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The guild open house and sale is done. And I survived. Actually, we all survived. The crowd wasn't as big as last year - too much competition with Ojai Days and Ventura's ArtWalk, I think - but the weather was great, we made a profit and everyone had a good time.

Dick is very glad to have the mess gone. I spent the two weeks prior to the sale bagging, tagging and pricing several hundred items. I was surrounded by boxes in my studio; the floor of the pool table room was awash in bags and boxes; and the ping pong table was covered with cartons of fleece, coned yarns, and fiber of every description.

But it was worth it. I arrived to set up at 6:20 a.m. Saturday (I hate mornings) and made my first sale at 6:30. Things I thought would never sell were the first to go. Other items - like a new, still-in-the-box umbrella swift - that I thought would be snapped up in a heartbeat, never sold. Even Vickie got in on the action, albeit long-distance. I called her about 8, raving about the gently used Mirrex tapestry loom that had just arrived. (yep, she snapped it up)

I had some items from my stash up for sale - mostly fiber I'll never get around to spinning - and managed to make over $150. Whoo! And I'm still trying to work a trade of more of my unspun silk for some handwoven towels. So what did I buy with all that fibery temptation laying around? A $15 weaving book, $2 felted pincushion and a $5 sample-size niddynoddy. I just didn't see anything I had to have.

I don't know what will happen next year. The venue we've used for the past two years - SCIART - is being forced to relocate; they aren't sure where, or even if, they will find a new home. I don't want to see our open house and sale go back to a small, members-only event, so we'll be looking for somewhere to start afresh. Any ideas are welcome!