Oh yesterday was interesting

oh yes - and frustrating.
It was my day on duty at the Quilt and Craft Fair. I normally work there every day but the friend I work for was not there this year. (She is off visiting the wilds of Peru and I am just a little jealous.) So, the knitting guild claimed me instead. I could give them a day.
I could stand there on my rear paws and knit with my fore paws and I could talk nicely to people. I could answer all those questions. 
"What are you making?"
"How do you do that?"
"I can't knit. Is it hard?"
"I can't knit but I can crochet. Do you teach people to crochet?"
"I can crochet but I can't knit. Do you teach people to knit?"
"Where do you meet?"
"Do you want some yarn?"
"Where's the yarn for sale?"
It was the last question which caused the most problems. There was no yarn for sale. 
The fair was smaller this year. There had been another one earlier in the year - with some yarn for sale. My friend was there then. There was another stall holder with a rather different variety of yarn as well. Yarn addicts swooped to enhance their stashes. 
This time there was nothing. At previous fairs there have been four or more stands that might not be solely yarn but there has been yarn for sale. People have bought it. 
But having a stand is expensive. Even the guilds pay to be there. Admittedly the guilds do not pay what the businesses pay but the guilds are not permitted to sell anything so they should pay less. I know what it cost my friend to be there. It's money for jam if you organise the event but not if you sell at it.
One new exhibitor was charged a ridiculous amount for a tiny area  you could barely move around in. She was the only person there. I "minded the shop" for a short time so she could go to the rest room and get herself a drink. 
I know some of the other regular stall holders. I "sold" something for one of them - in that I took the money from the customer and handed it on when she had finished with another customer.
"Thanks Cat. Can you stay for a moment so I can go...?"
So much for me having a short break to wander off to look at the quilts!
And there were all those people who said, "Hello Cat..." "Oh, look here's Cat. I  knew she would be here somewhere." "What are you doing here Cat? Where's P....?" "Why aren't you helping P... Cat?...What do you mean she's in Peru?"
And so it went on. My fellow helpers on the guild stand were amused. I was less amused. These people were nice. They meant well. Most of them were regular customers at my friend's stall.
They know me but I don't know them. They forget that they know my name because, like everyone else working there, I am wearing a name tag. They are not wearing name tags.
But, in my brief wanderings, I stopped to pick up something which had fallen from a stand. I passed it back to the owner. In doing so my eye alighted on a length of ribbon. It is white. It has some tiny modern arty crafty cats on it. My paw went out. It  was not expensive. There was enough there to put around the sun hat I have been making - just for the fun of it. I bought it. I could say to the owner of the stand, "Thanks T..." and he could say, "You're welcome Cat."
It helps when we are both wearing name tags - even though we both know each other.