Several husbands lent a hand
On the hottest night in 3 years, a number of guild members and a few happy-to-help-us-get-rid-of-stuff husbands put on a quilters' attic sale at the July meeting of the Charlotte Quilters Guild.
I rented 3 tables at $5 each to help move some of my stash into other hands. Rent money went to support our guild library.
Jeri setting up
After bringing our supplies in, we tried to set up our sales in appealing ways. Folks used different approaches and had quite a variety quilt related items to sell. Always fun to see what others are getting rid of.
Wish I had seen the Elna Press
I wish I had spotted this press in my quick circle around the tables. That might be a very nice addition to my studio equipment.
Yummy hand dyes
And I am always a sucker for beautiful hand-dyed fabrics.
Color coordinated bundles in zip lock bags
This was my set up, easy to put together and remove again.
Organized on bolts
Thank goodness my stash is in smaller amounts, lots of different fabrics, but little that would go onto bolts.
Colorful bins and neatly folded fabrics well labeled
Some of the folks knew how to make a very inviting display.
Magazines and books
Conversation over quilts for sale
Lots of conversation and fun around the room. More talking than buying was the reality.
Conversations and fun amidst the hunt
Probably the most accurate comment of the night was made by one wag: "A quilters' attic sale is like holding open bar at Alcoholics Anonymous."
Most of us at least paid for our tables. I made enough to pay for an artist assistant for a couple more afternoons. I will now donate all the fabric, patterns and tools to continue moving stuff out. That will give me 9 drawers that are empty.
And that moves much out of our garage, which is my reserve space for my studio overflow. Would love to be able to put at least one car in the 2 1/2 car garage this winter.
Anyone with experience in donating lots of fabric, please share what you learned in the process.
Also, what do you think about a press?
Happy Quilting
Nancy
Posts
I have a LOT of experience donating stuff, since I have moved around the country way too many times. Before the last move, I put all of my old quilt magazines that I hadn't looked at in years in a few boxes marked FREE and placed them at my guild's sign-in desk. They were gone to good homes before the meeting started. I also used freecycle.com to find good homes for fabric, patterns, etc. The local women's prison also gratefully accepts quilt fabric. It's a good feeling to give it away to those who need it. Hope this helps.
ReplyDeleteSherrie, thanks for the ideas.
ReplyDeleteI just donated 162.5 yards of fabric to the Matthews Help Center. You are right, it feels great. Just like when cutting long hair short, lighter and freer. Nancy
Glad you made something off the sale...the thought of carting my stuff and still bringing much of it back, plus the temptation to buy from others had me staying home last week.
ReplyDeleteGrace, the bulk of the sales were made at the end of the evening -- and many of them were made to each other. I did not buy anything. Don bought a few beads. But it did take discipline.
ReplyDeleteHe would not do it again, I probably would, but only after inviting special people to help me sort it out first. That worked well.
Nancy