Twi-Quilters

Breaking Dawn Charity Quilt Donation Deadline Extended

2012-01-11T20:12:00.000-08:00

We've had several requests to extend the donation deadline for the Breaking Dawn Charity Quilt.

We've moved the deadline to donate back to January 31, 2012 and the winner will be announced by February 7, 2012. For every $5 donation from you, which will be split evenly between Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation and Childhelp, you’ll get one chance to win the quilt. So please give generously.

For more details about the quilt and our chosen charities, visit our Breaking Dawn Quilt page.

Breaking Dawn Charity Quilt

2011-11-21T20:55:00.000-08:00

Twi-Quilters are proud to bring you the Breaking Dawn Give-to-Win Charity Quilt fundraiser.

Last year, our Eclipse charity quilt raised $1,729.00 for Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation. With your help, we hope to raise even more than last year.

This year, we have decided to pledge donations to two charities: Alex's Lemonade Stand and Childhelp. Our group members have donated all the fabrics and supplies, as well as our time, to create this quilt, which includes scenes from Breaking Dawn, as well as autographs from eight cast members, including Peter Facinelli, who plays Carlisle Cullen and is a spokesperson for ALSF, and BooBoo Stewart, who plays Seth Clearwater and is an ambassador for Childhelp.

For every $5 donation from you, which will be split evenly between the two charities, you’ll get one chance to win the quilt. So please give generously. Donations will be accepted through January 31, 2012 and the winner will be announced by February 7, 2012.

Read more about the individual blocks:

Alice: Vampire Bat in the Belfry by Colleen
Alice's Note by Nicole
The Amazon Coven by Nicole
Aro's Gift by Angie
Bella & Edward's Cottage by Beth
Bella & Edward's Wedding by Mel
Bella's First Hunt by Beth
Bella's Shield by Iris
Bella's Transformation by Jerri Lynn
Cast Member Autographs
Cravings by Angie
The Denali Coven by Joyce
Eggs by Kate
The Egyptian Coven by Nicole
Feathers by Cat
The Hybrids by Joyce
The Irish Coven by Jerri Lynn
Isle Esme by Cat
Jacob & Renesmee by Elizabeth
Jacob & Rosalie's Rivalry by Kate
Jason Scott, Attorney at Law by Wanda
Midnight Swim by Kate
The Nomads by Joyce
Renesmee by Joyce
The Romanian Coven by Joyce
The Wolf Packs by Elizabeth

For more information about the charities, click on the buttons below.

Breaking Dawn Charity Quilt: Cast Member Autographs

2011-11-16T18:06:00.000-08:00

Have we mentioned? We've got autographs in our Breaking Dawn Charity quilt! Eight of them! Kate went to Twi-Con and finagaled some signatures. Among them are Peter Facinelli, who plays Carlisle Cullen and is a spokesperson for Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation, and Booboo Stewart, who plays Seth Clearwater and is an ambassador for Childhelp. Have a look at who else "signed our quilt."

The quilt is nearly finished and we're excited to show you. We'll have photos up in the next few days. In the meantime, remember that each $5 donation you make, which will be split evenly between the charities, gives you a chance to win the quilt. So give generously and give often.

A Quilt for Little Peanut

2011-11-12T12:50:00.000-08:00

We love to quilt. And not just Twilight. In early 2010 we discovered that our cute little Mel was expecting, so we started planning a quilt for her new little one. While she was pregnant she called him, Little Peanut, so we decided on an elephant/peanut theme for the quilt. Nicole headed up this project, setting the layout, choosing fabrics for the border and sashing and assembling the blocks. She did a really fabulous job! Mel's sweet little baby boy was born on October 1, 2010. This post is long overdue, but we still wanted to share this fun group project.

Mel had this to say about the quilt, Last year, for my 29^th birthday, I received a totally wonderful and unexpected present. A quilt, handmade by my very special Twilight Quilters friends! It made my day to open up the package and find that beautiful quilt, made just for my little baby. I got very emotional, to the point where I called my husband at work and sobbed. Owen has loved his one-of-kind present from the start. (And let me share a little secret . . . I used it a few times myself! And it's really snuggly!!!) This is something I will treasure for the rest of my life, and I feel truly blessed to have such wonderful friends, even if they all live hundreds and hundreds of miles away from me.

Elizabeth
I thought a quilt with elephants needed a few jungle trees. I used a rubber stamp as my 'pattern' for the trees. I stamped the image onto paper, scanned it, enlarged it and then also reversed it so that I had trees going in both directions. I did raw-edge appliqué using Heat 'n Bond and did a machine blanket stitch around the trees. Then I did a bit of messy free-motion stitching to add a few details to them. The background fabric was a FQ that Wanda sent to me for my birthday, and I thought it was perfect for the trees. These were a lot of fun to make.

Wanda
This is tiny version of a wall hanging I made my own grandson. It's ironed on and machine stitched. The E is for elephant as you can see! I absolutely loved the peanut and elephant theme of this quilt. It was so fun to be a participant.

Joyce
To make this design, I looked at quite a few pictures of real and cartoon elephants. Elephants have fairly simple shapes when broken down, so it wasn't very hard. I loved the background fabric because it was so bright and fun and looked 'jungle-y' to me. The elephant pieces were cut out and fused, then appliquéd. I added the eyes, and the block was complete. I think he's cute and fun (and will probably get into some mischief)!

Nicole
I did my block with a free pattern I found online. It was originally for a political elephant, but I used green and blue instead of grey and red! I just thought he was a cutie. It was one of my first advanced paper piecing squares.

Joyce
Since he was her 'little peanut,' I wanted to make a pile of peanuts. I drew a variety of peanut patterns in different sizes and shapes, then sorted through all my yellows and browns (and took a little shopping trip, too) looking for 'peanut-worthy' fabric. For the background fabric, I used a dotted swiss from my stash. I chose a 'grassy' print for the peanuts to rest on, then arranged and rearranged the peanuts until I was happy with the design. I appliquéd them layer by layer until it was complete.

