Quilt auction nets $166,180

A quilt made by Sally Stecher of Hooper helped raise $39,500 for Carol Joy Holling Camp at the camp’s 20th annual quilt auction on Saturday.

Hundreds of quilters from across Nebraska and neighboring states put in thousands of hours creating quilts of all shapes and sizes, from decorative wall hangings to king-size creations. Quilts sold from

$25 to a record $20,000. More than 800 attended the event at the camp near Ashland.

The quilt selling for the highest bid was the first quilt made by Stecher. The winning bidder, LaVonne Loseke of Kearney, then gave her bid amount to the camp and offered the quilt to the next highest bidder, Judy Miller of Cozad, for her $19,500 bid. Miller agreed, making the total raised from Stecher’s quilt $39,500.

A record $166,180 was raised at the auction. Included in the grand total of $166,180 was more than $30,000 in sponsor support. The previous high of $125,000 was set last year.