September 30, 2011

Breaking Dawn Charity Quilt: Jason Scott, Attorney at Law

“Are you J. Jenks?” I asked.

“Why're you looking for J?”

“That's my business.” Besides, I didn't have a clue. “Are you J?”

“No.”

We faced each other for a long moment while his sharp eyes ran up and down the fitted pearl gray sheath I wore. His gaze finally made it to my face. “You don't look like the usual customer.”

“I'm probably not the usual,” I admitted. “But I do need to see him as soon as possible.”

“I'm not sure what to do,” he admitted.

“Why don't you tell me your name?”

He grinned. “Max.”

“Nice to meet you, Max. Now, why don't you tell me what you do for the usual?”

His grin became a frown. “Well, J's usual clients don't look a thing like you. Your kind doesn't bother with the downtown office. You just go striaght up to his fancey office in the skyscraper.”

I repeated the other address I had, making the list of numbers a question.

“Yeah, that's the place,” he said, suspicious again. “How come you didn't go there?”

“This was the address I was given—by a very dependable source.”

“If you were up to any good, you wouldn't be here.”
–Bella Cullen and Max, Breaking Dawn, page 637-638

“You've got to be involved in something big. And bad,” he mused.

“It's not really like that.”

“That's what they all say. But who else needs papers? Or can afford to pay J's prices for them, I should say. None of my business anyway,” he said, and then muttered the word married again.

He gave me an entirely new address with basic directions, and then watched me drive away with suspicious, regretful eyes.

At this point, I was ready for almost anything—some kind of James Bond villain's high-tech lair seemed appropriate. So I thought Max must have given me the wrong address as a test. Or maybe the lair was subterranean, underneath this very commonplace strip mall nestled up against a wooded hill in a nice family neighborhood.

I pulled into an open spot and looked up at a tastefully subtle sign that read JASON SCOTT, ATTORNEY AT LAW.

The office inside was beige with celery green accents, inoffensive and unremarkable. . . A fish tank was set into the wall, and a blandly pretty blond receptionist sat behind the desk.
–Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, page 641-642

Design and piecing by Wanda

My block represents J. Jenks and the documents Bella must obtain for Jacob and Renesmee. In the book when she finally tracks him down, his office is in a strip shopping mall so I used the brick fabric for that, thinking I've seen brick shopping centers before and it was the only reasonable fabric building material I had! I constructed my façade with raw edge appliqué and Steam-a-Seam to adhere the door and window. I added the pediment at the top of the door just because it seemed to me to look a little more “attorney” like. In the book when Bella enters the office she sees the fish tank and I put in a desk to hold the tablet with the personal info to make the documents. I tried to add a few stitches but in the end had to use my sewing machine to further hold things in place. The idea for this block just came into my head after reading those pages in the book more than a few times!

September 29, 2011

Breaking Dawn Charity Quilt: Jacob and Rosalie's Rivalry

“It had once probably been a big mixing bowl, but she’d bent the bowl back in on itself until it was shaped almost exactly like a dog dish. I had to be impressed with her quick craftsmanship. And her attention to detail. She’d scratched the word Fido into the side. Excellent handwriting.”
–Jacob Black, Breaking Dawn, page 294

Design and piecing by Kate

The challenging part to this block was picking the fabrics to represent Jacob and Rosalie. For Jacob, I used warm earthy tones. For Rosalie, I knew I wanted to use sparkly white to represent her as a vampire, but it wasn’t until I saw someone dressed as “human Rose” at the Boston Twilight Convention did inspiration strike. Feminine retro-fabrics to reinforce her story.

September 28, 2011

Breaking Dawn Charity Quilt: Bella's First Hunt

There was a hint of something different, a faint trail to the east…

My eyes flashed open, but my focus was still on sharper senses as I turned and darted silently eastward. The ground sloped steeply upward almost at once, and I ran in a hunting crouch, close to the ground, taking to the trees when that was easier. I sensed rather than heard Edward with me, flowing quietly through the woods, letting me lead.

