When I'm thrifting online I often see quilts that most folks probably should not bid on. Take this vintage crazy quilt: it looks authentic, and likely dates back to the early 20th century.
What I see: it appears to be made out wool and homespun fabrics that (like the materials in most authentic crazy quilts) are deteriorating, and it's probably never been laundered. Dirty wool and homespun tends to reek. You can't launder something like this; it will fall to pieces and/or shrink. Finally, while the construction is interesting it's not very well done, and the embroidery isn't special enough to merit saving the quilt.
Here's a more modern patchwork quilt that appears folded up in all the photos. This is either to hide damage or staining, or perhaps because it measures 94" X 106" (according to the listing.) Whatever the reason, never thrift a quilt unless you can see all of it front and back.
Here's a quilting project that I think went terribly wrong. The idea was quite ambitious, but the execution, not so much.
Also why you should see the back of what you're bidding on: very often it shows the problems you can't see from the front, like the off-center stitching and wonky assembly.
It's always buyer beware at thrift auctions. I'm seeing a bunch of very pretty quilts being auctioned this week, and the bidders are swarming and fighting over them. I just noted two double wedding ring quilts in one lot that have a current bid of over $200.00. The sad thing is that those two quilts are likely imported, and definitely not worth that kind of money.
Image credit: all the pics in this post came from the original auction listings at ShopGoodwill.com.
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