SAMPLE AUCTION for Doctors Without Borders
A few weeks ago we marked the one-year anniversary of my mother-in-laws death. In both the grief of that loss and the celebration of her life, something that keeps coming up again and again is the love she had for making things. Cooking, growing, sewing. Now our home is filled with the evidence. There are plants in my garden grown from seeds she saved for me. "Grandmas best rice recipe" is the only one my kids will eat, and our beds and sofa are adorned with the most beautiful quilts. Not just ours - her best friend sent us a card mentioning the lovely handmade gifts she'd received over the years.
These tangible traces of her creativity, her knowledge, her personhood as a whole. Over the last year, adding the finishing touches to the child's quilt she’d been working on, I've frequently stopped to ponder their significance and how they surpass the initial act of making or giving. How blessed we are to have them to hold on to, to remember. For the past two months, also, I've dwelled on the scores of Gazan makers and givers that have been reduced to horrifying numbers.
Limbs, deaths, orphans. Displacement, disease, starvation. Where are their traces, the mothers who embroider (honoured in this beautiful piece I came across a few days ago)? What's happened to the statuettes painstakingly, lovingly carved out of olive wood? Who's there to savour the steaming pans of musakhan? And what on earth do you do when both maker and recipient are gone? To me, creating is as important as breathing, but it seems rather trite to say that when I'm able to focus on far more than just survival.
I feel it is only right, then, to do what I can in the best way I know how. On the 22nd of December - Winter Solstice and one of my absolute favourite celebrations of the year - I will be auctioning off a shawl and a cardigan sample.
75% of the auction proceeds, as well as all crochet pattern sales until 31 December, will be donated to Doctors Without Borders. I am keeping the remaining 25% to pay myself a small salary and to cover things like postage.
If you're interested, please do read all the details below carefully. And don’t forget, if you can't place a bid, you can still contribute by sharing this article and/or my social media posts.
Would you rather make your own crocheted garments and accessories? At the very end of this post I’ve added links to a selection of my favourite designs.
W H A T
ITEM ONE - ilo. Cardigan
A swingy, A-line cardigan with a delightful contrast collar, hem and cuffs. Handcrocheted by Designer Eline Alcocer using pure, soft alpaca yarn.
Size - finished bust circumference 92cm / Length 58.5cm
Starting bid 75EUR
ITEM TWO - Dawn to Dusk Shawl
A stunning show-piece of a shawl to flounce around in all day, and maybe all night too. Handcrocheted by Designer Eline Alcocer using pure wool and a blend of wool/nylon and mohair/nylon.
Size - 160cm wide / 72cm deep
Starting bid 50EUR
W H E R E
The auctions will take place here, in the comments section of this blog post.
W H E N
Friday 22 December. Bidding will open at 9:00 CET, and close at 21:00 CET. Bids received after this point will not be valid. The highest bid wins.
H O W
To bid, simply leave a comment stating the item you are bidding on, and how much you would like to pay (please note the starting bids). Once bidding has ended, the winner will be notified via email. Payment will be due via PayPal within 5 days of this email being sent out. Non-payment after this date will result in the next highest bidder winning the item.
Postage - I will cover postage to anywhere in the world, but please note that the bidder is responsible for any import fees.
A N D F I N A L L Y
Let me be clear.
I cannot and will never understand what it feels like to be Jewish or Palestinian. To offer my opinion as a white person in the global North would not be a valuable contribution, to say the least. What I will state, however, is that I am against the oppression, abduction and murder of any peoples in any circumstances, and that I fully support calls for an immediate and lasting ceasefire.
