Sold! Part 2

Thanks to everyone who has followed the progress of Colorbox!

Before I reveal what the quilt sold for, I'd like to give a little overview on the rest of the sale. It is held each year on the campus of Fresno Pacific University (our son and daughter-in-law both graduated from this wonderful school). The food booths are set up in a large grassy area in the center of the campus. Friday, Fresno received some much-needed rain, and while everyone was happy for the rain, anyone involved in the sale would have asked for the timing to be a bit different. The sale starts at 4 p.m. on Friday afternoon, and the food vendors needed to set up their booths, many of which needed electricity. Rain and electricity--not a good combination. However, the rain finally eased up a little, the booths were set up, the food was prepared and the turnout was good, considering the weather.

Most of the sale itself is held in the special events center, aka the gym. There is a silent auction, some pre-priced comforters and other items, antiques and other treasures for sale.

The auctioneers get going on Friday night already, mostly with antiques and other items that aren't pre-priced.

Some curtains from the historic Ahwahnee Hotel in Yosemite (a marvelous hotel where presidents and the Queen of England have stayed) were up for bid. These curtain panels were 20 feet by 8 feet, and this one went for $500 (lots of really gorgeous fabric here--I'm envisioning tablecloths or tote bags).

Several quilts are hung on a pole for viewing, and the rest are draped over giant sawhorses. If you put on a little plastic glove, you are welcome to handle them, see what the back looks like, etc.

Saturday was a bit chilly. People got up early for the 7 a.m. 10k run/two-mile walk. Some stayed for the pancake breakfast. The food booths were busy.

Banks like these are available every year for people who want to save their spare change. It's a great way for children to learn the value of giving and helping those not so fortunate.

Our grandkids have their own banks and add money to them during the year. Here are our little "givers."

The main quilt auction starts Saturday morning at 9 a.m. There is a cool turntable-type contraption that is divided in half, with a bed on each side. About fifteen quilts are stacked on each bed. One by one, two volunteers hold up a quilt to show the front, and then the back, while an announcer gives pertinent information--the size, whether it is hand-quilted, machine-quilted, tied--anything that will give the potential bidder helpful information. And then the auctioneer begins his job.

Sorry these pictures are a little blurry

After the whole stack of quilts has been sold, the turntable rotates to show the bed on the opposite side, and the process starts over again--it's a very efficient system and keeps things moving.

The quilt auction stops at noon, when other special items are auctioned off. This year they drove in a '72 Porsche. I think it sold for over $5,000.

Colorbox was #216 in the program, so it didn't come up for auction until after 3:30. Here they are taking it down from the pole.

It's finally on the bed and ready for auction.

Now you can experience a little bit of the actual auction for yourself.

I was completely shocked that Colorbox sold for $5,900! My thanks to everyone who has shared the journey and to the person who purchased the quilt (who turned out to be someone I actually know!) Many lives will be helped by the money raised this weekend. I haven't heard the final tally yet, but usually over $250,000 is raised in this 24-hour period. In the meantime, we have eaten more yummy food than we care to admit (calories do NOT matter this weekend) and have connected with many friends and family. It's a win-win for everyone. 

And it's one of my favorite weekends of the year.

Mark and I would love to make an additional donation to MCC. You can help by leaving a comment here, and we will donate $1 for every comment (so tell your friends!)  Comments will be open until Saturday, April 21. Someone will win some fabric scraps. But the real winners will be needy people around the world. 

A few years ago Mark and I bought a couple of quilts at the MCC sale, really bright and colorful quilts. I have pondered what to do with them. When it comes to friends and family, I like to give quilts that have been made by me. So for the last couple of years these have been in a stack of quilts here at home, until Lynne from Lily's Quilts offered up this suggestion of giving something back, and I knew exactly where these two quilts were going. 

Siblings Together  is a UK charity dedicated towards promoting positive contact between siblings who have been separated by foster care. The trauma of separation from siblings and the lifelong impact this can have is too often overlooked. 'Siblings Together' aims to provide opportunities for planned, enjoyable, high quality contact. This is achieved initially through holiday camps, with the additional aims of building foundations for continued contact and educating a generation of social workers about the importance of sibling family contact.   My hope is that these two quilts will be enjoyed at one of the camps. (Lynne and Katy have a great giveaway opportunity, too, if you want to help.)

And it makes me feel like the goal of MCC is being paid forward to yet another part of the world.