Legacy Lodge employee Shelly Bray is a ferocious quilter. She’s been making quilts for 30 years, and she estimates she makes six a year (that’s 180 quilts, y’all). She’s only ever sold one quilt—going on two.
But she won’t see a single penny of the profits. Instead, Bray is auctioning her beautiful, queen-sized quilt to raise money for people who lost their homes in the Roosevelt fire.
Bray lives in Big Piney, and is part of a group of women in Sublette County. Several of those women lost their homes. A lot of them aren’t going to rebuild. And while Bray says the people of Sublette County have been nothing but supportive and generous, she felt like she needed to do something herself.
And what she’s good at is quilting. This particular quilt took almost a year to make. Bray guesses she’s put about 80 hour of work into it, and about $450 worth of materials.
“This one took a lot longer because I didn’t use a pattern,” Bray explained. She made her own pattern. In quilting, that takes a lot of time.
She wasn’t sure what she would do with it. She was holding onto it for a wedding, or a birthday—any gift-giving occasion, really. Then the fire happened. She knew exactly what to do with the quilt.
Bray will never see a penny of the sale. The highest bidder will write a check directly to the Lions of Wyoming Foundation, which helps individuals across the state.
The quilt is being auctioned on Legacy Lodge’s Facebook page. Those who don’t have Facebook but still want to bid can call Legacy Lodge, (307) 734-0500, and they will bid on your behalf. It will be proudly displayed and introduced at Legacy Lodge’s Oktoberfest celebration October 19 from 4:30-7 p.m., and will remain on display for those who want a peek. The starting bid is $500, but there’s already a $600 bid on the table. Bidding closes at 12 p.m. October 31.
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