All - I was able to purchase some needed tools, some reference books and a few pieces of fabric. A few other quilters had been through the lady's stash and removed the higher quality cotton before I got there. She had several unquilted tops. Her family had no idea what the value of anything was and it was heart breaking to see folks walking off with the hand-pieced tops for $10 ea! I don't think this lady EVER threw away a quilting magazine or scrap of fabric. She had several books on redwork and Sunbonnet Sue so I passed along the Quilting Board address as I've seen interest in that here. She knit and crocheted too so there was also LOTS of yarn. Don't exactly need that in Houston these days!!
BTW - they also had an unquilted muslin top, with some smaller colored pieces of fabric (probably cut from clothing), all hand-pieced by family members in the 1940's. I think it was originally made as a utility quilt, but I asked them to hang onto it and not sell it for $10 !! The Quilt Show will be in Houston in November and maybe they can get a professional opinion on it's value.
These were blue collar oil-patch folks. The lady had travelled around the world with her husband who joked if he made $50,000 in a year, she spent $75,000 on fabric! Told him it was an "affliction" all quilters had. We just have to find the right men to love us anyway!