Kate

Iris
My little guy was inspired by some baby blankies I've seen lately and a stuffed animal picture I saw online. Very contemporary, minimalist elephant. And he had to have a little birdy buddy cuz I'm into birdies lately and I wanted to add some diversity to the quilt. I used a white on cream background I've had for at least 10 years, purchased at a JoAnn's, and the other fabrics came from my LQS within the past year. Very contemporary boyish colors, which I don't get to use much having two daughters! Both elephant and birdie are raw edge appliquéd using my favorite double sided fusible web, "Lite Steam-A-Seam 2," and blanket stitched with the machine. I really enjoyed making these cuties!

Jerri Lynn (Grey Elephant)

Kate

Angie
I made the 'silly peanut'. I had such a hard time finding a pattern I wanted to use and I don't have ANY pattern designing skills! Plus, Mel is the silly one in our group so I just knew I didn't want to do something ordinary. I found a pattern that was intended for making a Father's Day card out of paper and and fudged it as appliqué. I used a new technique that I learned in a workshop a few months back to mimic needle turn, then I cut small 'spots' and raw edge stitched them to the body to create some depth. I was going to stop there but the card pattern had arms and legs that stuck out and flopped around so I used some ultra suede and made some that sort of resembled limbs. You would think that I would think to myself, "is this going to make it hard to quilt?" But I didn't. It was my problem to quilt it anyway so at least I only made it harder on myself .

Cat
For this block I used a modified version of a Margaret Rolfe pattern. Margaret Rolfe is an Australian quilt pattern designer and a lot of her patterns lend themselves to being done using American Paperpiecing* or foundation piecing techniques.

The main part of the elephant is done using one of my favourite batiks. The pattern effect of this fabric gave me the feeling of wrinkled elephant skin. For the background I wanted something bright and vibrant with an almost circus feel. I also wanted something to feel like it came from the Twilight quilters group in a subtle way. I could remember on the chicken themed quilt made for my Eoin (pronounced Owen) earlier by the group, that one of the ladies had a chicken driving a silver car. That was my Edward chicken in his silver volvo! So for my the ribbon motive on the red background made me think of the Eclipse Ribbon without being overty Twilight themed. That was my little subtle Twilight imput to the quilt.

*I live in Australia and in Australia a lot of books call the British Paperpiecing methods as Paper Piecing, although the two methods are quite different.

Jerri Lynn (Grey Elephant)

Wanda
This polka dot elephant is an iron on version of a block I saw in a book of vintage quilts. I thought it was so whimsical and cute and loved that I found the polka dot fabric for it. I stitched around it with my machine and voilà it was done!

Angie
To quilt it, I did a swirling pano pattern that covered the whole top. I knew I wanted to use something soft that a baby would like to touch on the back. The fabric stores where I live leave something to be desired so I couldn't find a minkie color that I liked and I loved the idea of a silky backing so I opted for a lightweight satin on the back. I know that the color is not exactly 'baby-like' but I thought it complimented the front. I hope he gets lots of fun out of it!

And here is the Little Peanut, with his new quilt.

Breaking Dawn Charity Quilt: Aro's Gift

2011-11-05T10:13:00.000-07:00

The present itself was not overtly threatening. Extravagant, yes, almost frightening in that very extravagance. The threat was in the parting line of Aro's congratulatory note, written in black ink on a square of heavy, plain white paper in Aro's own hand:

I so look forward to seeing the new Mrs. Cullen in person.

The gift was presented in an ornately carved, ancient wooden box inlaid with gold and mother-of-pearl, ornamented with a rainbow of gemstones. Alice said the box itself was a priceless treasure, that it would have outshone just about any piece of jewelry besides the one inside it.

The necklace was simple—gold woven into a thick rope of chain, almost scaled, like a smooth snake that would curl close around the throat. One jewel hung suspended from the rope: a white diamond the size of a golf ball.
–Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, page 531-532

From the beginning of signing up for this block I didn't really ‘feel’ it, ya know? I opted to take this block because someone needed to do it and I had gotten the block I really wanted and knew exactly how I was going to do that one. This one did not come so naturally. I did know that I was going to a jewel, I even knew what I was going to use for it. I have this prism that hangs on my studio door and in the afternoon it shines rainbows on my cutting table. As much as I would miss it, I just

thought it looked like the jewel that was described in the book. Anyway, I put it off and thought and put it off. Then the deadline was getting close so I had to bite the bullet and just make the thing.

I looked around for a paper-pieced pattern for the box but just couldn't find one. My idea was to make a box and put a velvet lining on the ‘inside’ and then attach the prism in the middle. Well, I just couldn't find a pattern I wanted so that put me off for a few more weeks because I felt stumped again. So I decided that I would appliqué a box instead and then keep my idea of adding the ‘jewel.’ I don't know why by I kept coming up with this sort of engagement ring box in my head so that is what I tried to make. I used a black velvet with a gold sort of hinge on a pink satin background, I thought the pink satin would represent the wedding part of the gift. Well, it ended up looking like a morbid clam. It was hideous! I showed it to my hubby and said ‘what does this look like to you?’ If he had just been able to identify it as a jewelry box, I might have kept it. He just stared at it like a dog does when you whistle at it and said ‘I have no idea.’ I immediately threw it in the trash and went to bed. The next morning I decided to start over. I grabbed my copy of the book and found the description of the box and decided to go more literally with the design. I saw an old sort of pirates chest type design with jewels embedded in the wood. Since I can't draw to save my life, I started googling clip art for pirate's chests and found a few that I liked and took different elements from them and put them together to make a pattern. I used some fabric that was the border print for the New Moon quilt for the wood grain and some other random browns.

Then I ran off to the craft store to try and find something to accent it with to give it that sort of gilded gold feel. I found the ribbon and scored double with these ‘jewels’ on a string for the trim too. So I get the box made, and go to add the prisim and low and behold, the one thing I was sure about just didn't work. So it was back to the craft store to find something that would. I added the chain and the note and called it good.