The vegetation thinned as we climbed higher; the scent of pitch and resin grew more powerful, as did the trail I followed—it was a warm scent, sharper than the smell of the elk and more appealing. A few seconds more and I could hear the muted padding of immense feet, so much subtler than the crunch of hooves. The sound was up—in the branches rather than on the ground. Automatically I darted into the boughs as well, gaining the strategic higher position, halfway up a towering silver fir.

The soft thud of paws continued stealthily beneath me now; the rich scent was very close. My eyes pinpointed the movement linked with the sound, and I saw the tawny hide of the great cat slinking along the wide branch of a spruce just down and to the left of my perch. He was big—easily four times my mass. His eyes were intent on the ground beneath; the cat hunted, too.
–Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, pages 421-422

Design and piecing by Beth

The image of Bella, newly-turned vampire, poised to make her first kill is one of the strongest I have from Breaking Dawn. So naturally, it was my choice to bring to fabric and thread as my addition to this quilt. As a newbie quilter, I’m most comfortable with hand-stitching and appliqué techniques from my years of embroidery experience, so I relied heavily on them when designing this square. But my education in architecture and drafting have given me a solid understanding of how paper piecing works, so I decided to attempt it for the first time.

I was able to find wood bark and pine needle fabrics to paper piece the tree branches and background. I used Snow Fairy Frost to appliqué Bella in a crouching pose (sans silver shoes which had been left back at the Cullen house). Because Bella’s senses were so sharp and clear, I chose actual blue satin for her dress and brown silk for her hair to give some sheen and vibrancy to the scene. I also made sure to show her knees when positioning her dress because she had split the material for her leap over the river. I hand-stitched lines for limb definition and her facial features, adding red French knots for her newborn vampire eyes. For the mountain lion I chose three varying shades of the same-patterned material so I could utilize them to give shading to the cat’s underside, paws and limbs. Again, hand-stitched lines define the cat’s hind quarters, slinking shoulder line and complete his facial features.

September 27, 2011

Breaking Dawn Charity Quilt: The Egyptian Coven

It seemed an unlikely grouping—though the Egyptians all looked so alike, with their midnight hair and olive-toned pallor, that they easily could have passed for a biological family. Amun was the senior member and the outspoken leader. Kebi never strayed farther away from Amun than his shadow, and I never heard her speak a single word. Tia, Benjamin's mate, was a quiet woman as well, though when she did speak there was great insight and gravity to everything she said. Still, it was Benjamin whom they all seemed to revolve around, as if he had some invisible magnetism the others depended upon for their balance. I saw Eleazar staring at the boy with wide eyes and assumed Benjamin had a talent that drew the others to him.

“It's not that,” Edward told me when we were alone that night. “His gift is so singular that Amun is terrified of losing him. Much like we had planned to keep Renesmee from Aro's knowledge”—he sighed—“Amun has been keeping Benjamin from Aro's attention. Amun created Benjamin, knowing he would be special.”

“What can he do?”

“Something Eleazar's never seen before. Something I've never heard of. Something that eve your shield would do nothing against.” He grinned his crooked smile at me. “He can actually influence the elements—earth, wind, water, and fire. True physical manipulation, no illusion of the mind. Benjamin's still experimenting with it, and Amun tries to mold him into a weapon. But you see how independent Benjamin is. He won't be used.”
–Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, page 609-610
Design and piecing by Nicole

I loved doing this block, but it's probably because I can relate to Benjamin. I knew that I needed a pyramid, so I took a picture of one and created a paper piecing template to follow. I used rock fabrics for Benjamin's control of the natural elements, and the sandy fabric to represent the arid desert.

September 26, 2011

Breaking Dawn Charity Quilt: The Nomads

“Are there a lot of . . . your kind?” I was surprised. How many of them could walk among us undetected?

“No, not many. ... Most won't settle in any one place. ... Nomads, for the most part. We've all lived that way at times. It gets tedious, like anything else.”
–Bella Swan and Edward Cullen, Twilight, page 290

“We'd need quite a show of witnesses,” Rosalie said harshly, her voice brittle as glass.

