Called to Serve: November 2017

Greg got a bidding number and we looked at all the quilts, and then the auction began. The big, chilly, warehouse had a huge log stove in the back. Most folks brought in lap blankets, I'm glad we had one in the car. There were about 800 people there. There were three young men doing the calling, with four young men down on the floor watching for bids. They were fun to watch and looked like they were having a ball, doing "something" different for a change. We set next to a couple who had been before and he explained the first quilt would tell whether the quilts would go higher or lower. This year, they went lower, which was nice for the buyers, not for the Amish. They put a quilt on a board and raised it up, so they could turn it and everyone could see the quilt being auctioned. The embroidery on all of them was amazing, you could see the detail when they turned the quilt around. The pictures don't in any way do the quilts justice.

Our Quilt

November 18, 2017

We got up before dawn, and drove to southern Maryland for an annual Amish Quilt Auction. We were advised to be early to get a good seat, which we did. The Amish community in southern Maryland is part of less than a dozen "Old Order Amish" communities in the United States. They speak a German dialect, along with the young speaking English. They live very conservatively, no electricity, cars, or phones. They sew all of their clothing. They do not have churches as they worship in their homes. They make Amish quilts for their own use, and "English" quilts for sale. Their dry goods store has a shelves with materials for Amish quilts, very plain fabrics, and shelves with fabrics for "English" quilts. They do not piece their Amish quilts, but they do embroider them. With "English" quilts, they can do whatever they want to make them more valuable for sale. They have treadle sewing machines, which they can use to piece, but all embroidery is done by hand. They do not make log cabin, wedding ring, mariner's compass, or any other famous quilt name for themselves, only for the "English." They did not advertise the auction, but the Southern Maryland tourism lists it on their calendar. So it's pretty much word of mouth.

The auctioneers were from an Amish community in Pennsylvania.

They had a sound system, probably hooked up to a generator which is allowed

for certain occasions, especially if trying to sell products. For example, at their

farmer's market they have refrigerators, which is required by law. The wreaths

on the front were auctioned off, as were wooden products made by younger men.

The quilters are bringing their quilts in to be numbered and hung up

on the lines behind the sign-up table. Everyone, including children,

had hats, scarves, or white caps. The only color the women wore was their

skirts, so you can see the color from the back, the front being covered by

black aprons. It was chilly, so all had jackets on. The men had colored shirts.

I could tell made very well, very nice looking. There were no zippers.

The pants and jackets all had buttons. Most of the men had beards.
They also sold breakfast sandwiches (yummy),chicken tenders
(amazing, nothing like McD's) breads, cookies, and pies.