I know that was a long winded story, thanks for hanging with me for it.

Breaking Dawn Charity Quilt: Cravings

2011-11-04T09:45:00.000-07:00

“Bella, love, we're going to ask you to do something monstrous,” [Edward] said, using the same adjectives he'd offered me. “Repulsive.”

Well, at least he was giving it to her straight.

She took a shallow, fluttery breath. “How bad?”

Carlisle answered. “We think the fetus might have an appetite closer to ours than to yours. We think it's thirsty.”

She blinked. “Oh. Oh.”

“Your condition—both of your conditions—are deteriorating rapidly. We don't have time to waste, to come up with more palatable ways to do this. The fastest way to test the theory—”

“I've got to drink it,” she whispered. She nodded slightly—barely enough energy for a little head bob. “I can do that. Practice for the future, right?” Her colorless lips stretched into a faint grin as she looked at Edward. He didn't smile back.
–Jacob Black, Breaking Dawn, page 242

Pieced by Angie

I have wanted to do this block for a long time so when we got to the planning stages of this quilt I was doing the "me me me" dance when we were picking who was going to do this block. I have to say this part of the book gave me the heebies, I think that is why I wanted to do it.

When we saw the Glee Slushy block on Jennifer's site I knew it was perfect. Then when I dragged my husband to this AWESOME fabric store while we were on our Anniversary weekend trip in Tennessee back in August, this red sparkly bolt literally jumped off the shelf and flopped around in front of me. I also picked up a great black with gold filigree stuff on it for the background but alas, it just didn't work in the block. I felt like it was too dark so it got nixed. Instead, I rummaged through my batik stash and came up with this great swirly beige. To have some depth and shading in the top part (and I was hoping to make a sort of lid look), I used the back side of the red fabric that is in the cup. The last touch to this block is the 'Starbucks' green straw. I dug around for what seemed like an hour in my scrap bucket to find this green but I am glad I did.

That's all I can really say about this block, I hope you like it as much as I liked making it. ;)

Breaking Dawn Charity Quilt: Feathers

2011-10-22T06:02:00.000-07:00

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

2011-10-21T06:24:00.000-07:00

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

2011-10-20T05:55:00.000-07:00

“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

2011-10-19T08:30:00.000-07:00

“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

2011-10-18T06:51:00.000-07:00

“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

2011-10-17T06:32:00.000-07:00

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

2011-10-16T06:56:00.000-07:00

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

2011-10-15T10:11:00.000-07:00

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

2011-10-06T06:02:00.000-07:00

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

2011-10-05T06:24:00.000-07:00

“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

2011-10-04T05:48:00.000-07:00

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

2011-10-03T06:00:00.000-07:00

“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

2011-10-01T06:57:00.000-07:00

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!

Breaking Dawn Charity Quilt: Jason Scott, Attorney at Law

2011-09-30T06:13:00.000-07:00

“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!

Breaking Dawn Charity Quilt: Jacob and Rosalie's Rivalry

2011-09-29T05:56:00.000-07:00

“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.

Breaking Dawn Charity Quilt: Bella's First Hunt

2011-09-28T05:58:00.000-07:00

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.

Breaking Dawn Charity Quilt: The Egyptian Coven

2011-09-27T06:31:00.000-07:00

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.

Breaking Dawn Charity Quilt: The Nomads

2011-09-26T07:54:00.000-07:00

“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!

Nicole

2011-09-25T07:10:00.000-07:00

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....)!

Breaking Dawn Charity Quilt: Isle Esme

2011-09-24T07:19:00.000-07:00

“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.

Breaking Dawn Charity Quilt: Eggs

2011-09-23T06:51:00.000-07:00

“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.

Breaking Dawn Charity Quilt: The Denali Coven

2011-09-22T07:52:00.000-07:00

“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!

Breaking Dawn Charity Quilt: Bella and Edward's Cottage

2011-09-21T07:51:00.000-07:00

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!

Beth

2011-09-20T08:09:00.000-07:00

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

Kate

2011-09-19T06:45:00.000-07:00

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.

Big Day

2011-09-15T00:05:00.000-07:00

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

Breaking Dawn Charity Quilt: The Wolf Packs

2011-09-14T18:39:00.000-07:00

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.

Breaking Dawn Charity Quilt: Jacob and Renesmee

2011-09-10T12:10:00.000-07:00

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.

Twilighty Hexie Art Journal

2011-08-02T20:00:00.000-07:00

“Do I dazzle you?”
“Frequently.”
– Edward Cullen & Bella Swan Twilight, p. 168

I've been puttering around with some little chipboard art journals and my Go! Fabric Cutter and Hexie die. What do you think?

I made this for a fellow Twilight fan whose birthday was last month. Isn't that apple fabric perfect!?! I tried a little McTavishing on the background. It still needs a little work and I think the next one I do {good things come to those who wait, Twi-Quilter friends } I'll use black thread so it shows up a bit more.

Love this little Twlighty notebook? Want one of your own? I'm hosting a giveaway on my blog and you can enter to win one here!

If you want to make your own, I loosely followed this tutorial for fabric postcards. I made a few alterations; for the front cover I used Pellon Peltex 72F II double-sided fusible stabilizer {I got mine at JoAnn's, but couldn't find it on their web-site} and only used Heat n' Bond Lite to for the appliqué t and to fuse the fabric to the back cover {inside and out}. If you're interested using these cute little On Board 5" x 5" Art Journals {Stampin' Up!® item #108495}, I just happen to know the cutest Stampin' Up!® demonstrator you can order your supplies from. Her name is Jenna and she would be more than happy to help you out. If you live in the US, you can place an order through her web-site {if you live outside the US, visit Stampin' Up!®'s website to find a demonstrator in your own country}.