“We'll have to ask them just right,” Alice murmured. ... “Some of the nomads—Garrett and Mary for certain. Maybe Alistair.”

“What about Peter and Charlotte?” Jasper asked.
Breaking Dawn, page 550-551

Design and piecing by Joyce

Nomadic Vampires wander the globe. I selected a batik for the background. The world is made with a sparkly blue fabric that looked like water. I cut out as much as I could of the Western Hemisphere and used my favorite Steam A Seam Lite 2 to attach the pieces. Since the Nomads travel, I wanted their footprints. I started with a silver fabric, but it didn't look right, so I changed to a black fabric with stars that one of the Twi-Quilters sent me.

I satin stitched the globe, but left the other pieces raw. I think it captures the Nomads pretty well, and hope you like it!

September 25, 2011

Nicole

Hey! My name is Nicole, and I have been married for 5½ years. I grew up with a mother and grandmother who did all sorts of crafty things. I tried cross stitch; one took me five years to do! I did mainly music things, panio and violin. Then when I went to college, I seemed to get better at the cross-stitch. So I decided to start sewing again. I bought my first sewing machine when I was 18. I still have it, and am still learning about it. I have made six quilts; one of them my grandma helped me with. I am currently working on my favorite quilt so far. It's a rock quilt! I have also made clothes, and am currently working on a Minnie Mouse costume! I also love to read! I enjoy thunderstorms and other natural occurrences (earthquakes, tornadoes, hurricanes, volcanoes....)!

September 24, 2011

Breaking Dawn Charity Quilt: Isle Esme

“Bella, look there.” [Edward] pointed straight ahead.

I saw only blackness at first, and the moon's white trail across the water. But I searched the space where he pointed until I found a low black shape breaking into the sheen of moonlight on the waves. As I squinted into the darkness, the silhouette became more detailed. The shape grew into a squat, irregular triangle, with one side trailing longer than the other before sinking into the waves. We drew closer, and I could see the outline was feathery, swaying to the light breeze.

And then my eyes refocused and the pieces all made sense: a small island rose out of the water ahead of us, waving with palm fronds, a beach glowing pale in the light of the moon.

“Where are we?” I murmured in wonder while he shifted course, heading around to the north end of the island.

He heard me, despite the noise of the engine, and smiled a wide smile that gleamed in the moonlight.

“This is Isle Esme.”
-Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, pages 77-78

Design and piecing by Cat

I wanted to create a very tropical feel for this block. The house is supposed to be white with large windows and looks out onto the beach. I tried to capture this with the block and added the palm trees lend to the tropical feel of this block.

Originally I was going to piece a dolphin in the water but was pressed for time so found this lovely dolphin fabric instead. I managed to fussy cut the dolphin fabric to get some of the waves crashing on the beach as well as the dolphins playing in the water. I am pleased with the overall feel of the block and the dolphin fabric ended up working out really well, even if it wasn't what I originally had in mind.

September 23, 2011

Breaking Dawn Charity Quilt: Eggs

“Do you know how many eggs you’ve gone through in the last week?” He pulled the trash bin out from under the sink—it was full of empty blue cartons.” –Edward Cullen, Breaking Dawn page 111

Design and piecing by Kate

This was the most challenging block I have done, by far. But I love the subject and when I found the blue carton-fabric, I knew exactly how I wanted it to look. I think I broke every quilting “rule” on this one, but it was the result that mattered. It is a combination of piecing and appliqué.

September 22, 2011

Breaking Dawn Charity Quilt: The Denali Coven

“Are there a lot of . . . your kind?” I was surprised. How many of them could walk among us undetected?

