Service auction quilt

In December our church ladies auxiliary holds a service auction. It is great fun. Since we are a non-profit, we cannot bid using money. Someone came up with a way to earn points and use our points for bidding. To determine our points, they hand out a sheet at the beginning of our monthly evening meeting. On this sheet are different statements with points attached. If you accomplished the statement, you were allowed to claim however many points that are listed for that statement. Such as "I prayed this morning - 5 points." Or "I made my bed today - 2 points." They have about 50 statements to answer. After claiming the points for each statement, we add up how many points we can use. Usually they add up to between 400 and 500 points. You can not "bet" more than the points you have and you have to subtract points if you "buy" something with them.

This year I was top bidder for a box of pens that someone had decorated AND a group of handmade greeting cards, which I gave to my mom. She loves to write notes and send birthday greetings to everyone she knows. When all was said and done I still had over 100 points to use.

There were other things available to bid on. One is a lemon chiffon cake one of the church members offers up. I won it last year. She will make it whenever you ask her to as long as you give her 24 hours. Oh my gosh that cake is good. We have a couple of massage therapists. They always offer up a massage. Same with a hair stylist offering her services. Some people make sweets or blankets or quilts or other things and those items go home that evening with the successful bidders.

This year I didn't have anything ready to take that night, which I how I prefer to offer my "service." So I typed up a sheet that I would be willing to make a quilt that would be approximately 45" x 60" in the color of their choice. I put a caveat on it that it wouldn't be made until the end of January at the earliest. This activity was held the first Tuesday of December. I didn't want someone wanting to give the quilt as a Christmas present. The lady that won the bidding on the quilt was my previous visiting teacher. She has been to my home many times and knows the quality of work I do. She saved up all her points and used every last one to win this auction item. She was so excited to get it.

She asked it to be in blues and yellows. She has someone in her family that is expecting a baby boy. So I couldn't make it with lots of flowers and fancy designs. I spent about an hour at Beverly's yesterday going through their fabrics coming up with the color combination I liked. I had considered taking the winner with me and letting her choose the fabrics, but I was there and wanted to get started on it. Sorry. It became my choice. I hope she likes it.

I bought 1/3 yard of nine fabrics. I cut each one into four 10" squares. I will now sew the squares into four large nine patch blocks with the white square in each block.

Other than the white being in each center, I want the blocks to be random in how the colors are placed. I learned a long time ago with quilting that if you want things to be random, you better plan it somewhat. So I took each fabric and attached it to a paper and assigned a number and a color crayon to it. Then I drew out my nine patch blocks times four and randomly colored each block in. Later I will sit down and sew the blocks together using the "randomly" selected guide.

After sewing the blocks together into four separate nine patch blocks, I will cut each one in half and then in half again. And then they will be sewn back together again in some pattern that strikes me at the time.

I like this pattern. I learned it while I attended a class hosted by Meissner's Sewing Center here in Sacramento in 2014 and featuring Eleanor Burns. It is relatively easy but makes the quilt look like you did a lot of piecing. It is a great way to show off beautiful fabric because most of the blocks stay in relatively large pieces.

I will share the finished quilt when I get it all put together.

Keep on Quilting