Twilighty Fabric Postcards

2011-02-14T07:32:00.000-08:00

Why don't you sit with me today? –Edward Cullen, Twilight, page 87

I thought it might be fun to send Twilight-themed fabric postcards to my fellow Twi-hards. I used this tutorial, with a few minor alterations. I finished my outer edges differently {she did a satin stitch, I used pinking shears}. And I used Pellon Peltex 72F II double-sided fusible stablizer instead of the non-fusible Peltex to save on Heat 'n Bond to fuse the front and back to the Peltex. I still used Heat 'n Bond to fuse the additional fabric elements on top. For the pictures, I used fusible ink-jet fabric sheets.

These are for the few who are Team Jacob. I used these as an opportunity to to a little free-motion quilting practice. I did pebbles across the brown strip. The first one wasn't much fun, but I'd gotten into a groove by the second one. My original plan was to quilt in a birthday wish using the character's font from the book, but after spending well over an hour on the first one, I changed my mind. This cute little paw print fabric I used for the background came from Angie.

These are for the girls who are Team Switzerland. Again, I did a little FMQ practice — horizontal straight lines on the background, a few flourishes at the corners of the pictures and some elongated loops across the burgundy strip. Sorry about the fuzzy picture.

And these are the Team Edward postcards. I found this fabulous batik with the apples on sale on-line, six or eight months ago and bought a yard, wondering what fabulous project I could make with it. LOVE it for these postcards! The red Moda Marbles came from Wanda. I quilted swirly scrolls along the red accent strip and did flourishes or frames around the picture.

More postcards for Team Edward. I did the same quilting on these; swirly scrolls on the accent strip and frames around the pictures.

Our group is predominantly Team Edward. Iris sent me that gorgeous gold fabric I used for the accent strips. Nothing too original with the quilting on these — elongated loops across the gold strips and flourishes on the pictures. I also did vertical straight-line quilting on the backgrounds for these.

I did stippling on the red background and just a straight stitch across the black accent strip. That fabric is some of the tiny bit I have left from the quilt we made for Stephenie Meyer. I love the swirls in it.

I love this picture of Bella and Edward. I kind of went with what I knew for the quilting and did elongated loops across the burgundy accent strip and flourishes on the pictures.

And this is my absolute favorite — Edward in the meadow. Wanda found the background fabric and sent a little bit to everyone in our group who wanted some. It goes perfectly with this picture. I did little flowers across the accent strips and flourishes at the corners of the pictures.

And there you have it. Fifteen Twilighty fabric post cards.

A Home for the Eclipse Quilt

2010-08-26T10:11:00.000-07:00

Desiree Brugman was the winner of our Eclipse Charity Quilt. She dropped us a line to let us know the quilt arrived safely. Her initial reaction was priceless. She said:

My daughter Maddie's reaction was, "Its huge! It's so pretty!" And all Meagan could say was, "Wow mom!" As for me, all I could do was smile and touch it. It's absolutely breath taking!

She sent us another note with a photo of her girls holding the quilt and we'd like to share that with you.

We were thrilled with the quilt! You can't just call it a quilt though, its a true piece of art. The girls and I have looked at and touched each square. The work that was put into it is amazing. Of course we each have our favorite square. Mine is the imprinting, Maddie's is Rosalie's and Meagan likes the tent scene. My husband couldn't pick just one; he liked the whole quilt, but was real impressed with the ribbon that runs through it. We're going to use it as a wall hanging over our sofa. That way everyone can enjoy it. I am still amazed we won this. We can't wait to see what you girls come up with for Breaking Dawn (we're anxious to see the movie too!). Thanks so much for the quilt and your love of Twilight. I'm proud to say yes, I am one of those Twilight people, a Twilight Mom as a matter of fact!

Congratulations to Desiree and her girls, Maddie and Meagan! We would also like to thank every one who donated to Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation. We believe it is an important cause.

And the winner is.....

2010-08-09T21:44:00.000-07:00

We would like to congratulate Desiree Brugman, along with her daughters Maddie (9 yo) and Meagan (8yo) from Texas on winning the Eclipse Quilt!

Once again thanks to everyone who participated in our Eclipse Give-To-Win. Thank you for your support and your interest.

~~~

Stephenie Meyer talks about our quilt!!!

2010-08-07T10:35:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Twilight Lexicon posted part of the Eclipse Junket interview done by Twifans.com where Stephenie Meyer says the quilt we gifted her, Piece, Love, Twilight, is lovely!!!!

Letters to Twilight posed the question: So what have you been given where you’re, like, “Oh! Okay…that’s interesting…”

Stephenie's response: What’s the weirdest thing I’ve been given? I been given some really amazing stuff, because someone gave me a quilt that…….I mean, I don’t have words. It’s amazing. Each square was made by someone different. And they depict scenes from different scenes from the book. And it’s lovely.

Here is the audio of the interview.

Here is Stephenie's Quilt:

You can see the post at Twilight Lexicon here and the entire transcript is here.

~~~

Eclipse Charity Quilt: Thanks for all the support

2010-08-05T10:53:00.000-07:00

The Eclipse Give-to-Win is officially closed. We'd like to thank everyone who has shown interest in our work and everyone who has donated. We are proud of everyone involved in this project. Together we raised $1729 for ALSF!!! Stay tuned, the lucky winner will be announced August 10th.

~~~

Eclipse Charity Quilt: The Finishing Touches

2010-07-29T15:14:00.000-07:00

Ok, my last post was a huge essay....so I'm going to keep this one short and SWEET! Here are the pretty pictures of the finished quilt, so you can see all the yummy quilting Angie did on it !

I took these photos outside with the morning sun at an angle, hoping to get that quilting to show up. It was done with invisible thread, also called monofilament thread, so that it wouldn't interfere with the designs. Not sure what brand Angie used, we'll have to do a post exploring the do's and don'ts of invisible thread sometime in the future .

It's a shame the camera still doesn't capture the full sparklingness of this quilt. All the shimmery Fairy Frosts, rhinestones and beads, and thanks to that invisible thread, all the quilting sparkles in the sun! Mouse over the lower right corner for the controls to stop the slide show for a better look at the pictures.

Iris
~~~

Eclipse Charity Quilt: It's All in the Details

2010-07-22T16:20:00.000-07:00

The most difficult aspect of this quilt was the ribbon. How can you mimic the Eclipse book cover ribbon with fabric? One that is interrupted by 20 blocks? The easiest way would have been to put the blocks together with sashing, mark up where the outline of the ribbon needed to go, cut out pieces from one color of red, and fuse them on. But then you get an outline of a ribbon, with no depth and the ribbon pieces really wouldn't form a coherent unified piece. Plus it would look like a tacky afterthought, even if it were stitched along the edges. I wanted the ribbon to look like part of the background, not slapped on top.

