Originally Posted by MsEithne
Originally Posted by thrums
When I first arrived in TN local churches auctioned quilts and they went for $500 or more. Times have changed. Either people don't have the money or they don't appreciate/recognize the value of handcrafted items.
I think you're right.
When I was a child, my mother bought three quilts at silent auctions to benefit the Mennonite Aid society (we had friends who were Mennonites). I can't remember exactly what she paid but I know it was well over $100 per quilt, which was a lot more in the 1960s than it is now.
In the 1980s, that Mennonite Aid society stopped holding auctions for handmade items because people just weren't willing to bid fair prices for the items that were offered. They shifted to food sales (baked goods, jams, jellies, that sort of thing) and found it made more money.
Go figure.
Mennonite Relief still auctions quilts at their fundraiser in our area. They do well. Check out the gorgeous quilts at this weekend's sale:
http://www.tristatesale.org/