Virginia A. Spiegel

Logo by Jeanelle McCall

Let the shopping begin!  Well, OK, not until 11 a.m. CST today.  But you can go and see all the fiber-related themed totes now here and the auction will take place on the very same page.

For the big ToteTuesday finale we have 16 themed totes and five individual art works.  Of course, everything is one-of-a-kind and, of course, it’s a fundraiser with 100% donated directly to the American Cancer Society.

What more could you ask for?   WELL, I refuse to list retail value for every tote, but here are a few examples of how generous the sponsor/donors have been:

Art Cloth Extravaganza:  A Dream Tote sponsored by the well-known Art Cloth Studios of San Antonio have donated over $450 of art cloth and surface design supplies. The opening bid will be $275 AND if the winning bid for their tote is the highest bid of the day, the generous artists will send the winner ANOTHER $500 in art cloth.  (See other bidding bonuses here.)

Fancy Ladies sponsored by Karey Bresenhan and the International Quilt Festival Team has an opening bid of $99 and includes a highly embellished tote by Judy Murrah. Everything in this tote was hand-selected by Karey herself AND includes a small artwork by Pamela Allen.

To the Studio sponsored by Peggy Schroder.  You will just have to zip on over to the auction page to believe what Peggy has stuffed in to the tote by Eleanor Levie.  Books, CDs, art supplies, art work by Beth Wheeler.  Opening bid: $179.  Last time I checked with Peggy, she was over $450 in retail value.

We also have several totes with opening bids in the $59 – $99 range, again due to the generosity of sponsor and donors.  Can you tell that we want YOU to join in the fun of fundraising for the American Cancer Society?

See you today at 11 a.m. CST and thank you for your support of this Fiberart For A Cause fundraiser for the American Cancer Society.

Logo by Jeanelle McCall

The Preview for the big finale of ToteTuesday is now open here.  Bookmark this page as it will be the site of the ToteTuesday auction tomorrow.

Fabric To Dye For sponsored by Frieda Anderson

There are sixteen fiber-related themed totes and five artworks up for bid.  The auction opens at 11 a.m. CST tomorrow, Tuesday, February 23.  Bidding closes at 2:00 p.m. CST.  Are you ready to bid?

Color Me Bright tote sponsored by Marilyn H. Wall and Judith Heyward

with this padfolio by Beth Wheeler:

We have already raised more than $9000 for the American Cancer Society with ToteTuesday.  Official goal: $12,000.  Secret goal: $15,000!

Fiberart For A Cause has donated more than $190,000 to the American Cancer Society since 2005.

Logo by Jeanelle McCall

Perhaps I have been watching way too much of the Olympics, but the spirit of competition (for a good cause, of course) is upon me.  Let’s spice up the ToteTuesday with a bidding twist and some bonuses:

GOLD MEDAL ROUND TOTES: There will be four totes with no Go For The Gold bids. They will be in head-to-head competition to raise the most money for the ACS during the ToteTuesday finale. Check back here tomorrow for the link to the auction page with all the details.

BONUS REWARDS:

1. Any patron with a winning bid of $350 or higher on one tote/artwork will receive four wonderful quilting books from FFAC’s Honorary Chair, Karey Bresenhan: Creative Quilting: The Journal Quilt Project; I Remember Mama: A Book of Love About Mothers, Daughters and Quilts; Celebrate Great Quilts!; and America From the Heart.

2. Every patron who wins a tote with a bid of $1000 or more may choose either one of my famous “never sold, only gifted” fabric bundles (The fabric bundles are hard to explain, but think of origami <kind of> with my own fabrics and specialty fibers wrapped and packaged in a way that makes some recipients say they don’t want to start unwrapping it at all) in the winner’s choice of colorway OR one of these artworks OR one collage ($75 or less) from Karen Stiehl Osborn’s Mixed Media Gallery.

3. If Art Cloth Extravaganza: A Dream Tote raises the most money during ToteTuesday 4, the generous artists of Art Cloth Studios will send the winner an additional $500 or more of art cloth.

4. Peggy Schroder will donate 10% of the winning bid (up to $1000) for the Think Pink tote to the American Cancer Society through Fiberart For a Cause.

5. If we raise a total of $15,000 from ToteTuesday, I will hold a drawing among all winning bidders from all the ToteTuesdays. The winner may choose one of these artworks OR one of my never sold, only gifted fabric bundles (description above).

Logo by Jeanelle McCall

The big ToteTuesday finale will be this coming Tuesday, February 23.  Mini-previews of all the totes/artwork are here. A link to the ToteTuesday full auction preview will be posted here on my blog on Monday, February 22.

Below are a few of the snazzier totes for ToteTuesday.  Of course all these totes have themed contents as well :

Altered Cloth –  Discharged Tote sponsored by Sue Kelly. Tote created by Sue Kelly from her black and white discharged fabric and stitched with metallic thread.

Judy Murrah, International Quilt Festival’s Vice-President of Education and author of many books on special garments, like Jacket Jazz, donated the tote (shown in the center of the photo) for  the Fancy Ladies tote.  From Karey Bresenhan, tote sponsor, “The tote is as lush on the back as it is on the front – an embellisher’s dream tote.”

Laura Osbun’s gorgeous tote was custom-made for the theme of Journey By Water.  Forty-fifty batiks were collaged, sewn, and embellished in a wave pattern. Note the coordinating accessories, also by Laura.

Kathleen Murphy’s fancy paisley tote sparkles with Swarovski Crystals. Appropriately enough Kathleen donated this tote for the Glitterati tote sponsored by Peggy Schroder.

Logo by Jeanelle McCall

ToteTuesday 4 on February 23 is our big finale and, appropriately enough, we have MORE of everything you loved about ToteTuesday 1-3.

Themed totes:  Check.  There will be SIXTEEN up for bid.  Preview them all here with links on how to bid, etc.

Individual artwork:  Check.  There will be FIVE with two small artworks in one Celebrate Life! tote.

Need some examples of how BIG ToteTuesday 4 will be?

Art Cloth Extravaganza: A Dream Tote sponsored by Art Cloth Studios
Retail Value:  Over $450

To The Studio sponsored by Peggy Schroder
Retail value over $450 with Peggy still thinking about sneaking a few MORE things in.

The Wide World of Quilts 2 sponsored by Karey Bresenhan and the International Quilt Festival Team
Value:  Impossible to calculate as this tote is stuffed with art and fabric donated by artists from around the world PLUS Karey’s hand-selected items.

I Felt It! sponsored by Carol Myers who is “offering this tote in support of Teri Springer, my dear friend, who is on a healing path with breast cancer.”
Value of supporting Teri Springer and the American Cancer Society: Priceless