One of C&T’s most anticipated events fell on September 6 this year. Our Annual Warehouse Sale. While it is anticipated by many, the mood in which it’s anticipated varies, from mild trepidation (for our warehouse staff who set up the tents, stock the books, and so forth), to percolating excitement (for the team members who get to work the sale), to just-controlled bargain hunting madness for the shoppers.

The annual sale is a lot of fun for attendees and employees, and this year was no exception. It was the hottest year yet (temperatures topped 100°F) but we’ve gotten the tent thing down to a science. We also had plenty of bottled water on hand!

The line up of resale-card holders started well before the 9 a.m. opening bell. Shop owners and other sellers gathered class supplies, models, books, books, books! I was working the fabric table and can attest to the fact that great bargains were had. There will be many darling quilts being created after this year’s sale! And while the fabrics were popular during the wholesale-only hours, there was plenty left on the table when the retail customers arrived at 11 a.m. Around 11:30 it was standing room only under the main tent and in the warehouse where damaged books and patterns are kept.

For those of you who’ve never attended a sale, here’s how it works: You walk down our driveway and along the edge of the tent to the sale entrance, where you’re met by the official C&T greeter. This year it was Diane, C&T’s first employee and one of our two photographers. Diane offers you an empty box to start collecting your goodies. Then you shop!

Diane directs traffic.

The main tent has all of the overstock books, blank board products, shop samples, and fabrics. This year all books were $4! That eliminated pricing confusion and was a fabulous price point for people picking up books for themselves and for presents. Inside one of the warehouse bays we set up the damaged books, patterns, stationary, and other similar items.

Once you’ve finished filling your box (or boxes), you head to the tally tables. The tally-takers go through your box and mark down your products, just like quilt stores itemize your cuts for the cash register. Our Publisher, Amy (below), was one of the tally takers.

It’s always fun to see how many boxes different shoppers accumulate. Once you fill a box, you can write your name on it and store it under a tally table to fill another. Everyone has a different strategy. I love the shoppers who bring along family members to cart the boxes or push the shopping cart.

Once you’re through the tally table, you head to the cash register. Once through there, one of our charming warehouse guys can help carry your boxes to the car.

And if you’re like some of our shoppers this year, you turn around and head back for Round 2! I was amazed at the number of repeat shoppers. Not from past years, but from earlier in the day.

I don’t know if there was one most-popular item for sale this year, but there was one item that earned the most questions. Our Simply Stems line. “What are those?!?” many shoppers asked me. They’re like the floral wire found in many craft stores, just in a far wider gauge—we had 1/4″-wide and 1″-wide stems out. It’s flexible and it’s covered in paper. We created the stems to accompany our Fresh Felt Flowers book, but I use them for many different crafts and all of my kids’ Halloween costumes.

So if you missed this year’s sale, watch our web site for next year’s dates!