Attila the Archivist: January 2017

Okay, so here's the deal. I'm auctioning off this quilted throw as a fundraiser for the Society of American Archivists. SAA isn't sponsoring this in any way, this is just me as a member of the org. Proceeds will be given as unrestricted funds to the SAA Foundation.

Bid in the comments. Minimum bid is $100. Please, no bidding increments of less than $1.00. No anonymous bids (how will I know who won? Make sure your bid--or the first if you bid bunches--has something that will allow me to find you if you win.) Bidding will be closed on February 17, 2017 at midnight, AST. Highest bid at that point wins. I'll get in touch with the winner to confirm details. Winner will make the payment directly to the SAA Foundation and send me a copy of the receipt at which point I'll ship the quilt to the US, APO, or Canada address the winner designates.

The quilt is 62"x62", not bed size, but a good size for curling up on the couch. There's about $150 worth of fabric and supplies in it. I've put ~80 hours of work into it. The circle/squares are hand appliqued. The squares, borders, and binding are machine-sewn. It's hand-quilted. All by me. (I didn't weave the fabric as you might have guessed). The fabric and batting are 100% cotton. It's machine washable--use the gentle cycle and cold wash only with a gentle detergent--and can be tumble dried on cool.

And here's the story behind the quilt.

I learned to do the circle applique thing a few years back. I really don't like applique work, much less hand applique work, but for some reason I got into these circles. Especially after I discovered how portable the circle/squares were (meetings, airplanes, etc). And then last June I was in a local quilting store and tripped across the patterned fabric from the circles. And thought: archives-themed fabric? Perfect. And started in. Below are some of the stages in the construction. If you want to go through the whole story, I have an album of photographs on my Facebook page you can wander through.

It's been worked on in Grand Rapids MI (Meijer Botanical Gardens), Chicago IL, Atlanta GA, Juneau AK, Anchorage AK (mostly), Seward AK, in airports, homes, work meetings, hotels, car dealerships, doctor's offices and on the occasional outdoor bench.