May 2025: PA Relief Sale Quilt Auction

An applique quilt showing a colorful array of tulips in a wooden cart or buggy. A bluebird perches on the cart’s handle. — One of the handmade quilts donated for sale.

In our Spotlight series, we take a closer look into the kaleidoscope of traditional arts in Central Pennsylvania and the work of artists featured in our Folk Artists Gallery. Last month, folklorist Amy Skillman visited the Pennsylvania Relief Sale, an annual quilt auction that supports humanitarian work around the globe. It’s a family-friendly event centered around one of the most enduring cultures in our region.

For anyone who loves quilts and other handwork, the annual Pennsylvania Relief Sale is a must. Held on an April weekend, the event begins at 4pm on Friday evening and ends at 3pm Saturday afternoon. More than just an exhibition and auction of quilts, the event features food, live choral music, a plant sale, quilting supplies, and the contagious joy of quilt enthusiasts in a creative calico wonderland. What began on a farm in Berks County, now fills all 172,000 square feet of the Giant Exposition Hall at the Farm Show Complex in Harrisburg, and the auctions are even live-streamed for bidders who cannot be there in person.

A cultural staple in our region since 1957, the Pennsylvania Relief Sale reflects generations of Central PA traditions of handwork, foodways, gardening, games, and music.

The Pennsylvania Relief Sale is a non-profit organization that donates the proceeds from the sale of quilts to the Mennonite Central Committee to support their work in peacebuilding, food insecurity, and climate adaptation around the world. 2025 proceeds will support a farming partnership in Haiti, nutrition programs in Ethiopia, and emergency food packages for displaced people in Palestine.

A colorful geometric quilt. The design features columns of squares, each a different bright-colored print fabric. Each square contains a smaller square of a contrasting fabric. Each column is offset vertically from the next, so that the edges of one column's squares are aligned with the mid-lines of the next column's squares. — A colorful geometric quilt.

Made by hand

All the quilts are handmade and donated by the quilt makers. Artists can submit either a pieced top or a fully assembled quilt. Before the sale, pieced tops are finished by quilters at the Cumberland Valley Relief Center (Chambersburg) or the Mennonite Relief Center (Ephrata). Once completed, the quilts are assigned a bid number and labeled with the name of the pattern, the year it was made, and the artists who pieced and/or quilted it. Many also carry the signature of the artists on a small piece of fabric sewn to the back.

At left, a small part of an applique quilt featuring a pair of chickadees sitting on a pine branch. At right, a detail of the back corner of the quilt, with a hand-written label giving the quilt's title, the person who made the top (Dorothy Crider) and the person who quilted it (Marie Eby). The quilt was made in 2015 in Chambersburg, PA The birds are facing each other, and are made in solid grays and buff. The background is quilted in diamonds, and is a subtle floral stencil print in gray and tan The label also has a hand-drawn chickadee on a branch. — "The Chickadees", a quilt made by Dorothy Crider and quilted by Marie Eby.

Row upon row

The quilts are hung side-by-side in as many as six or seven long rows, depending on the number of quilts donated for sale. When you enter this curtained-off section of the exposition hall, you are offered a catalog and a disposable glove. The catalog helps you keep track of the quilts in case you want to bid on one. The glove is provided in case you want to touch the quilts, to keep your natural skin oils off the artwork and keep the quilts pristine.

Quilts are displayed hanging over a long clothes-line. The one in the foreground is a common wagon wheel pattern, circles with different-colored spokes against a white background. This quilt is designed to look like a stack of wagon-wheel quilts, with some of the wheels covered by the white backgrounds of other wheels. — A row of quilts on display

Despite the fairly industrial atmosphere of the exposition hall, there is something warm and magical about being surrounded by hundreds of quilts.

Visitors wander the rows, marveling at the range of designs, taking photos of those they find particularly inspiring, and meeting up with friends. I have often come across women I met from the African American Quilters Gathering of Harrisburg, meandering among the quilts. We stop and chat for a bit, commenting on designs we especially love, and catching up on current projects.

Quilts are displayed hanging over a long clothes-line. The one in the foreground is alternating horizontal strips of black and bright colors. The colors are selected to create arcs of color centered on the far edge of the quilt, shadingfrom lavendar to blue to yellow to red. — Another row of quilts on display

Of the 252 quilts in the auction this year, 30 were vintage quilts ranging from the 1890s to the 1940s. There were small quilts, wall hangings, and quilts for all bed sizes. Designs range from the traditional, such as the Double Wedding Ring, to the whimsical, such as this year’s favorite, Veggie Cats, in which each square was a cat in the shape of a vegetable. Many of the quilts have appliqué or embroidery added to the designs, and some use the fabric in extraordinary ways.

