Breaking Dawn Charity Quilt: Feathers

What had happened to me? I couldn't make sense of the fluffy white snow that clung to my skin. I shook my head, and a cascade of white drifted out of my hair.

I pinched one soft white bit between my fingers. It was a piece of down.

“Why am I covered in feathers?” I asked, confused.
–Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, page 89

Design and piecing by Cat

I wanted to create a block of feathers floating everywhere. I drafted the pattern from scratch. I have pet chickens so I had no problems trying to visualize the feathers. To create a sense of dimension and to have each feather slightly different, each of the feathers is done using a different shade of cream. I was stuck on what to use. I like to think that the resulting block feels like feathers have floated in the air before settling in place.

The background fabric was chosen from my scraps and I like to use purple to represent Bella in quilting. Afterwards I thought it almost looked like Bella's bruises under the feathers although that wasn't the original intention.

Breaking Dawn Charity Quit: The Irish Coven

Carlisle has sent friends from Ireland and Egypt.

The Irish clan arrived first, and they were surprisingly easy to convince. Siobhan—a woman of immense presence whose huge body was both beautiful and mesmerizing as it moved in smooth undulations—was the leader, but she and her hard-faced mate, Liam, were long used to trusting the judgment of their newest coven member. Little Maggie, with her bouncy red curls, was not physically imposing like the other two, but she had a gift for knowing when she was being lied to, and her verdicts were never contested. Maggie declared that Edward spoke the truth, and so Siobhan and Liam accepted our story absolutely before even touching Renesmee.
–Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, page 608-609

Piecing by Jerri Lynn

I represented the Irish Coven with Irish knot-work that I appliquéd. I started with the green background to remind us of Ireland's green landscape. I then moved on to the knot-work, which I worked out in red fabric. There are three knots, representing the three members of the coven; Siobhan, Liam and Maggie. As a beginning quilter, I found it difficult to get the pieces of the knot-work lined up so that I was happy with them, but in the end I was very pleased with how it came out.

Breaking Dawn Charity Quilt: The Hybrids

“Nahuel, you are one hundred and fifty years old?” [Aro] questioned.

“Give or take a decade,” he answered in a clear, beautifully warm voice. His accent was barely noticeable. “We don't keep track.”

“And you reached maturity at what age?”

“About seven years after my birth, more or less, I was full grown.”

“You have not changed since then?”

Nahuel shrugged. “Not that I've noticed.”

I felt a shudder tremble through Jacob's body. I didn't want to think about this yet. I would wait till the danger was past and I could concentrate.

“And your diet?” Aro pressed, seeming interested in spite of himself.

“Mostly blood, but some human food, too. I can survive on either.”

“You were able to create an immortal?” As Aro gestured to Huilen, his voice was abruptly intense. I refocused on my shield; perhaps he was seeking a new excuse.

“Yes, but none of the rest can.”

A shocked murmur ran through all three groups.

Aro's eyebrows shot up. “The rest?”

“My sisters.” Nahuel shrugged again.
–Aro, Nahuel and Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, page 736-737

Design and piecing by Joyce

The Hybrids are a combination of Vampires and Humans, so the fabrics are a combination of plain and sparkly or shimmering. Since there may be Hybrids throughout the world, I thought they would have a variety of skin tones. The fabrics on the top half have sparkles or a satin shimmer to them. The fabrics on the bottom are plain. I liked the idea of having them on the diagonal to give it more interest. The drop of blood in the center brings it all together.

Breaking Dawn Charity Quilt: The Wedding

“Get to sleep. You've got a big day tomorrow.”

“Thanks! That's sure to help me wind down.”

“I'll meet you at the altar.”

