Back in September our Relief Society had a service auction. Everyone was to come with something that they could auction off, either already made or a service to be performed after. The "money" was determined by filling out a survey -- the more points, the more money to spend.
We got the chance to look over the items before the auction part started, and I knew exactly what I was going for: 3 different people were offering an evening of babysitting. With young women in short supply around here, a date night was very needed! I ended up spending $400, almost all of my money, and it was SOOO worth it! In October Ryan and I enjoyed a nice evening out, had a great babysitter, and didn't have to pay for it!
I decided to auction off a quilt. Since I didn't have any pre-made (I am still behind on a few projects!), I offered to make the winner a quilt. She could pick the design and fabrics and I'd make a baby, wall, or lap quilt. If she wanted bigger than that, I would do it but she would need to help pay for it.
Since I didn't have any examples there, and since our monthly Quilting Group is poorly-attended, I had no idea how many people would be interested in my service. As the items were auctioned off, mine still hadn't been auctioned, and I knew people were running out of money. I knew not to take it personally since we were nearing the end, but I braced myself for the quilt to sell for very low. The low end was $100 and things selling on the high end were going for $400-500, so I prepared mentally for the quilt to sell for $150-200.
When my item came up, I was shocked at what happened. Two women had apparently been waiting just for my item. After a handful of people bid through the first few hundred dollars, these two women had an all-out bidding war! When the price went over $500, one of them even acquired more money from people at her table so that she could win! I don't remember exactly now, but the winning bid was just over $600 -- it was the highest item of the night. Wow.
It turns out that the winner, Sherilyn, has a daughter getting married December 4. (They are fairly new to the neighborhood, so I didn't know about it before.) She really wanted a quilt for her, but had no one on either side of the family that could make it. I'm sure my eyes got really big when she said the wedding date -- that was basically 2 months to make a queen-sized quilt! What did I get myself into?!
I met with Sherilyn and her daughter Brittany. I'm glad that she got to pick the design she wanted (we looked at ones that wouldn't be TOO time-consuming to pull off in 2 months) and that we went to the store and she picked all the fabrics. That way she is sure to love it, right?
Sherilyn made sure to send her 11-year-old daughter over a few times to play with Joshua and Elizabeth so that I could work on the quilt. I finished this morning -- I met my personal deadline of getting it done before Thanksgiving! And when she came to pick up the quilt, Sherilyn brought over homemade jam and homemade pumpkin pie -- yum!
The whole quilt
detail of the stitching
5 comments:
It's beautiful! You are so talented, I could never make anything like that. Can't wait to see you and the family at Christmas :)
Wow! that's beautiful and I can't believe you got that done so fast! Do you do your own quilting on the top?
Jennifer, it is beautiful! I am very impressed. I don't think I could ever make a quilt. Nice work. :) What an awesome auction item.
Wow! That turned out beautiful - but I knew it would. Way to get it done within your timeline too. It looks awesome and I am sure she will LOVE it!
That is amazing. You are amazing. You've inspired me to try to work on projects of my own and stop thinking that keeping my house clean is my project every day. Much more fun!
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