A montage of six quilt patterns. Top left is two squares of Veggie Cats: an orange cat curled in the shape of a pumpkin, and a maroon cat curled in the shape of an eggplant. Top center has blue swirls like cresting waves between long-pointed stars. Top right is a crazy quilt, with various shapes sewn together and ornately embroidered. Bottom right is a white quilt with a formal embroidered pattern of a stylized flower. Bottom center is bright-colored flowers appliqued on green. Bottom left has blue-green zigzags alternating with bright-colored zigzags. — The quilts showcase a wide variety of designs and techniques, from patchwork to applique to embroidery.

There is always at least one whole-cloth quilt, made from a single piece of off-white cotton muslin or linen, and hand-quilted in a remarkable pattern. These show off the quilter’s needlework skills, whereas pieced quilts show off the creator’s sense of color or creativity in design. The stitching that holds the top, batting, and bottom together is done either by hand or with a machine, and it is fun to hear the visitors speculate about how the work was done.

A closeup of a 'whole cloth' quilt, all white, with an elaborate pattern of quilting. — The artistry of a whole-cloth quilt is in its stitching.

This year, the quilt that stopped me in my tracks was called Labyrinth Walk. It reminded me of the optical illusions in an M.C. Esher drawing. The sensibility and creativity to design such a piece is astonishing.

A quilt done in tan and black, that uses contrast and geometry to create an illusion of depth. Some of the quilt squares look like nested boxes; some look like a maze with lots of dead ends. Those two designs alternate. — "Labyrinth Walk" uses contrast and geometry to create an illusion of depth.

The bidding begins!

Eventually, the quilts are moved to the auction stage where they are displayed on a quilt stand (Saturday’s auction) or held between two volunteers (Friday’s auction). Two or three auctioneers take turns selling the pieces, while a team sits at computers tracking the online bidding. Winning bids can be modest (as low as $135), but some quilts have brought in over $1000. In 2024, the Pennsylvania Relief Sale donated $340,000 to the Mennonite Central Committee from the auction.

An auctioneer encourages bidding while two young women display a quilt between them. The auctioneer is a slim woman with shoulder-length hair, wearing a black blazer and plaid skirt. The young women's dresses are in the modest Mennonite style, with hoodies for the cool day. They each have their air pulled back in a bun, and wear a plain bonnet of translucent netting over it. The quilt is approximately 4 feet square with nine large but realistic butterflies. — Two volunteers display a quilt during the auction.

A cultural experience

An array of whoopie pies for sale: individually wrapped sandwiches of large soft cookies with a thich layer of cream filling between them — A Central PA classic: whoopie pies

More than a quilt auction, the Pennsylvania Relief Sale is a chance to experience the culture of the Mennonite community. Dinner is one of the reasons to go! The food is a journey through rural Central PA kitchens: chicken corn soup, sausage sandwiches, baked potatoes smothered in your choice of toppings, homemade donuts, fruit and green salads, home-churned ice cream, apple dumplings, and strawberry pie by the slice.

If you want to take something tasty home with you, you can purchase homemade baked goods from whoopie pies to bread, locally produced cheeses (the cheddar was fabulous), ten different kinds of whole pies, native plants for spring gardening (herbs as well as flowering plants), and quilting supplies in the Quilters Attic.

There is also a stand that sells lots of handmade items suitable for gifts. This year I found a crocheted lap blanket for $15. Not only was the price incredibly reasonable, but the design was inspiring. Perhaps I’ll be able to replicate the stitches.

Families are welcome, with a children’s area for games and its own auction where children (with adult accompaniment) can bid on toys, books, and games. Music is provided by the Weaverland Mennonite Conference Youth Choir, featuring well over 100 high school youths singing hymns in four-part harmony. Hearing these young people make beautiful music together is one of the highlights of the event.

Over 100 teenagers stand on risers, holding open books as they sing a hymn. — The Weaverland Mennonite Conference Youth Choir performs

Mark your calendar for 2026!

Next year’s PA Relief Sale, scheduled for April 17 and 18, 2026, will be their 70th. You might go for the quilts or the food, but you’ll come away with insights into one of the most enduring cultures in our region.