“I'll be the one in white.” I smiled at how perfectly blasé I sounded.
–Edward Cullen and Bella Swan, Breaking Dawn, page 29

Pattern from Paper Panache, piecing by Mel

I usually have lots of ideas for blocks when we start planning for our quilts. This time, I had nothing! So I was browsing the wonderful world of internet when I came upon one of my favourite paper piecing sites: Paper Panache. And there it was. A wedding cake pattern! I then searched my books and the internet for any mention of colour themes and I stumbled upon a site that had pictures of the wedding cake from the movie. It was covered in beautiful, rich red colours as well and flowers. I had a vision of this block with lots of pink, red and purple, and lots and lots of flowers! I went through the fabrics I have at home and found some lovely flowery fabric for the background in honour of Alice's decorations. The cake has subtle flowers on it as well. For Edward's suit, I thought to incorporate some black sparkling fabric to make him that much more "sparkle in the light." Overall, I really like the feel of this block, and I hope I did Alice proud!

Breaking Dawn Charity Quilt: Alice's Note

“Right after midnight, Alice and Jasper came to this place and asked permission to cross our land to the ocean. I granted them that and escorted them to the coast myself. They went immediately into the water and did not return. As we journeyed, Alice told me it was of the utmost importance that I say nothing to Jacob about seeing her until I spoke to you. I was to wait here for you to come looking for her and then give you this note. She told me to obey her as if all our lives depended on it.”

Sam's face was grim as he held out a folded sheet of paper, print all over with small black text. It was a page out of a book; my sharp eyes read the printed words as Carlisle unfolded it to see the other side. The side facing me was the copyright page from The Merchant of Venice. A hint of my own scent blew off it as Carlisle shook the paper flat. I realized it was a page torn from one of my books. I'd brought a few things from Charlie's house to the cottage; a few sets of normal clothes, all the letters from my mother, and my favorite books. My tattered collection of Shakespeare paperbacks had been on the bookshelf in the cottage's little living room yesterday morning. . . .

“Alice has decided to leave us,” Carlisle whispered.

“What?” Rosalie cried.

Carlisle turned the page around so that we all could read.
–Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, page 557-558

Design and piecing by Nicole

I wanted to stay simple for the letter. So I used purple as the accent color and found a light enough fabric that I could write on. I am sure Alice's handwriting is far better than mine, but I think it works!

Breaking Dawn Charity Quilt: Bella's Transformation

Edward had a syringe in his hand—all silver, like it was made from steel.

“What's that?”

. . . He shoved the needle straight into her heart.

“My venom,” he answered as he pushed the plunger down.
–Jacob Black and Edward Cullen, Breaking Dawn, page 354

The warmth beside my heart got more and more real, warmer and warmer. Hotter. The heat was so real it was hard to believe that I was imagining it.

Hotter.

Uncomfortable now. Too hot. Much, much too hot.

. . . The burning grew—rose and peaked and rose again until it surpassed anything I'd ever felt.
–Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, page 375

Design and piecing by Jerri Lynn

This block was meant to represent Bella's transformation. We hear over and over again in the books that the transformation process is like being eaten up by flames. So, I started with the flames. This is one of the first times I have ever made a block using appliqué, so I was a bit nervous. I created the flames using different colors of fabric, but then thought it needed more, so I added this great medium I picked up at a quilt show to give the flames some shimmer.

You can't have a transformation without venom, and for vampires this means the bite. I wanted to avoid the traditional biting imagery and focus on Edward's unique way of saving Bella's life, hence the syringe.

I am very happy with this block and hope you enjoy it!

Lunch with Friends

A friend is one of the nicest things you can have, and one of the best things you can be. –Douglas Pagels

Twilight and quilting began our association. In the beginning, they were the only things we had in common. We live scattered across the United States and Cat lives on the other side of the world, in Australia. But as we've worked together long-distance on half-a-dozen quilts, we've become friends. This is the most important part of our group and the foundation for our success.

Both Wanda and Iris came to Utah to see the Stephenie Meyer quilt. We visited the quilt while it was displayed at a quilt show, enjoyed lunch together and then did a little shop hopping. It was a really fun time. A few months ago, Wanda, her husband, and their youngest daughter with her husband and their daughter came to Utah again. We enjoyed lunch together and just had a wonderful time visiting and talking about quilting and families and life.

