The name "Kaleidoscope of Kolor" only begins to describe the quilt that dazzles and dances before your eyes, and dares you to try to look away.

Are those jewel-like stars slung against the night sky or gemstones on black velvet? A combination of traditional elements and contemporary flare, this exquisite 96-by- 100 inch art quilt  could be yours for $1―if you happen to buy a winning raffle ticket.

Members of  Quilters by the Bay, a University Place quilting guild, hope this year's raffle quilt will help them carry on their community outreach projects that warm hearts all around Pierce County.

"The reason I belong to the guild is to make quilts for our charity projects. That is my main focus," said Dolores Slingerland, who donated the materials for "Kaleidoscope of Kolor," along with her time, piecing the entire top herself from a pattern designed by Thea D. Jirak.

Slingerland won the prize of Grand Champion at the Western Washington State Fair in Puyallup in September 2010 for another masterpiece, appliquéd with images of fruits in rich harvest colors.  Rose Flannigan, expertly machine quilted both the winning quilt and the guild's raffle quilt.

Norma Jean Nyman serves as Vice President of Quilters by the Bay and chair of the raffle quilt ticket sales. She also won a ribbon at the fair this year, as did several other members: Dorothy Loveless, Lyn Ennis, and Gretchen Engle. Nyman has her own Grand Champion ribbon from the Puyallup Fair, won in 2007. Like everyone in the guild, Nyman seems as passionate about giving as she is about the art of quilting.

"We have had many speakers come into the group and they are surprised by how much we do for our outreach programs." Nyman said. "Our members are very generous with their time and materials.  We couldn't be as proactive, or support the community, without their motivation and willingness to help."

Quilters by the Bay members created 51 twin bed sized quilts as personal gifts for residents of the Washington State Soldiers Home in Orting. They also supply quilts to the Children's Advocacy Center of Pierce County, located at MulitCare's Mary Bridge Children's Hospital in Tacoma, to comfort young victims of physical or sexual abuse between the ages of infancy to 17, of which the clinic serves about 300 per year. Recipients take the quilts with them to foster care homes and can keep them forever. The guild also makes life easier for hospital patients using walkers,  by sewing tote bags that attach.

Closer to home, the Quilters by the Bay brings a special touch of caring to Franciscan Hospice House, a hospice and palliative care facility in University Place. Member Heather Stailey said "There are four places in the facility where we hang quilts that people in the guild have made and are willing to loan out for a month." At the request of the Hospice House they also made two extra long quilts to cover the bodies of the deceased during removal from the facility, bringing dignity to a sad situation and comfort to family members.

Quilters by the Bay usually meets at 6:30 p.m. on the fourth Wednesday of the month, at the Environmental Services Building in University Place, but because of the holidays will meet on the third Wednesdays in November and December. They will draw the winning raffle ticket for "Kaleidoscope of Kolor" at their Dec. 15 meeting. You can view the quilts and buy tickets at these meetings, and also at MultiCare's Holiday Boutique from 8 a.m to 5 p.m., Nov. 11- 12 at Jackson Hall on the Mary Bridge Hosptial campus. You can also obtain tickets by emailing the guild at quiltersbythebay@gmail.com.

President Mardell Buffington said of the membership, "They are the most talented and phlianthropic group I've ever worked with." She hopes the sale of raffle quilt tickets will enable them to continue to combine the art of quilting with the art of compassionate living and giving.