Stephenie Meyer Quilt: Edward's Crystal Heart

You are the only one who has ever touched my heart. It will always be yours. –Edward Cullen, Eclipse, page 195

[Edward] pulled my left wrist away from my leg, and touched the silver bracelet for just a moment. Then he gave me my arm back.

I examined it cautiously. On the opposite side of the chain from the wolf, there now hung a brilliant heart-shaped crystal. It was cut in a million facets, so that even in the subdued light shining from the lamp, it sparkled. I inhaled a low gasp.

“It was my mother’s.” He shrugged deprecatingly. “I inherited quite a few baubles like this. I’ve given some to Esme and Alice both. So, clearly, this is not a big deal in any way.”

I smiled ruefully at his assurance.

“But I thought it was a good representation,” he continued. “It’s hard and cold.” He laughed. “And it throws rainbows in the sunlight.”

“You forgot the most important similarity,” I murmured. “It’s beautiful.”

“My heart is just as silent,” he mused. “And it, too, is yours.”

I twisted my wrist so the heart would glimmer. “Thank you. For both.” –Bella Swan and Edward Cullen, Eclipse, page 438–439

This was my second attempt at designing a paper piece pattern.  I had just purchased a bracelet that had this fabulous crystal heart. I thought it was lovely the way the facets were cut so that it looks like a star inside the heart. I wanted to recreate that look, with the light coming in from one direction so that the left side is lighter and the right side is darker but overall there is a star inside.  It did not come easily.  I started with part of a drawing of a cut diamond (1), opening it up in Photoshop, tracing each line and adding two lines to make the bottom point,  I then drew piecing lines around the perimeter. (2)  The resulting pieced heart did not make me happy. (3)  I did not like how the top and bottom rays of the star are sliced down the middle and was not happy with the plain gray fabric I used for the darkest facets.  So I started again in Photoshop and hunted down a Michael Miller Fairy Frost in Platinum to use.  The whole thing had to sparkle, even the shadows!

My second attempt was much better, but having limited experience designing PP patterns, just once before, I could not reconcile the way I had to piece the inside of the heart with how the outside was being pieced.  I'm sure Cat would look at it and know what to do, but I felt satisfied with it. I was able to piece it fine, just at the end when piecing the background at the cusp, I had to rip out the foundation paper (a), cut the extra material (b), refold the piece in half and sew on the new line to join them up (c). Maybe confusing, but it was good enough for me!