When I decided to attend my cousin's wedding in California last weekend, I was hoping that I might have a chance to meet up with the girls who live there. Iris, Wanda and Jerri Lynn live relatively close to each other, so I texted to find out how close they are to where I was going. As it turned out, Wanda is really close to where the wedding was held and she offered to let me stay with her while I was in town. Not only that, she took me to every place I needed to go. She and her wonderful husband were such gracious hosts and I am so happy that Twilight brought our paths together.

The day after the wedding, Iris drove to the mid-point between her house and Wanda's and we had lunch together. Unfortunately, Jerri Lynn had other plans for the weekend. We had a great time catching up with each other and all the great things that are going on in our lives. There was a little gift exchange and I came away with an Alice doll {thank you, Iris!}.

I had such a fun time that I'm hoping to go back again soon, for a little sewing weekend. We always have a great time when we get together.

Breaking Dawn Charity Quilt: Bella's Shield

I saw Jane smile as Edward crossed the midpoiunt in the distance between us, when he was closer to them than he was to us.

That smug little smile did it. My fury peaked, higher even than the raging bloodlust I'd felt the moment the wolves had committed to this doomed fight. I could taste madness on my tongue—I felt it flow through me like a tidal wave of pure power. My muscles tightened, and I acted automatically. I threw my shield with all the force in my mind, flung it across the impossible expanse of the field—ten times my best distance—like a javelin. My breath rushed out in a huff with the exertion.

The shield blew out from me in a bubble of sheer energy, a mushroom cloud of liquid steel. It pulsed like a living thing—I could feel it, from the apex to the edges.

There was no recoil to the elastic fabric now; in that instant of raw force, I saw that the backlash I'd felt before was of my own making—I had been clinging to that invisible part of me in self-defense, subconsciously unwilling to let it got. Now I set it free, and my shield exploded a good fifty yards out from me effortlessly, taking only a fraction of my concentration. I could feel it flex like just another muscle, obedient to my will. I pushed it, shaped it to a long, pointed oval. Everything underneath the flexible iron shield was suddenly a part of me—I could feel the life force of everything it covered like points of bright heat, dazzling sparks of light surrounding me. I thrust the shield forward the length of the clearing, and exhaled in relief when I felt Edward's brilliant light within my protection. I held there, contracting this new muscle so that it closely surrounded Edward, a thin but unbreakable sheet between his body and our enemies.
–Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, page 690-691

Pattern by Cat, design and piecing by Iris

I'll start off right off the bat saying that I had a hard time translating my idea for Bella's Shield into a fabric block. As soon as I saw that topic on our brainstorm list, I knew I wanted to use Cat's Swiss Shield pattern (without the cross in the middle) and I wanted to use an organza overlay on the shield with bright dots underneath to show the "bright points of light" that represented her friends and family under the shield.

Several obstacles arose.

First, finding the right fabric. I had a piece of the Kaufman Stargazers in Midnight which had some elements I thought would be really good: a swirl pattern to mimic her description of Alec's numbing "gift" hitting her shield; and golden starbursts that fit the "bright points of light" in her description. But since the confrontation is during a snowy day, I wanted something in whites/grays or blues. It took a couple hours of googles but I finally found the Stargazers fabric in Sky, which fit my idea.

I went to print out the pattern, enlarged, and my brain didn't work right and I printed it a bit bigger than I really would have liked. I didn't realize this until after I pieced it. So as a result you can't even see the cool snowflake pattern on the top half of the block. I tried out the organza idea, but even using the really thin printable sheets, you lost the whole pattern with the starbursts & swirls.

I wanted to show "the confrontation", with her friends and family in the shield portion and the Volturi & Nomads around them, and was originally thinking about using fabric markers or embroidery. Angie made a great suggestion to use beads, which I thought would add interest to an otherwise simple block. I used topaz colored ones for her family, placing them mostly in 2's (all the mates) with a grouping at the front to show Bella, Edward, Carlisle and Renesmee. Yeah, I know she has brown eyes, but I got some matte brown beads (which turned out to be brownish/purple) for the wolves. So I made a unified line of those in back of the main Cullen group and had one in front for Jacob. I added a few red ones in the shield for the other Covens. The Volturi "enemies" are lined up outside, with a few Nomad couples behind them. I clustered 3 reds together in the front for Aro, Caius, Marcus, but also added a fourth bead for Renata, and a topaz bead for Katrina. ;)

So, if I had absolute unlimited time, like let's say I was a vampire that didn't need to sleep, or I was just that OCD, I would probably re-make this block just to size down the shield and show more background. However, because I have a wonderfully busy life outside of Twilight, and I still think it came out neat, and I had alot of fun with the beads, it is what it is.

