Texas Two Step

We arrived at the Menno Mennonite Church grounds late Friday afternoon.  We were able to do most of our quilter interviews before and after an outdoor buffet dinner on a beautiful and cool Washington country evening.  Sharon is seen here speaking with veteran quilters Clara Reimer and Dorothy Franz.  In talking with Jeanne Rempel, pastor of Evergreen Mennonite Church in Bellevue, WA, we learned that their church quilt top, the Texas Two Step, was bought in Archbold, OH but hand-quilted by  women from her church during a weekend retreat together on the coast.  It brought $550. 

In the buffet line, we introduced ourselves to the woman in front of us.  She was Holly Laurens.  This is the second year that Holly who lives in Kallispel, MT had a quilt in the sale.  Three years ago, she attended her first sale and "dreamed as I sat there on the bench" of donating a quilt.  Last year, "I couldn't breathe" she explained as she watched her Lone Star sell for $1700.  This year Holly and her her church, Mt. View Mennonite, completed a Rose of Sharon in four months.  The 84 x 104 quilt (detail right) sold for $800.

"Do I love fabric!" exclaimed  Elizabeth Claussen, chair of the quilt committee, when we asked about her feelings toward fabric.  At the sale, Elizabeth and her committee were responsible for receiving and tagging over 60 items, setting up the display, and announcing each quilted item as it came up for auction at various intervals within the of the larger auction held outdoors. 

At the Saturday auction,:  The quilts alone totaled over $20,000.  When added to seven fleece throws ( made by Junior High campers at Camrec), afghans, and tied comforters, the total grows to $24,950.  The highest price of $1900 was garnered by Weaver's Fever, a Pennsylvania-made quilt donated by Menno Women in Mission (Ritzville).  A Rose of Sharon, quilted by an Amish woman in Rexford, MT and donated "anonymously"  by a Montana Mennonite, brought $1500.  An Appliquéd Basket/Log Cabin and the now-familiar Hired Man's Quilt, both made by the MCC Quiltroom (Ephrata) each brought $1400. An Amish Nine-Patch, bought in Pennsylvania and donated by Debbie Shank Miller, went for $1300.  See thumbnails of these quilts directly below.

We can't resist those close-up shots of intricate piecing and stitching.  On the left are are (in order top to bottom) the Amish Nine-Patch, a Postage Stamp Quilt, and Circle Upon Circle.

Quilter's Corner:  A popular and profitable enterprise at a growing number of sales is Quilter's Corner.  The open-air booth at the Mennonite Country Auction was a big hit.  Fabric remnants, orphan blocks, quilt books, partially finish projects, quilting, and sewing tools, vintage quilt tops, cotton fat-quarters patterns and much more were snatched up in no time.

In an interview with Diane Gering, one of the several founders of the Mennonite Country Auction twenty-seven years ago, we learned that her mother made a Nine-Patch quilt that sold for $80.  We also discovered that the three couples who got this sale going all had served with MCC somewhere in the world.  We wondered aloud whether having served with MCC motivates many of the volunteers at not only this sale, but at all sales in the U.S. and Canada. 

One of the ways we increase the number of photos in our archive is to take photos of photos that quilters have kept of sale quilts over the years.   Seen below are Dorothy Franz and Clara Reimer quilting in 1993, a Dresden Plate from 1981 and a whole cloth quilt sold at the second Ritzville sale in 1979.  If any one recognizes the women in the later two photos, please notify us. 

If you have photos from past sales and would be willing to share them with us, it would be greatly appreciated.  One of our research questions is how quilts have or have not changed over the years of sale quilting.

Ongoing research questions for consideration:

Thousands upon thousands of quilts must have been made and auctioned over the years that MCC Sales have been held.  We have found that many quilters or sale committees took or kept records of prices, totals, or photos.  Some of the quilts may have worn out long ago and have been taken apart or simply thrown out.  Do you know of any stories about old sale quilts in your family?  Do you have or know of sale quilts that were auctioned at sales no longer in existence?  What do you know about the early sale quilters in your family or of the sales you have attended?  Such information is important not only in knowing the history of sale quilts but also to learn how quilters may have understood their work and contribution to peace and world. relief.

To discuss these questions, join the discussion.