To achieve the look I was going for, I would need multiple shades of red in order to show that it is flowing and folding around, with lighter and darker areas. I started out by opening an image of the Eclipse book cover in Photoshop. I tried my hand with the pen tool, outlining the ribbon shape, but that still looked blocky. I then tried the magic wand tool, trying to select just certain color sections, but there are too many shades of the color in a high def image to easily select distinct sections.

And then the Photoshop Guru (my husband) gave me a tip that was an "aha" moment. He took one look at what I was doing one evening as we were watching TV on the couch together (I rarely watch TV without doing something else at the same time) and calmly said, "just Posterize it". I stared glassy eyed at him till he told me what it meant, we looked to see if my "inferior" Photoshop Elements version had it (so far it's been able to do everything that the super expensive CS version does), and we tried it out.

I tried to find an official definition/ tutorial on what it does, but everything out there sounds too complicated or tells you how to use it for other things. And I'm not going to make this post a Photoshop tutorial, it's going to be long enough already. Basically it takes your high quality image and reduces the number of different tones in your image. It makes it look more cartoon-like. So I went from the image on top, with who knows how many tones of red....to the image on the bottom, in which I specified I only wanted 4 tones. Three tones was too simple, didn't provide the depth I was looking for, and I didn't want to look for more than 4 different fabrics to use!

So then I went shopping! For Fairy Frost! Online at our favorite place to shop for FF, Mary Jo's, of course (the shops around here don't carry more than one or two colors). At first I tried doing this combination of reds: a mottled red batik (for the shadow – don't know what it's called) with Scarlet, Blood, and Pomegranate Fairy Frosts.

As you can see there just isn't enough contrast. There is no definition between the 3 Fairy Frosts. I went looking around again, searching locally and online, and even considered just dying some of the Snow (white) FF I had, but finally found a lighter pink color called Lipstick at Fat Quarter Shop. I cringed at the pinkness of it, but one thing I have found over the years is that I tend to not use enough contrast and things look washed out. So I rearranged colors and came up with a new quadruple: the mottled red batik with Scarlett, Pomegranate, and Lipstick Fairy Frosts.

The next challenge was piecing it into the background. At first I thought I would piece it with rectangle and half-square triangles into a "rough" ribbon. I even drafted it up that way in my design (see the second picture above). The fact that it wouldn't be a solid background, but would be in the sashing between 20 blocks and 20 quotes was an obstacle. There was no way around the fact that I would be making things more complicated needing to piece around the blocks and quotes. I couldn't think of how to piece it easily, but I did find a wonderful technique for piecing curves. Fiber artist Dale Fleming has a technique called "Pieced Curves So Simple" and I looked at this tutorial on HGTV to figure it out. I'd previously done regular piecing and paper piecing but this is a whole new method, and it was actually super easy. The curves come together nicely, it was the piecing between all the blocks and quotes that had me yanking hair out!

Here is a quick overview of how the curvy parts worked: I drafted up my design to scale in Photoshop, meaning the quilt was to be 58" x 62", and my design canvas size was 58" x 62". It made for a slow file to work with, but I didn't want to deal with scaling. I had the grid showing on the file and I went through and methodically printed a paper template for each 8" x 10" section that had ribbon on it. I pinned the templates on my design wall behind the prepped blocks and sections of black/grey background fabric sashing. (And if anyone knows a quicker way than manually hitting "print" and giving it the coordinates each time, let me know!) You can see that the ribbon is made up of paper.

Unfortunately I wasn't thinking ahead and did not take photos of the process, but I'll try to describe it as well as I can and include the couple of photos I have. For each section, I cut the separate template colors apart. I used the templates to cut each corresponding fabric, with a roughly 1/2" seam allowance. Then along the inner curve I clipped the seam allowance and folded it over the paper. Using a washable fabric glue stick I lightly tacked down the seam allowance to the back of the paper template. I then lightly ironed it so that it had a crisp edge. I placed the "outer color" (which has the paper template attached) on top of the "inner" color and tacked down just that seam allowance to the bottom color (you can see in this first photo that I've re-taped the two darker reds, cut the shape of the pink and already folded it over the paper template and tacked down to the reds).

Then I peeled off the top "outer color" from it's paper backing to get to the crisp folded edge, and sewed along that seam (in the 2nd photo). Then I removed the paper backing all together, and ironed to smooth it out. I basically "built up" each section this way.

It may sound complicated, and unfortunately I don't have a "tutorial" of my own photos, but it actually is no harder than paper piecing. You just have the extra steps of cutting your pieces into a curves, clipping the seam allowances, and gluing the fabric around the edge of the paper before sewing them together.

This fourth picture shows a clipped edge already sewn onto the reds/pink with the paper removed.

To re-cap the process: I started with an image of the ribbon, I made it into a "cartoon" with only four shades of color . . . and this is the end result:

Eclipse Charity Quilt: The beginnings

2010-07-20T11:40:00.000-07:00

As we come upon the last two weeks of our Donate to Win fundraiser for Alex's Lemonade Stand, I thought it would be fun to share with everyone some more details about this one of a kind quilt and how it came about. If you've been reading our blog for some time you'll know that we all met just last winter/spring and in just one year we've been busy with several group projects, all through online and mail collaboration. The first big one was the quilt we gifted Stephenie Meyer (spring/summer '09) and then our first for charity project, the New Moon Quilt (fall '09). In February we started planning our third "big" project, also for charity and on our TwilightMOMs Eclipse Charity Quilt thread we opened a call for designs. Eclipse is my favorite of the "published" books in the Saga, and immediately I felt inspired to make a design for the quilt. I had seen a small wall hanging quilt in a magazine that looked nothing like I wanted, but had the suggestion of a ribbon running around blocks and felt that a ribbon had to be incorporated somehow.