Breaking Dawn Charity Quilt: The Romanian Coven

There was a low commotion from the front yard. I heard Carlisle speaking over a babble of surprised voices.

“Did Alice send you?” he asked someone, his voice unsure, slightly upset.

“No one sent us,” a deep whispery voice answered Carlisle's question.

Carlisle's voice was wary as he responded. “Then what brings you here now?”

“Word travels,” a different voice answered, just as feathery as the first. “We heard hints that Volturi were moving against you. There were whispers that you would not stand alone. Obviously, the whispers were true. This is an impressive gathering.”

“We are not challenging the Volturi,” Carlisle answered in a strained tone. “There has been a misunderstanding, that is all. A very serious misunderstanding, to be sure, but one we're hoping to clear up. What you see are witnesses. We just need the Volturi to listen. We didn't—”

“We don't care what they say you did,” the first voice interrupted. “And we don't care if you broke the law.”

“No matter how egregiously,” the second inserted.

“We've been waiting a millennium and a half for the Italian scum to be challenged,” said the first. “If there is any chance they will fall, we will be here to see it.”

“Or even to help defeat them,” the second added.
–Stefan and Vladimir, Breaking Dawn, page 625-626

Design and piecing by Joyce

In Breaking Dawn, Stefan and Vladimir explain how the Romanian Vampires held all the power before the Volturi overthrew them. They are described as having powdery, papery skin (The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide p.267-269). Their eyes are clear, though, not 'clouded' like the Volturi's. The center features the 'powdery' skin and red eyes. I used white and red fabric for the eyes and satin stitched the pupils black, then stitched the eyelashes. Since they had been the 'rulers,' I made a broken crown with fabric that goes from yellow to purple. It looked beat-up to me. I covered the crown parts with gold fabric I found in the Halloween section at Jo-Ann's, then added beads for the 'crown jewels.'

The Romanians also talk about their castles being destroyed and burned. I used Cat's paper-piecing castle as inspiration, but didn't want to paper-piece that small of a section, so I appliquéd it. I used a brown fabric and ivory fabric with crackle designs, then used sparkly black netting behind the windows. I satin stitched to outline and define the castle ruins. The background fabric is sparkly purple stars and swirls signifying their past royalty.

Breaking Dawn Charity Quilt: Alice, Vampire Bat in the Belfry

“Bella gets in the way. She’s all wrapped around it, so she’s . . . blurry. Like bad reception on a TV—like trying to focus your eyes on those fuzzy people jerking around on the screen. It’s killing my head to watch her. And I can’t see more than a few minutes ahead, anyway. The . . . fetus is too much a part of her future. When she first decided . . . when she knew she wanted it, she blurred right out of my sight. Scared me to death.”

She was quiet for a second, and then she added, “I have to admit, it’s a relief having you close by—in spite of the wet-dog smell. Everything goes away. Like having my eyes closed. It numbs the headache.”
–Alice Cullen, Breaking Dawn, page 276-277

Alice wants you too. She says she’s tired of hanging out in the attic like the vampire bat in the belfry. –Seth Clearwater, Breaking Dawn, page 290

Design and piecing by Colleen

I chose to represent Alice with the Bat in the Belfry block. I love the way Alice and Jacob bond a little when the “fetus” is giving Alice headaches. I found pictures of belfries on the internet. I liked this one because it was white like the Cullen house in the books. I used a white fairy frost fabric and a slightly darker beige fabric with a subtle lace pattern on it for the tower. Those fabrics seemed very Alice to me. I also used a black sparkly fabric for the bat (thanks Iris!). I lucked into the background fabric and it was exactly what I was looking for to provide a background with trees.