“No, not many. But most won't settle in any one place. Only those like us, who've given up hunting you people” — a sly glance in my direction — “can live together with humans for any length of time. We've only found one other family like ours, in a small village in Alaska. We lived together for a time, but there were so many of us that we became too noticeable. Those of us who live . . . differently tend to band together.”
–Bella Swan and Edward Cullen, Twilight, page 290

Behind my human friends were my new cousins-in-law, the Denali vampire clan. I realized I was holding my breath as the vampire in front—Tanya, I assumed from the strawberry tint in her blond curls—reached out to embrace Edward. Next to her, three other vampires with golden eyes stared at me with open curiosity. One woman had long, pale blond hair, straight as corn silk. The other woman and the man beside her were both black-haired, with a hint of an olive tone to their chalky complexions.

And they were all four so beautiful that it made my stomach hurt.
–Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, page 53-54

“We stand with Carlisle,” Tanya said. “And we fight with him.” –Tanya, Breaking Dawn, page 659

Design and piecing by Joyce

In 2003, I got to go to Alaska. The day we left Denali, we had a clear view of Mt. McKinley. I used pictures from my trip to make the design for this block. I liked the variation of color shades in the sky fabric. I used white glittery fabric for the main section of the mountain. For other peaks, I used white fabric with silver swirls. The transition area is gray fabric with black, sparkling leaves. I also used this fabric on the month of January block for the New Moon quilt.

My pictures showed a stream coming down the mountain and flowing into a lake, so I cut a piece of tie-dyed fabric that went from white to blue. The greens are some of my favorites. I used the one with the larger print on the School Days block on the Eclipse quilt. Satin stitching around most of the sections defines and highlights different aspects of the scene.

If you want to do a block like this, it helps to think it through in layers and build it as you go from further away to close by. I love how it looks!

September 21, 2011

Breaking Dawn Charity Quilt: Bella and Edward's Cottage

I stared into the violet dark. There, nestled into a small clearing in the forest, was a tiny stone cottage, lavender gray in the light of the stars.

It belonged here so absolutely that it seemed as it if must have grown from the rock, a natural formation. Honeysuckle climbed up one wall like a lattice, winding all the way up and over the thick wooden shingles. Late summer roses bloomed in a handkerchief-sized garden under the dark, deep-set windows. There was a little path of flat stones, amethyst in the night, that led up to the quaint arched wooden door.

“…Don’t you like it?” Alice’s face fell. “I mean, I’m sure we could fix it up differently, if you want. Emmett was all for adding a few thousand square feet, a second story, columns, and a tower, but Esme thought you would like it best the way it was meant to look.” Her voice started to climb, to go faster. “If she was wrong, we can get back to work. It won’t take long to—”

“Shh!” I managed.

She pressed her lips together and waited. It took me a few seconds to recover.

“You’re giving me a house for my birthday?” I whispered.

“Us,” Edward corrected. “And it’s no more than a cottage. I think the word house implies more legroom.”

“No knocking my house,” I whispered to him.

Alice beamed. “You like it.”

I shook my head.

“Love it?”

I nodded.

“…But of course I love it. How could I not?”

–Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, pages 475-477

Design and piecing by Beth

I have a thing for houses. How they’re made and how their pieces represent the people that call them home. So no wonder I loved bringing this image to the quilt! The description in the book is fairly succinct. It was just a matter of finding fabric with the correct patterns. I found a shop online and ordered several different patterns and colors of rock and stone, and they also offered different colors of roof shingles!

Once I looked at the pattern sizes and put together complementary shades, I drafted the cottage. I wanted an asymmetrical structure to add some quaintness with curving lines and dormer windows and, of course, a chimney. I planned on setting the house against waves of green fabric with my favorite lavender, scrolly material above as the “violet sky.” But when I found the forest-scape fabric, it was beyond perfect. It came in a deeper, darker green, but I chose this more vibrant green because of the yellows in the trees throughout, since it was early fall in the book. I moved the cut-out of the house stone around on the forest fabric until I found the backdrop look I wanted with the side trees and the pines peaking up above the chimney.

I appliquéd the stone of the cottage onto the backdrop, then the roof thatching (which was difficult around the dormer window cut out) and the chimney. I used the same wood bark fabric from my First Hunt block (details coming soon) for the front door, then hand-stitched outline details to give the chimney it’s 3D corners.

