Marilyn arrived at the sale site Friday evening.  There were the familiar sights of volunteers setting up food booths, MCC information tables, Ten-Thousand Villages, craft booths, and of course, "quilt alley."  Yet, each Relief Sale also reflects the region and the venues in which it takes place.

Brooklyn Park is a suburb of Minneapolis, and just getting there meant negotiating freeway exits and busy city streets.  Fortunately for Marilyn, she hitched a ride from Sioux Falls, SD with Edie Tschetter, head of MCC Central States Northern Tier located in Freeman, SD.  In the photo on the left, Edie is explaining the work of MCC to a sale visitor. 

Eight Mennonite Churches in Minnesota and Wisconsin work to make the Twin Cities sale possible. The sale is held on the campus of Hennepin Technical College where "quilt alley" extends down the two hallways surrounding the school's computer center.  (photos on far left)  The Saturday auction takes place in the school's main auditorium (photo below right) which offers the capability of projecting descriptions and images of the quilts on a large screen.  The padded seats are nice, too! The musicians also seem fitting to the college venue. Below is Paul Kaldjian, member of Emmanuel Mennonite Church in the city, who lives and teaches in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.  Here he  performs a humorous song he wrote about the relief sale.

Quilt Alley

The quilts are not protected by a plastic cover while they are on display.  For this reason, paper signs, suggesting the viewers ask for assistance, are pinned to each quilt.  White-gloved volunteers answer questions and show the details of any quilt. (photos below) 

Machine-Quilting, Sponsorship, Familiar Designs

Unique to the Twin Cities Sale is the large amount of the quilts are machine quilted.  This year, two-thirds of the quilts made  specifically for this sale, including the Feature Quilt (featured on the auction booklet on left) were quilted by machine.

More than a few of the quilts in this sale were  sponsored by individuals.  That is, the cost of purchasing a top and having it professionally quilted (primarily by machine) was covered by the sponsor who in turn donated the quilt to the auction.  A majority of the sponsors listed their church affiliation as Mennonite.  Only a couple of quilts came from what we might call a traditional church quilting group.

It was interesting to note that  1) while the quilts for the Twin Cities Sale were donated in less traditional ways, and 2) many of the quilts were machine quilted, the designs were still very similar to those in other Relief Sales.  (see close ups below)

Bluebird of Spring(detail),hand quilted, machine $2100	Around the World(detail), $1900

Love, Joy,Piece:North American Mennonite Relief Sale Board - Quilter's Newsletter  

Marlys Wiens, co-editor with Bev Patkau of "Love, Joy, and Piece," hosted Marilyn while she was in Minneapolis.  Marlys was instrumental in getting the Twin Cities Sale started five years ago.  She has donated quilts at every sale, and has even bought a couple, too.  In the photo, (top left) Marlys is holding up "Attic Treasures," pieced and hand-quilted for the 2002 Twin Cities Sale by Lena and Anna Ewert of the Carson MB Church, Delft, MN.   Notice the quilt on the wall behind Marlys.  She bought that quilt, made by Rosenort EMC quilters, at the Morris, Manitoba Sale.

Quilt Total

The seventy-seven bed quilts, comforters, wall-hangings, table toppers, display pieces, afghans and a rug were auctioned along with furniture, plants, framed paintings, weekends at a B & B, from 10:30 am to 4:00 pm.  For their part, the quilt items raised over $45,000.  The highest price of $3250 was paid for "Cluster of Grapes," a king-sized whole cloth hand quilted by Katie Wiens of Stillwater, MN.  "Bursting Flamingo Lily," the feature quilt, pieced and appliqued by Karen Hauff from the New Hope Church (MB), went for $2600.  It was machine quilted by Jane Paulson, Windom, MN.  "Minnesota Hot Dish," brought $1900 and was pieced by Elaine Unruh of Eagan, MN, and machine quilted by Monica Hofer, Freeman, SD. (see photo on the left)

Quilter Recognition

Marilyn Miller, shown at the podium with the quilt committee, in the background, announced many of the quilts during the auction.  The relatively small number of quilts afforded time to describe each quilt accurately and give it its due. Several times during the auction Miller thanked  quilters and church communities for their work and artistry.  She gave tribute to quilters who have quilted for MCC much of their adult lives.  She told stories associated with several of the quilts.  She recognized quilters in the audience, having them stand so we could express our appreciation. 

Hey!  What's Bill Gates doing at the silent auction in the computer lab?  Oh, those urban relief sales!  

Ongoing research questions for consideration:

1.  The Twin Cities sale not only accepts machine-quilted items, they actually outnumbered the hand -quilted ones and brought similar prices.  Does the urban setting encouraged machine quilting?  Do urban sales have fewer traditional church sewing circles on which they can depend to send quilts?

2.   Individual sponsorship of quilts was also a method used at the Twin Cities sale to increase the numbers of quilts.  What are the pros and cons of this practice? 

3.  Does taking time to recognize quilters, tell stories behind the quilts, and/or provide a  well-informed description of the quilt influence the prices that buyers are willing to pay?  Are some Relief Sale quilts bought for other reasons than their beauty and quality?

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