Amish quilts to be auctioned to cover medical expenses

Benefit event now in its 19th year

Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2008

These are names of just a few of the quilts that will be auctioned Saturday at the 19th annual Southern Maryland Amish quilt auction at the John Hertzler farm on Route 236 in Charlotte Hall.

The auction is a chance for the "English," as non-Amish are called, to buy a handcrafted item and, at the same time, to help raise funds for medical expenses for families in the Amish community.

"The first one we did was such a success," said auctioneer Rodney Thompson, "that they said why don't we do this again and help defray medical expenses? So we did." 

According to Thompson, there will be at least 100 quilts up for auction this year. In addition there will be tables and chairs, quilt racks, coat racks and hat hooks, blanket chests and plate holders as well as smaller quilted items. But the big draw, Thompson said, is the quilts.

"Many of the patterns are just beautiful and the work is so neat, so fine," he said. "Most of the quilts are signed, which helps when you are auctioning, because people want to know if this quilt was made by Magdalena or Sarah or Elizabeth."

Magdalena Stolftzfus, 69, who has been involved with the auction since its beginning, is one of the best known of the local Amish quilters. She has been quilting for more than 50 years. Her sister, Elizabeth Hertzler, started the first quilt auction.

"There are lots of people who are making quilts for the auction," Stolftzfus said. "I used to make more, but now, I make a very small percentage of them. I might have six big bed-size quilts this year and I will have some small wall hangings and lap quilts and then some smaller quilted items."

Most Amish women quilt, according to Stolftzfus. Some quilts have been put together in quilting bees, when friends and neighbors get together to sew, specifically for the auction. And, there are a few other quilts, submitted by individual quilters, as a way to make pin money for their own family.

Stolftzfus said she doesn't keep track of how many hours it takes her to make a quilt. Her signed work is recognizable by the vibrant colors and exquisite designs of her quilts.

"I like to piece quilts," she said.  "But I find the more I do, the less I know about it. There are so many different ways and different techniques and different things to work with.  Some patterns are more difficult, like the Baltimore Album quilt. When I made my first tumbling block quilt, I thought I would never make another one, but I have."

Stolftzfus works with a rotary cutter, a sharp tool similar to a pizza cutter, which helps quilters cut strips and geometric pieces more accurately. She said she likes arranging the colored pieces and patterns of the cotton material into quilt tops, leaving the actual quilting to others.

One of her quilts, a multi-colored tumbling block quilt, uses three different but complimentary shades of color in each block. Seventeen different rows of colored blocks framed diagonal strips make for a striking work of art.

Thompson said he and his son-in-law, Richard Menard, the other auctioneer from Homestead Auction in Hollywood, try to keep a party atmosphere going at the auction.

"It's probably the most exciting auction of the year and we try to make it a lot of fun," Thompson said. "The Amish have their own ring people. They use pulleys and hang every quilt up on a clothesline about eight feet in the air so everyone can see it. Everyone oohs and aahs and, by the time we sell that one, they have another quilt ready to go. We like to keep the auction moving right along. It builds excitement and that's what we want."

Magdalena Stolftzfus said she can remember a time when St. Mary's County was a sleepy little area.

"I came down here from Lancaster County (Pa.) with my parents when I was 9 years old," she said. "My grandparents lived here before we did. In 1939, it was really different. We didn't have the naval base and there weren't very many people living here. There were just a few houses here and there and hardly any traffic on the road."

Last year, according to Thompson, the auction attracted more than 800 bidders from all over the country, from Texas and California and the Midwest. The highest-priced quilt that he can remember sold for more than $3,200 although he noted that many items go for far less.

The quilt auction will start at 9 a.m., rain or shine, with the auctioneers checking in quilts as early

as 7 a.m. Buyers can pay cash, with checks, or with major credit cards. There is a 5 percent buyer's premium added to the final cost. There will be homemade food available and proceeds from the food sales will benefit local Amish schools.

Stolftzfus said she is sometimes surprised at how much money the quilts sell for at the auction, especially when two or more people are bidding on the same quilt or when the quilt is exceptionally beautiful.

"But, I think of the families who will be helped with the auction money, especially this year because we have some families with seriously ill children," Stolftzfus said. The Old Order Amish, as are many of those in St. Mary's County, traditionally do not have medical insurance.

"And, then, I look at the work on the quilt and I think it brings a fair price."

jmalene@somdnews.com