to run out of ink again soon. And I'm leaving Thursday. Yikes!

So the final tally will come out somewhere close to 4 reams of paper, three packages of cardstock, bags for all patterns (we're into our second thousand - quite a milestone), and probably 7 cartridges of ink. I really wish Nashville was a take orders show :)

The weird, worry dreams have started as well. I dreamed that Mocha, the cat, kept trying to get in the suitcases as I was packing as well as get out of the house as various doors were left open. So I was running around trying to pack and keep her in the house and feeling guilty about leaving her behind. Then I woke up and went back to sleep and had a different dream. In this one, I was driving, trying to leave from Baton Rouge and a hurricane was coming up the east coast (in February?) We were trying to figure out if the radius of it would impact my route.

So much work still remains to be done, plus packing and sundry other details.

I was going to try and do a preview, but blogger is having problems. Please check back later - I will try and post it this afternoon.

They days are flying by...

I can't believe it is Friday already! And I totally missed that it was Wear Red Day until I read that on somebody's website. There is much to get done in the next few days. Special tasty goodies have been ordered to hopefully arrive in time for Market. Printing will be the only word I know how to say for the next few days. Say it with me now, "Printing, printing, printing" And the corollary: "Buy more ink!" Egypt is all printed and bagged up - yay! Journey is all printed, and now has to be collated and bagged. It was really hard to get the bright red of Journey's background to show up correctly, but I got that printing to my satisfaction as well.

There's all the side work that has to be done to get ready for a trip like this as well: the car has to be ready, bags have to be packed. It is time to invest in a radio thingamabober for the iPod. Need to call Granny to let her know I'll be stopping in for a brief visit. The "Kat in Boots" outfit needs to be found. The list goes on.

I'm contemplating a 24 hour preview of the Fantasy Faire design on the blog. The question is, is there enough demand?

In life outside of Nashville news (is there such a thing), I'm not really sure about Punxsutawney Phil's prognostications of 6 more weeks of winter. We really haven't had that much of a winter to speak of here to begin with. I mean, it was almost 80 here yesterday! The good news is that the tulips I planted 3 weeks ago are starting to push up and show through the ground! So we'll have tulips soon. DH is starting traing for the big bike ride to Austin, so he should be able to keep tabs on when the wildflowers start to show up.

Don't forget to add to the Cross Eyed Kat stitcher's map - the link is on the top right side of the blog!