There is an Amish settlement about 45 minutes from us and for the past three decades they have hosted an auction to benefit their school. Baked goods, farm equipment and livestock are all available at the auction but the highlight is the collection of gorgeous, handmade quilts. They generally go for prices upwards of $1000 so it’s a “just looking” event for me.
Lisa and I have attended the past 4 years and it’s something we always look forward to. Saturday dawned clear and pleasantly cool. We headed for the baked goods first so we would be sure to get some of the delicious cinnamon rolls before they ran out. Then we went to the barn where all the quilts were displayed. We always marvel at the tiny, perfect stitches and wonder just how many hours it takes to make one of those beautiful pieces of art. We decided that there’s something to be said for the increased productivity that accompanies a technology-free lifestyle.
Neither of us had any particular item on our want list so we just wandered up and down the aisles checking out each booth. In addition to the cinnamon rolls, I bought a jar of sweet and spicy red pepper jelly. And that was it. Until…
We were just about ready to leave when I spotted a small stack of quilts amidst a random collection of household items. They were in beautiful condition and I fully expected them to be around $500 each. Still, it never hurts to ask. The woman told me the quilts were her mother’s. She was having to move out of her home and was reluctantly parting with some of her quilt collection. The price? $75. There was no way I could pass up a deal like that. In fact, by the time I got home I was kicking myself for not buying all four. It made me sad to think of an elderly woman having to give up her precious possessions. I told the daughter to let her mom know that this quilt would be appreciated and treasured. And it will be.
Oh man, what a deal!! I remember very soon after I moved to Ada, I went to a garage sale, and saw a beautiful (to me) hand made and hand quilted, Quilt. There had been several when I first came in, and I watched people snatching them up, as I was desperately making my way toward them. (At the time, all I knew was that the way people were grabbing them, they had to be a good deal) by the time I got over there, there were 2 left. One was a small patchwork, not in the greatest of shape, but not awful either, for 25.00. I grabbed it, but there was another, larger patchwork, in beautiful condition, marked 5.00!! The only reason I could ever figure out why it wasn’t already gone, was the color pattern. It was pink and brown. I thought it was just gorgeous, and later, after I bought it and brought it home, my mother in law told me that was a popular color combo in the late 30s. It was an estate sale, and I asked the woman who was running it, and according to her, it was her mothers house, and her mother had had it as long as she could remember, and she thought her grandmother had made it, and her mother hated it. (Hence the excellent condition) I’ve had a quilt as a bedspread on my bed for years, and the most recent one (as in the last 15 years or so,) it has been one that one of my best friends daughter made for me. I’ve loved it so much, but it’s starting to show just a bit of wear, so I reluctantly packed it up. As I was trying to decide which of a number of lovely ones I wanted to use, I decided on that brown and pink patchwork. It looks lovely, as the brown matches very closely, the walnut of my bedroom set. And it makes me think fond thoughts of Ada!! Since it was my first big “buy” there!!
Aren’t quilts special? Many are true works of art.