My first attempt looked like this--------------------------------->
But I wasn't satisfied with how blocky it was, and no matter how much I played with the "ribbon", made up of rectangle and half square triangle pieces, I couldn't get it to look right.
But having everything revolving around a central Eclipse was something that I liked.

In the previous two quilts, it frustrated me that we had to narrow down to only a couple of quotes. But this done for good reasons: one they were embroidered, so they had to be big enough to be feasible; and two the blocks were the star of the show. But I love Stephenie's characters and so much of what they say. If I could, I'd have the whole Saga quoted on my walls! Recently I've been experimenting with printing on fabric, both the "printable fabric" you can buy, and making my own, and I thought this would be a great way to incorporate more quotes since they can be smaller and still be legible.

<----I have an Edward Cullen fan-made calendar that has this page I really like. As a scrapbooker, having the scenes shown as labeled "polaroids" seems so fun to me. And it's a way to incorporate those quotes I so desperately love.

So I thought, why not make the whole quilt look like a scrapbook page: the Eclipse book cover as the "background"; the appliqued Eclipse as an "embellishment"; the blocks as the "photos"; and the pertinent quotes as the "journaling". Here was attempt#2 -------------------->

They were the only designs submitted by our deadline and we put them up for vote. Someone suggested changing the polaroid effect for a framed photo with a separate jouraling tag under each, which has a much cleaner, sophisticated look. And thus the design evolved to this (with temporary "sample" blocks):

Check back tomorrow to see how the ribbon evolved from something blocky to the flowy ribbon on the Eclipse cover.
(and for some good Photoshop tips!)

