I had an incredible experience at the Rio Grande Valley Quilt Guild Show this past weekend. While I've been to various quilt shows before, this was my first time attending as a vendor. And let me tell you, I was so nervous.

I have been working for months to prepare for the show, writing patterns, making samples, and planning the layout of my displays in the booth. Despite all of the late nights and weekends, I feel like I could have worked a few more months and still not felt ready. But ready or not, last Thursday I loaded everything I had been working on into the car and drove to the show to get setup. Thankfully my oldest daughter went with me, and I am so glad she did. I honestly don’t think I could have gotten it all set up in time without her.

A wave of nerves hit me as I drove to the opening day of the show. Venturing into something new is daunting. I wasn’t sure what people would think about the work I had been pouring my heart into. What if it wasn’t well-received? Even worse, what if people hated it? What if nothing sold? So many doubts flooded my mind. In that moment, I kind of wanted to turn the car around and quit before I even got started, but I didn’t. I pushed through and I showed up, and I am so glad that I did.

I felt so much love and support from family and friends who celebrated with me and were excited for me. The second day of the show was especially fun, because my youngest daughter went with me to help. It was really special being able to share the experience and make memories together. During the slower parts of the day, we looked at photos she had taken of her favorite quilts that were on display in the show and talked about all the elements we liked the best.

Looking back, I can see it was an amazing weekend! I am so thankful that I got to be a small part of this year’s show and connect with so many wonderful people this weekend, all of the very talented creators and shop owners, all of the super friendly volunteers from the quilt guild, and all of the shoppers. To every single person who took the time to stop by my booth, look at what I had created, and share your thoughts with me, thank you from the bottom of my heart. I am so happy to have met you all.

The show left me brimming with ideas and optimism for what lies ahead. My notebook is bursting with sketches and notes for new projects, so stay tuned for what's to come! It’s going to be so good.