Making Dreams Come True...

A few weeks ago I had a dream... I was employed at a quilt shop called "The Quilty Conscience".  I was having an amazingly fun time!  I was helping customers pick fabric for quilts, cutting fabric for kits and helping to organize and teach some classes. 

These are all things I would love, Love, LOVE to do.  I shared my dream with my family and friends on fb and asked "who wanted to open a shop in Trinidad and hire me?" There was pretty much a unanimous suggestion that I open the shop and work for myself. "Make your dreams come true..."

Dave and I tossed around the idea, weighed some pros and cons and discussed the reality of the whole thing. There are a few things that just make sense to us.  Like...

1)  The Wal-mart fabric department (my personal Local Quilt Shop - haha!) would have to be eliminated in order for a privately owned quilt shop to even "stand a chance".

2)  Store front property rental fees in Trinidad are just too expensive and would require an unrealistic amount of yearly sales for it to be profitable.  Which brings us to #3...

3)  Money!  It would take a large amount of cash to start up such a business - considering the amount of and cost of inventory required.  We simply don't have that kind of money to invest and we refuse to tap into our retirement.  And we certainly don't want to take on a HUGE loan... we are debt free and have been for years.

I know that many would argue with us about taking a risk and reaping the rewards.  But...

4)  We are, after three years with a home based business, well adjusted to and accustomed to our life.  We can run errands or take time off as needed.  With a downtown store front you have to have  "regular business hours".  We aren't sure that we want to commit to that.  Weekends away, vacation time, etc. all become a challenge.  And that can quickly lead to burn out... something Dave and I both are too familiar with, and not interested in experiencing again.

When it comes right down to it we are being a bit selfish, (but believe me when I say, we have give it some thought and put it to prayer) but we really do not feel as though a Local Quilt Shop is something God is leading us into, right now.

However, yesterday a sweet friend had let me know that she had fabric (two shelves full) from her mother that she didn't feel she would use... my friend had held onto for over two years.  She passed it on to me.  I had no idea of the amount of fabric that she was talking about!  OH. MY!  I think I could easily open a shop...

There are fabrics of all types... mostly cotton. But there is some fleece as well as some flannel that will be perfect to use as backings for some sweet baby quilts.

Oh, and just to let some of you know that I am not a hoarder... I did bag up some of the fabric that I know I will not absolutely use and am passing along to our local Senior Center for their use in craft items that they make and then sell...  you know... just sharin' the love!

So, do dreams come true??? 

I do believe dreams come true.  Sometimes you have to work to make them come true.  And sometimes you have to wait.  For now, we will wait to see if "The Quilty Conscience" turns up in Trinidad... or if we happen to find one elsewhere.  

If we do happen to stumble upon one in our travels, you can bet that we will recall my dream and and go from there.

Dream on...

Melva

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