Iris

~~~~

Eclipse Charity Quilt: Help Us Spread the Word

2010-07-10T19:12:00.000-07:00

No doubt, you've seen the movie by now and so you're more excited than ever about getting a chance to win our Eclipse quilt! We donated our time, talents and materials to create this quilt in order to raise money for Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation, a charity close to the hearts of the Twilight Fandom. We're collecting donations for ALSF and in addition to your donation (for which we are very grateful), you can also help us by spreading the word! Blog about our quilt and grab one of our buttons to display in your sidebar.

Small Button - 150 pixels wide

Large Button - 220 pixels wide

We are accepting donations through August 1, 2010 and the winner will be announced on August 10, 2010.

If you blog about us or even just display our button, leave us a comment with a link to your blog and we'll stop by and visit you!

Presenting: The Eclipse Give-to-Win Charity Quilt

2010-06-03T12:12:00.000-07:00

We've given you a little preview of this special one of a kind Eclipse quilt we've been working on, and now it's time for the grand reveal!

This special quilt is being given away to support Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation, a charity close to the hearts of the Twilight Fandom. See Peter (the embodiment of our beloved Dr. Carlisle Cullen) Facinelli's promotional video for ALSF below.

Give to win? How does this work? Simple! Donate $5 to ALSF through our PayPal button here on the blog or on the Eclipse charity Give-to-Win page and you’ll get a chance to win this original, one of a kind beauty.

This is a once in a lifetime opportunity for any Twilight Saga fan! A handmade, Eclipse themed quilt made by the members of the TQC, and just in time for the movie release! To make it extra special, the quilt has 3 autographs from the saga's actors: Peter Facinelli (Carlisle Cullen), Chaske Spencer (Sam Uley), and Daniel Cudmore (Felix)! For every $5 increment donation, you get a chance to win. Give $5, get 1 chance; give $20, get 4 chances, etc. (so the more you give, the more chances you get to win!). Donations will be accepted from June 4, 2010 until August 1, 2010. The winner will be announced on August 10, 2010. We promise to not share your personal info with any other party. Your name will be posted on our website if you are the winner, but nothing more. So remember to make sure your contact info is correct in your PayPal account so we can contact you if you win. Please give generously! And who knows? You might have this gorgeous quilt in your hands!

Twilight Quilters Coven
Angie, Cat, Elizabeth, Iris, Jerri Lynn, Joyce, Kate, Mel and Wanda

The Virtues of Fairy Frost

2010-05-26T06:30:00.000-07:00

Fairy Frost is a fabric line by Michael Miller and is a favorite in our group because it is shiny and sometimes even sparkly. As we all know, vampires sparkle and since we quilt about vampires, Fairy Frost is a great pick. (Comments with the words real vampires don't sparkle, or any combination thereof, will be immediately deleted. It is not up for debate, but next time you meet a real vampire, you can ask him and then we'll discuss.) Elizabeth (that's me) has been named the Queen of the Fairy Frost because of my large stash (50 colors and counting, pictured in part above) and frequent use of Fairy Frost in my Twilight quilt blocks. I named Angie the Fairy Frost Princess. See why here.

Fairy Frost comes in a rainbow of colors, each with a really cool name. Generally the color is tonal and splotchy with a pearlescent or metallic overlay. These have a really nice shimmer to them. Sometimes the overlay is pearlescent and metallic, which gives it a kind of shimmery marbled effect (Natural Fairy Frost). There are a few colors like Aqua, Diamond, Evergreen, Garland, Glimmer, Holly Berry, Platinum and Twinkle which have a glitter overlay.

The least expensive place we've found for Fairy Frost is MaryJo's, a fabric mecca in North Carolina with mountains of fabrics at thimble-sized prices (just in case you thought I was clever enough to come up with that terrific, albeit slightly mixed, metaphor, it's their tag-line. I totally stole it off their site). Unlike most other on-line fabric stores, their shipping is flat-rate and so sometimes that makes up for the great discount on their fabrics when you factor that into the total cost. However, they do have a great selection. If you are looking for a certain color of Fairy Frost (or other fabrics as well) and MaryJo's doesn't have it, Quiltshops.com is a great tool because you can search by name and then comparison shop for the best price.

If you're not sold on Fairy Frost yet, and Twilight and quilting about vampires isn't your cup of tea ~~how'd you end up here?~~ you can add a little shimmer to more traditional quilting. Check out this amazing quilt that Angie is working on for her neighbor. The turquoise and olive checkers are Fairy Frost as is the coral. They really make this quilt.

Here's a bigger shot of the quilt, called Autumn in New England, and you can read about how this quilt came to be on Angie's blog.

You would think we were getting paid to advertise Fairy Frost. But we're not. Michael Miller, if you're out there trolling blogs for people who think Fairy Frost is fabulous, we're your number 1 fans (and we wouldn't mind if you sent something fabulous and shiny our way)!

Blogger's Quilt Festival: Piece, Love, Twilight

2010-05-24T13:29:00.000-07:00

We are excited to participate in the Blogger's Quilt Festival, hosted by Amy's Creative Side. The Blogger's Quilt Festival is an on-line tour of quilters in action. It is open to everyone with a blog and a love of quilting. If you'd like to participate, you can find more information here.

The quilt we are featuring for the Festival is Piece, Love, Twilight: A Quilt for Stepehnie Meyer. We created it as a tribute to her amazing series, the Twilight books.

We live scattered across the United States, Canada and even have a member in Australia. When we began work on this quilt we'd never met each other in person. We coordinated design and blocks on a thread at TwilightMOMS. We brainstormed ideas chose blocks that we thought best represented the books. Each of us signed up for blocks that interested us and when they were completed, they were to Elizabeth for assembly. When the top was complete, Elizabeth mailed the quilt to Vivian, who did a beautiful custom quilting job on it and then hand-delivered the quilt back to Elizabeth for binding and a label.

Elizabeth (l) and Vivian (r), July 8, 2009

When the quilt was finished, we entered it in the Springville Art Museum quilt show where it won Best Group Quilt with a $100 prize (which was donated to ALSF) and the Pacific International Quilt Festival.

Several of our group members came to visit the quilt while it was at the Springville Art Museum, but not everybody could meet on the same day.

(l to r) Wanda, Shannon, Elizabeth, Iris, August 2009

(l to r)Vivian, Shannon, Elizabeth, Iris, August 2009

This quilt was created by Twilight Quilters Coven members Cat, Elizabeth, Iris, Jerri Lynn, Joyce, Vivian and Wanda and former group members Jean and Shannon. We were even featured in the February/March 2010 issue of Quilter's Home Magazine. We sent the quilt to Stephenie Meyer in January of 2010 as thanks for the inspiration she gives to each of us.

Here are some close-up shots of the individual blocks (place cursor in the right hand corner to bring up play options to pause, stop, etc. the slideshow):

Block credits

Medallion Center:
Forbidden Fruit: pattern by Cat, piecing by Shannon
Broken Petals: pattern by Cat, piecing by Elizabeth
Eclipse Ribbon: design and piecing by Elizabeth
Breaking Dawn: design and piecing by Elizabeth

Miscellaneous:
Quilt layout, assembly and binding: by Elizabeth
Book Quotes: machine embroidery by Jerri Lynn
Machine Quilting: by Vivian

Top Row:
Forks Trees: design and piecing by Wanda
Charlie: pattern by Jennifer Ofenstein, design and piecing by Jerri Lynn
Vampire Baseball: pattern by Elizabeth, piecing by Wanda
Bella's Truck: pattern by Cat, piecing by Joyce
"My" Jacob's Paw Print: pattern by Cat, piecing by Jean

Left Column:
Vegetarian Vampire Eyes: traditional jewel box pattern, piecing by Jean
Carlisle & Esme: pattern by Jennifer Ofenstein, layout and piecing by Iris
Emmett & Rosalie: pattern by Linda Hibbert, piecing by Shannon
