ELLSWORTH – A special quilt signed by 55 noteworthy Mainers sold this week on eBay for $2,275, leaving the ladies who crafted it short on their fundraising goal for making their church accessible for people in wheelchairs.

A unidentified bidder from the Ellsworth area won the quilt, which was signed by authors Stephen and Tabitha King, racecar driver Ricky Craven, fishing boat captain Linda Greenlaw and many others. It was created and put up for sale by The Busy Bodies, a crafters group from the First Congregational Church that hoped to use the proceeds from the sale to make the 159-year-old building wheelchair-friendly.

Peggy Smith, secretary of the crafters group, said the price was nice, but the quilters were hoping their handiwork would bring in several thousand dollars to be used toward the construction costs. The ladies are considering raffling another quilt to help raise more money, she said.