Breaking Dawn Charity Quilt: The Amazon Coven

And then another pair of unexpected friends arrived—unexpected, because neither Carlisle nor Rosalie had been able to contact the Amazons.

“Carlisle,” the taller of the two very tall ferine women greeted him when they arrived. Both of them seems as if they'd been stretched—long arms and legs, long fingers, long black braids, and long faces with long noses. They wore nothing but animal skins—hide vests and tight-fitting pants that laced on the sides with leather ties. It wasn't just their eccentric clothes that made them seem wild, but everything about them, from their restless crimson eyes to their sudden, darting movements. I'd never met any vampires less civilized.
–Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, page 612-613

Design and piecing by Nicole

This one took a while longer than my other blocks, as I toyed with the idea of trying to create the forest. That didn't work. Someone made the suggestion of doing a map of the forest. So I used my favorite green for the background, and a shiny black to show south America. I found the really bright green, blue and yellow fabric and it said “use me for the Amazon!” So I did. I did this via appliqué and this was my first time doing the satin stitch, but it finishes it nicely.

Breaking Dawn Charity Quilt: Midnight Swim

“Everything was black-and-white, leached colorless by the moon.”
–Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn page 83

Design and piecing by Kate

This is one of my favorite scenes in the entire saga, so it was most important to me to get the basic essence of the moment.

Breaking Dawn Charity Quilt: Renesmee

Renesmee did not cry, but she breathed in quick, startled pants. Her eyes were open, her expression so shocked it was almost funny. The little, perfectly round head was covered in a thick layer of matted, bloody curls. Her irises were a familiar—but astonishing—chocolate brown. Under the blood, her skin looked pale, a creamy ivory. All besides her cheeks, which flamed with color.

Her tiny face was so absolutely perfect that it stunned me. She was even more beautiful than her father. Unbelievable. Impossible.

“Renesmee,” I whispered. “So . . . beautiful.”

The impossible face suddenly smiled—a wide, deliberate smile. Behind the shell-pink lips was a full complement of snowy milk teeth.
–Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, page 372

Someone very small was leaning forward out of Rosalie's arms, peering around Jacob. Immediately, she had my absolute attention, my every thought, the way nothing else had owned them since the moment I'd opened my eyes.

“I was out just two days?” I gasped, disbelieving.

The stranger-child in Rosalie's arms had to be weeks, if not months, old. She was maybe twice the size of the baby in my dim memory, and she seemed to be supporting her own torso easily as she stretched toward me. Her shiny bronze-colored hair fell in ringlets past her shoulders. Her chocolate brown eyes examined me with an interest that was not at all childlike; it was adult, aware and intelligent.
–Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, page 438

Design and piecing by Joyce

We wanted to represent Renesmee's quick growth. I thought of various ways to make that happen, but ended up not liking any of them. Breaking Dawn tells about Alice and Rosalie taking hundreds of pictures, so it made sense that they would have made a “Baby Book” for Renesmee. I used transfer paper on white fabric to make the nameplate on the front of the book.

The first page has her name, birth date and place of birth. I made an educated guess at Renesmee's birth weight and height and put those along with her hair and eye color on page 2. Page 3 lists Renesmee's family. Page 4 has some of Renesmee's favorite things — song: Renesmee's Song by Edward, catching snowflakes (described in the book), food and pet. I thought putting Jacob's name was something Rosalie would definitely do! Page 5 has a list of “Firsts.” Most of them came straight from the book, but I, again, made a few educated guesses on some dates. Pages 6 and 7 represent Carlisle's records. I used a baby growth chart along with the information in the book to fill in the numbers. After completing the pages, I “bound” the book and sewed it to the background fabric.

I loved the shimmery flowers in the purple book cover fabric and how the light lilac was so similar to the pale lilac in the background fabric. As far as the background fabric, I just loved the color variations and all the leaves.

This block was so much fun to do. I hope you all enjoy it as much as I enjoyed making it!