I cut out the backdrop fabric where I’d stitch in the violet sky, but after I put the lavender piece in, things didn’t look right. So I cut around the trees to add more sky showing on the sides and then top-stitched the trees for added reinforcement. I appliquéd on the three windows in a dark (almost black) gray, hand-stitched the door hinges, handle and dormer details, then satin stitched both sets of eaves.

I tried satin stitching the pathway stones in purple, but wasn’t satisfied with the result so I opted to appliqué each of those in an amethyst fabric. I had always planned on ribbon embroidery for the rose bushes and honeysuckle, utilizing simple brown floss backstitches for the rose bushes themselves, but with the lush green of the now-changed background, I was afraid they’d get lost. So I utilized one of the green patterns I had planned to originally use for the green waves of backdrop. I noticed the pattern had small bush-like groupings if I strategically cut them, so I free hand appliquéd those as well.

I used silk ribbon in red and cream to ribbon embroider the roses on the bushes. I’ve always loved this technique and really like how it gives some texture to the block. Lastly, I chose very vibrant DMC flosses to free hand embroider the honeysuckle. I used backstitches for vine, lazy daisies for leaves, 5-point backstitched stars for flowers and French knots for buds.

Although I’m newer to quilting, this block will always be one of my favorites. I really enjoyed making it and am very pleased with the results!

September 20, 2011

Beth

Howdy y’all! I’m Beth, a life-long, serial project-er and country girl. I started with a simple cross stitch kit and plastic canvas projects when I was 5 or 6 and expanded into embroidery, taught myself crochet from books and dabbled in all sorts of crafts and creating through 14 years of Girl Scouting. I have a family heritage of sewing clothing and quilting from my grandmothers, which my mother passed on to me when I was 13. My sewing experience culminated in the design and creation of my wedding gown in 2000.

I am a woman of many trades, with seven degrees and certifications mostly focused on the sciences, horses, reproduction, pre-med and pre-veterinary coursework, and business administration. I am currently a day-time SAHM to a 3 year old daughter, who I birthed at home. I’ve been married for over 11 years and grew up in California, but currently live in Kentucky, where we bought our first house a little over 4 years ago. I love turning it into a home that expresses us and how we live. If I can’t find a piece of furniture or décor that perfectly fits our lifestyle, I usually design and make one myself or commission my hubby who loves woodworking. Along that line of thought, I love doing things by hand or from scratch. This relates to my love of gardening (both vegetables and flowers) as well.

Other loves include organizing, planning weddings and events, scrapbooking and music (especially country). I rediscovered my love for reading and writing thanks to Twilight, which I read while breastfeeding my daughter in early ‘09. The demands of college left me little time for reading or writing anything but course material and assignments in my early and mid 20s, but I’m very happy to have added these passions back to the repertoire of what makes me, me!

I like my house full and bustling; we plan a family of four children and currently, in addition to our toddler, we have a 110-lb Alaskan malamute, a pug and a cat (who I rescued when I was 17 and raised by hand). My biggest project to date is utilizing my education in drafting and architecture to draw house plans for our dream home. In the next few years, I plan to manage its contracting and building on acreage, where I dream of owning horses and enough of a menagerie to call our home a farm, named Violet Hill. This is also the name of my blog (which is in it’s baby stages) where I talk about my completed projects and scheme up the next crazy idea I’ll pursue.

~Beth

September 19, 2011

Kate

I am a married, working Mom from New England. I have been married 16 years and have an active tween-aged son. I am a Corporate Interior Designer and have a BFA from UMASS Amherst.

I am in the constant need of being creative. Weather it is crafting, jewelry making, gardening or sewing. I began sewing when I was in high school because I am short and always needed to hem my pants. I just kept going and experimenting from there.

Since first reading the Twilight Saga, I have had the great blessing of making wonderful friends all over the world, who share my love of reading, family and fantasy. It is with great joy that we can create something together that will be cherished by one of you.

