Monday, July 1, 2013

Heather Ross You Are My Sister Benefit

Heather Ross held a benefit last night at Harts Fabric in Santa Cruz. The doors opened a little after 7pm and we were immediately greeted by Heather Ross herself! We were invited in for the cocktail reception and handed a list of Live Auction items. Tables were spread with some really amazing crafty items, some of them donated by Denyse Schmidt, Lotta Jansdotter, Martha Stewart, as well as local talent! Proof again that this is a very caring and generous community. 




I made a bee-line to the back of the store so I could see this with my own eyes. A Janome sewing machine hand painted by Heather herself. So amazing!! It was open for live bidding later that night.



Another item up for auction was this gorgeous quilt, "Jumbo-er Star", made by my friend Anne Sullivan (read all about it on her blog, Play Crafts). Further proof that inspiration is everywhere!! ; )




Also up for auction was a collaborative quilt made by members of the South Bay Area Modern Quilt Guild. Guild members made improv blocks using navy and low volume prints. You might recognize mine in there towards the bottom. A huge shout out goes to Karen, Susan, Susan and Tina who pieced the top, quilted and bound it in record time. Seriously, we had less than a month to pull this off!

For the silent auction, there were some really sweet little girl and baby items made with Heather's fabric that I caught my eye right away. Since my little girl is no longer a baby, and I knew I could never cut them up, or sell them on ebay, I left the bidding up to others. 

Image Source: Heather Ross

There were two gorgeous quilts I was tempted by, "Bolt" by my friend Karen Foster (Capitola Quilter) and a wholecloth quilt by Denyse Schmidt. For some reason, I felt weird bidding on quilts as a quiltmaker. Totally silly, I know. One of the hottest items was a ticket to Heather's sold out workshop in Palm Springs. It quickly sped out of my budget. 




I did end up bidding on (and won!) this awesome set of children's books that were donated by Simon & Schuster. It felt good to contribute and I knew my kids would really love them.





While walking around the raffle and silent auction tables you couldn't help but notice the giant surf board in the room. I think it was 8', but I am not a surfer girl, so don't quote me on that. It was a limited edition Walden Surfboard with Heather's iconic mermaid and octopus art work on it. I'm pretty sure this made everyone's hearts beat a little faster.





One raffle ticket was included for everyone attending the benefit. Additional tickets were sold in advance online and you didn't need to be present to win. There were some really good items on that table that I crossed my fingers that Heather would draw my name as the winner. I was not so lucky this time, but some friends won a Lotta Jansdotter gift pack and a a Cricut cutting machine.

I got to chat with so many nice people while we wandered around checking out the goods. Some I've known for years and some I got to meet for the first time after knowing them online. Yardage of Heather's newest line, Briar Rose, was available early. I already have a bundle from quilt market so I didn't buy any, but some of my friends did and that made me smile. One thing is for certain, we all love Heather's fabric!





The biggest giggles and gasps of anticipation came at the end of the night with the live auction. Heather admitted she had no experience as an auctioneer and solicited advice more than once. I think we were all just happy to play along and follow Heather's lead. I was excited to see who would get the sewing machine and the surf board. It turns out Heather's Dad won the sewing machine and my friend Emily won the surfboard! So jealous!! : )



I ended the night with goodbyes, a signed strawberry print and a goodie bag. It was a fun event filled with love, support and awesome fabric!



Previously blogged about here.


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4 comments:

  1. Wonderful recap of a very special night. I'm so excited to have won the Palm Springs workshop and was browsing photos from your time with Heather at the Ace. I don't really want it to be January already but I kind of do!

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  2. Loved reading this post. I bought an online raffle ticket as I wanted to support Heather and her sister especially since I am a BC survivor myself. Wish I could have been there in person. Sounds like it was a super fun night.

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  3. That sounds like so much fun! I love the book set. My daughters favorite book right now is "Chicka Chicka Boom Boom." We have read it so much they sing it to me! :-) Enjoy!

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  4. Wow, sounds like a terrifically fun night. I live way out of the way for any of these sensational kind of happenings. I am a cancer survivor so I love hearing about these creative fundraising endeavours. Thanks for sharing.

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