Sometimes it is the auctioneer who could be at fault.
Did the auctioneer give a good description of the item including the number of hours work and a "value" of the item?
How well did the auctioneer "work" the crowd?
Were there any auction assistants working the crowd as well? They help far more than you think (it's very hard to say to no to another $5 bid when the guy is looking you right in the eye from 2' away!!).
How well did the auctioneer/chairty adverstise the auction?
Other considerations are where this item was in the auction (firs? last???), the quantity of other items (even if this item was first - if the customers see 100 other items they're not going to spend all their $$ on the first item they see), and the quality and general value of the other items.
Last is the customer base. If at a church, is the congregation large or small? Is more than 50% of the congregation on a fixed income? Is more than 50% of the congregation over 60 (over 60 people tend to buy less for the home than those under 40). Also, if the auction was given by a special interest group (Church, Car Club, Alzheimers Foundation, etc) items that are related to the interest tend to generate more than items that are not. One exception to this rule are common household items that are typically free from design (ie a plasma TV, an espresso machine).
I've run quite a few auctions/raffles for a special interest group and have had good success.
Also keep in mind that auctions take time ... far more time than raffles. Sometimes it's best to hold both in conjunction with another, offering the lower price items on the raffle table (often in groupings), and higher valued items for auction. Sometimes when we've had items that were quite special we have had a separate raffle for just that item.
A big part of the reason is keeping the audience interested. The audience will all be interested in the raffle portion because they have to pay attention to hear their ticket number called. And there is not much time wasted between tickets. Auctions on the other hand can take several long minutes for each item and at least 90% of the audience is not interested in the item being auctioned and they lose interest. Generally to keep the audience on their toes we will work the raffle for perhaps 5 items drawn, then switch to an auction item, then go back to the raffle for a few more items - and so on. It keeps everyone interested because they don't know what is coming next.
One more idea to boost sales of quilted items at auctions - especially the smaller sized items like placemats, bags etc. Offer them not as a "quilted item" but as a "basket with placemats, S&P Shakers, Creamer and Sugar bowl", or a "Beach tote with two pairs of flip flops and two beach towels". People see more than 3 items together and they automatically see more value!!!
Some of the items I have successfully auctioned off:
A walking stick with hand carved dog on the top - $800.00
A knit cap (very simple pull over - nothing special) knit from dog hair - $350 (Seriously!!!)
A Barbie coloring book called "Barbie goes to the dog show" - $50
A lap size "Quillow" with a motif of our breed on the cover coupled with 2 matching pillow cases (no motif) - $500
One last thing about auction items in general ... without a doubt our biggest auction draw of all time - year after year are the "State Baskets". Our dog club is national and we gather once a year. We ask folks to donate a basket of items that are from their home state. These baskets draw a lot of interest, a lot of bidding wars, and a lot of fun!! We usually do a "silent" auction for these as otherwise it could take forever to get through them. Some of these baskets of goodies have gone for over $1000.00.
Happy auctioning/raffling!!