Ginger's 1st Anniversary Sale

I was totally exhausted when I got home. No, not from shopping.

The sale started at 10:00. I didn't get there until about 10:45. When I got close enough to see the store, I saw a line of women (and men) stretching around the building. Found a parking place a good ways away, and got in line.

There were so many people there when the store opened that Ginger couldn't let them all in at one time. However, those waiting outside were all in a festive mood. Ginger had set up a covered tented area where they were serving free hotdogs, chips, potato salad and cold water. So no one was unhappy.

Of course, I just had to add some comic relief. Everytime someone walked out of the store, I got the crowd cheering and yelling, "Big bag! Hooray!" It was hilarious.

About 45 minutes of waiting in line and then Ginger walked outside. She saw me and said, "Jane's been looking for you. We need your help inside." Of course, she said this real loudly so others wouldn't think I was getting preferential treatment. So I zipped inside, stuck my purse under the counter, and grabbed a pile of bolts behind the cutting counter that needed to be put away. The store was packed. When I say "packed," I don't think I can even describe it.

There was a bluegrass band playing inside which added even more to the festive atmosphere. Everyone in line was toe-tapping and singing along. The cutters were singing, a really elderly woman pushing an oxygen tank was doing a little dance. It was so much fun. What wasn't fun was fighting my way through the crowds to put bolts back on the shelves. The funny part was I'd head off to a certain section of the store, and before I got there, women had plucked those bolts out of my arms!

About 3:30 or so the crowd thinned out a tad, and I decided to look around for myself. It's funny how bolts you see sitting there every week suddenly become appealing in a 25% off sale! I was pretty good, though. Four yards of the black for the "Happy Hauntings" project which I'll begin in a couple of months; 6.5 yards of the light batik for a background to use up some of those batiks I have; 3.5 yards of the Chocolat paisley will be perfect for the borders or back of a Christmas applique project; and 2.5 yards of the creamy neutral just because. All of these were what was left on the bolt. (I didn't want any of that fabric to think I didn't love it!) Oh, and one Lori Smith pattern, Golden Memories. I needed sewing machine needles, but I totally forgot about those until a few minutes ago.

I'm not real good at estimating crowds and things, but I'd say there were a couple of hundred empty bolt boards when I left at 4:00. And they were still cutting fabric.

A couple of funnies that I overheard: One lady asked a cutter if there were any rules on the yardage lengths for the sale. The cutter told her one yard. The lady, in a disappointed voice, said she really wanted a yard and a half. The cutter quickly added the word "minimum." I don't know why that struck me as funny. Then a few minutes later, someone asked me if she could get "a 4/8th yard cut." Still chuckling over the other comment, I told her I was sorry but they could only cut 8/8th yard cuts for the sale. I shouldn't have told her that because she looked confused, but she laughed when I changed that to one yard. She was doubling the fabric requirements for a pattern and it just came out that way. I'm still smiling over it, though. I really shouldn't EVER work in retail! LOL

Plus, I'm not used to standing up that long. At the end of the day, my lower back was hurting, the back of my calves were hurting. My hands were sore from picking up bolts. I was a sorry mess! Of course, nothing that a couple of Tylenol Extra Strength couldn't take care of. Heck, I wish we could do it all over again today. It was fun!

As I told my online group, I'm done shopping for like forever! Truly! Today I sew!!!!!!