"Peacock"  from an anonymous donor brought $1,000

Our time with quilters in Oregon was too short.  We drove from Redding, California through the Cascades, arriving at the Albany sale mid-afternoon on Friday, Oct.8.  The quilt committee, chaired by Esther King, was busy setting up the quilt display.  Due to the large space, each quilt was able to be displayed in full.  It was helpful to see how detail worked with the larger pattern.

Esther took a break to speak with us.  She is in her fourth year as chair of what she describes as an "informal committee."   Esther explained that the Albany sale is supported by a diverse group of quilters.  Twelve  different churches (including Mennonite Churches, Mennonite Brethren, Apostolic Christian in Oregon) turned out eighteen quilts).  Four quilts were sent from MCC Ephrata, PA, three were donated anonymously, and two were from individuals.  These twenty-seven quilts sold for $16,200. Ten church groups donated twenty-three comforters and four came from individuals.  Esther has seen a jump in recent years in the quality of the comforters, with the highest price being $750 this year.  The twenty-seven comforters brought in a total of $4,370.  Four baby quilts ($575), nine wall-hangings ($1,370), one baby comforter ($100), two afghans ($150), and four other textile items (a table runner, one Aztec and two Navajo rugs) went for  $670.  The quilt auction total was over $23,000.

Another quilt related money-maker was Marta house, similar to the Quilter's Corner of other sales.  Sharon, Marilyn, and Marilyn's cousin Diane Mattox who lives in Portland, found great buys on fabric remnants and quilting tools.  Diane, who hosted us, was impressed by the sale and has talked to her Lutheran quilting group about donating next year.

Sharon and Marilyn were delighted to be able to interview Pauline Aguilar, who serves as the Quilting Coordinator for the West Coast.  We learned more about the multicultural contributions to the relief sales.  She identified a Hmong church in Butler, CA; El Fado (Lighthouse) on the east side of Reedley; Slavic women in Washington., women who may not have quilted before. Why teach new Mennonites to quilt?  What is the meaning of quilting in these newer Mennonite communities?  Pauline feels working together around a quilt frames creates trust and builds relationships.  "Quilt[ing] is a safe place to talk about things that are difficult," says Pauline.  Also, it provides an avenue for inclusion in relief sales--not only an important mission of the Mennonite Church but a time to gather and share traditions.

Before the auction began on Saturday, we both had a chance to interview sale quilters.  Quilter Carrie Gingerich from Shedd, Oregon, quilted as a teenager.  After marriage, Carrie "caught the bug" and has been one of many quilters who have quilted for the sale at the women's retreat at Drift Creek Camp.  Her cousin, Evelyn Kenagy, Albany, learned to quilt thirty-five years ago and, after she retired, she became the "quilt person" at her church.  Evelyn's primary motivation for quilting for the sale comes from having a daughter in MCC (South America) twenty years. Carrie believes, "[i]t is terribly important to be involved when you have a child in it."

Does the quilt at the left look familiar?  By this time, you've seen "The Hired Man" on six of our sale news sites.  (The seventh appears on the Colorado page.)  It sold for $700 here in Albany.

Besides the "Peacock," two other quilts reached the $1,000 mark:  "Hearts and Roses," ($1,000, below at the left) made by the Albany Mennonite and "September Sun," ($1,200, below at the right) from Zion Mennonite.  The later quilt shows the influence of current quilt designers, as it is a Jinny Beyer Design.  Jinny Beyer, is a popular and well-respected fabric and quilt pattern designer with the quilt shop crowd.  A fourth quilt, "Country Flowers," was appliquéd and quilted at MCC in Ephrata PA.  Below is a detail from that quilt

The Oregon block at the left, is from a larger quilt made up of blocks of US state flowers--but not every state.  An 80 x 90 inch quilt, this quilt is five blocks wide and six blocks long.  It would be impossible to have all fifty-one--symmetrical quilts do not accommodate an uneven number.  How did the quilter make the decision which states would not be included?  By the flowers she preferred?   what states she likes or has visited.?  Perhaps it was a random.  I can tell you that Oregon, Kansas, Ohio, Missouri South Dakota, California, Virginia, and Colorado were among the chosen.  If anyone knows the quilter's motivation, let us know.

Ongoing research questions for consideration:

The "States Flowers" quilt raises the question of how quilters/piecers choose their designs/motifs when they piece quilts, including using traditional and/or contemporary patterns created by professional designers such as Jinny Beyer. Through their choice of  motifs, colors, block placement, stitching patterns, do quilters ever put their politics in cloth?  their theology?  their passions for such things as nature, music, food, family, peace?  The answers might not be so obvious.  Think about your quilts of those of quilters you know..

 To discuss this question, join the discussion found under the Participation menu or get there from the QUICK MENU on the home page.