September 15, 2011

Big Day

When you loved the one who was killing you, it left you no options. How could you run, how could you fight, when doing so would hurt that beloved one? If your life was all you had to give your beloved, how could you not give it? –Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, page 2

September 14, 2011

Breaking Dawn Charity Quilt: The Wolf Packs

There was a good reason for the Alpha's authority. Even a pack as strong as ours wasn't much of a force without a leader. We had to move together, to think together, in order to be effective. And that required the body to have a head.

So what if Sam was wrong now? There was nothing anyone could do. No one could dispute his decision.

Except.

And there it was—a thought I'd never, never wanted to have. But now, with my legs all tied up in strings, I recognized the exception with relief—more than relief, with a fierce joy.

No one could dispute the Alpha's decision—except for me.

I hadn't earned anything. But there were things that had been born in me, things that I'd left unclaimed.

I'd never wanted to lead the pack. I didn't want to do it now. I didn't want the responsibility for all our fates resting on my shoulders. Sam was better at that than I would ever be. Be he was wrong tonight.

And I had not been born to kneel to him.

The bonds fell off my body the second that I embraced my birthright.

I could feel it gathering in me, both a freedom and also a strange, hollow power. Hollow because an Alpha's power came from his pack, and I had no pack.

–Jacob Black, Breaking Dawn, p. 208-209

Pattern by Cat, layout and piecing by Elizabeth


This block is a representation of the two wolf packs. I used Cat's wolf pattern because it was perfect for this block. I scaled the size down so that I could fit two into the block and I did Jacob a tiny bit bigger than Sam. This isn't really meant to represent one specific moment in the book. It is more of a combination of several scenes that popped to mind; the quote from above, the fact that Jacob had grown bigger than Sam, the trail that Jacob, Seth and Leah cut as they ran guard around the Cullen's house, the delegation Sam sent to try to convince Jacob's pack to return to La Push, and the peace the two packs finally arrived at after everything was over.

We've had a lot of fun planning and working on the Breaking Dawn quilt. Watch for more blocks coming soon.

September 10, 2011

Breaking Dawn Charity Quilt: Jacob and Renesmee

Heat flooded through me, stronger than before, but it was a new kind of heat—not a burning.

It was a glowing.

Everything inside me came undone as I stared at the tiny porcelain face of the half-vampire, half-human baby. All the lines that held me to my life were sliced apart in swift cuts, like clipping the strings to a bunch of balloons. Everything that made me who I was—my love for the dead girl upstairs, my love for my father, my loyalty to my new pack, the love for my other brothers, my hatred for my enemies, my home, my name, my self—disconnected from me in that second—snip, snip, snip—and floated up into space.

I was not left drifting. A new string held me where I was.

Not one string, but a million. Not strings, but steel cables. A million steel cables all tying me to one thing—to the very center of the universe.

I could see that now—how the universe swirled around this one point. I'd never seen the symmetry of the universe before, but now it was plain.

The gravity of the earth no longer tied me to the place where I stood.

It was the baby girl in the blond vampire's arms that held me here now.

Renesmee.

–Jacob Black, Breaking Dawn, p. 360

Design and piecing by Elizabeth

One of the most interesting turn of events in Breaking Dawn is Jacob's imprinting on Renesmee. It was fun to represent in fabric. I did needle-turn appliqué, with a bit of embroidery for embellishment. I used Fairy Frost in Maize for Renesmee's locket and put a bit of gold blending filament in with the embroidery floss to give the chain and border in the locket a bit of shine. Jacob's paw print is, of course, russet and I used Jacob's font to add an embroidered quote from the book.

This quilt block is part of our Breaking Dawn Quilt for Charity. With the release of part one of the Breaking Dawn movie, we're putting together a quilt with our favorite parts from the book and we're giving it away! One lucky fan will win this quilt. Here's how it works: we are donating all the materials and time to complete this quilt and for every $5 donation you make to Alex's Lemonade Stand or one other charity to be named shortly, you will be entered in a drawing to win our quilt. More details on this will be forthcoming. In the meantime, keep an eye out as we post the progress of our quilt.