Jasper & Alice: pattern by Jennifer Ofenstein, Jasper fabric by Iris, piecing by Shannon
The Meadow: pattern and piecing by Iris

Right Column:
The "Other" Jacob: pattern by Jennifer Ofenstein, piecing by Joyce
La Push First Beach: pattern by Cat, piecing by Jerri Lynn
Bella's Bracelet: pattern by Cat, piecing by Joyce
Edward's Crystal Heart: pattern and piecing by Iris
The Volturi: Clock Tower at Volterra: pattern and piecing by Iris

Bottom Row:
And So the Lion Fell In Love With the Lamb: Lion pattern by Linda Hibbert, Lamb pattern by Four Twin Sisters, piecing by Shannon
Bella & Edward's Wedding Dance: pattern by Liz Schwartz & Stephen Seifert, piecing by Shannon
Isle Esme: feather pattern by Jennifer Ofenstein, layout and piecing by Iris
Renesmee's Locket: design and piecing by Joyce
Bella & Edward's Stone Cottage: pattern and piecing by Shannon

Our group also created a New Moon quilt for the release of the movie. The quilt was auctioned off for $850, all of which was donated to ALSF.

We are currently working on an Eclipse donation quilt, the proceeds of which will also go to ALSF. Check back for more details as the quilt unfolds.

Eclipse Charity Quilt: Under Construction

2010-05-23T12:00:00.000-07:00

Iris designed the layout for our Eclipse quilt. She's kept us updated as construction of the top progressed.

As she received the blocks, she added a sashing of Fairy Frost in Snow around each.

Each block will have a quote from the book to accompany it. Iris printed out the quotes in each character's font (as used in the books) on Snow Fairy Frost and treated them so that the printing would stay permanently on the fabric.

Then she put the blocks with their sashing and quotes up on her design wall.

Stay tuned for more updates on the quilt in progress.

Eclipse Charity Quilt: I Can't Fight With An Eclipse

2010-05-22T19:25:00.000-07:00

Eclipse by Iris

The clouds I can handle. But I can't fight with an eclipse. –Jacob Black, Eclipse, page 600

Block design and assembly by Iris.

Eclipse Charity Quilt: Newborn Combat Training

2010-05-21T06:00:00.000-07:00

Newborn Combat Training by Kate

"When will our guests arrive?" Carlisle asked Edward.

Edward concentrated for a moment and then sighed. "A minute and a half. But I'm going to have to translate. They don't trust us enough to use their human forms."

Carlisle nodded. "This is hard for them. I'm grateful they're coming at all."
-Edward and Carlisle Cullen, Eclipse, page 390-391

Original block design by Kate.

Eclipse Charity Quilt: The Meadow

2010-05-20T06:00:00.000-07:00

The Meadow by Jerri Lynn

The meadow was a peaceful, happy place today. Patches of summer daisies interrupted the grass with splashes of white and yellow. I lay back, ignoring the slight dampness of the ground, and looked for pictures in the clouds. They were too even, too smooth. No pictures, just a soft, gray blanket.

Edward lay next to me and held my hand.

"August thirteenth?" he asked casually after a few minutes of comfortable silence.

"That gives me a month till my birthday. I didn't want to cut it too close."

He sighed. "Esme is three years older than Carlisle -- technically. Did you know that?"

I shook my head.

"It hasn't made any difference to them."

My voice was serene, a counterpoint to his anxiety. "My age is not really that important. Edward, I'm ready. I've chosen my life -- now I want to start living it."
-Bella Swan and Edward Cullen, Eclipse, page 615-616

Original paper piecing pattern by Cat. Block pieced by Jerri Lynn.

Eclipse Charity Quilt: Bella's Bracelet

2010-05-19T06:00:00.000-07:00

Bella's Bracelet by Jerri Lynn

I examined [the bracelet] 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." [Edward] 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

Original paper piecing pattern by Cat. Pieced by Jerri Lynn

Eclipse Charity Quilt: Victoria

2010-05-18T06:00:00.001-07:00

Victoria by Cat

Her orange hair was brighter than I remembered, more like a flame . . . the fire around her face seemed to shimmer slightly.
-Bella Swan, Eclipse, page 541

Original paper piecing pattern by Cat. Block pieced by Cat.

Eoin Marcus

2010-05-17T20:50:00.001-07:00

Cleaning and scrubbing
Can wait till tomorrow
For babies grow up,
We've learned to our sorrow.
So, cobwebs, be quiet.
Dust, go to sleep.
I'm rocking my baby
And babies don't keep.
-Unknown

Announcing the long awaited arrival of Eoin Marcus, Cat's beautiful son.

Eoin was born on May 1, 2010 at 5:05 am. He weighed 3.520 kg. (7 lbs. 12 oz.) and was 50 cm (19⅝") long.

Cat informs us: Eoin is pronounced similar to Owen. It is the Irish form of the name Ian, which is his paternal grandfather's name and also has a very similar meaning to his last name. Marcus is his maternal great-grandfather's name.

Mother and baby are both doing well. Welcome little Eoin!

One Flaw in Women

2010-05-09T11:35:00.000-07:00

Women have strengths that amaze men .....

They bear hardships and they carry burdens, but they hold happiness, love and joy.
They smile when they want to scream.
They sing when they want to cry.
They cry when they are happy and laugh when they are nervous.
They fight for what they believe in.
They stand up to injustice.
They don't take "no" for an answer when they believe there is a better solution.
They go without so their family can have.
They love unconditionally.
They cry when their children excel and cheer when their friends get awards.
They are happy when they hear about a birth or a wedding.
Their hearts break when a friend dies.
They grieve at the loss of a family member, yet they are strong when they think there is no strength left.
They know that a hug and a kiss can heal a broken heart.
Women come in all shapes, sizes and colors.
They'll drive, fly, walk, run or e-mail you to show how much they care about you.
The heart of a woman is what makes the world keep turning.
They bring joy, hope and love.
They have compassion and ideas.
They give moral support to their family and friends.
Women have vital things to say and everything to give.

However if there is one flaw in women,

it is that they forget their worth.

Prose: Author Unknown
Artwork: Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Young Women Talking, 1878

Shared by Wanda

Chooks and Quilts

2010-05-06T09:16:00.000-07:00

This is Cat. Isn't she pretty? Cat lives in Australia and designs lovely Twilight themed paper piecing patterns and gardens and has chickens. In Australia they call chickens 'chooks.' Cat's husband calls her the Chicken Whisperer because her chickens all have names and listen to her and do what she tells them. Cat is expecting her first baby and since Cat is such a special member of our group, we decided that we needed to make a quilt for the little nudger. With chickens. And Minkee on the back. And lots of love.

Angie, Elizabeth, Iris, Joyce, Jerri Lynn, Mel and Wanda worked on this project secretly. We're virtual friends (most of us have never met in person), so we discussed plans in private messages (and a few e-mails) over at TwilightMOMS. Even though Cat could never walk up on us at Guild Meeting talking in a huddle about her baby quilt, we still had a really hard time keeping it a secret. And it was a LONG secret to keep. We started making plans and organizing in January. Blocks were due to Wanda in late February. When she finished with assembly, she shipped the quilt top and minkee backing to Angie, who quilted it, bound it and sent it back to Wanda. Wanda added a label and, at last, it was shipped it all. the. way. to Australia. We're excited that Cat has finally received the quilt and the doors are blown off this secret so now we can share it with you too!

We wanted to share a bit about our little chook blocks and the fun we had putting this surprise together for Cat. We'll start in the top left corner and work from there. Click on any of the pictures for a closer look.

Hen with Chick by Elizabeth

I did this block using Cat's own design, Hen with Chick. I thought it was fitting to use Cat's patterns in a baby quilt for her. I used a bit of Fairy Frost (a perennial favorite) in the hen's beak and for the fluffy yellow chick. I also used another of my favorite fabrics for the hen's body, Moda Essential Dots. The eyes are 'painted' on here. I hadn't decided how I wanted to do them at this point; buttons seemed too big and French knots seemed too small. In the end I did a satin stitch on them.

Chick by Iris

Rooster by Elizabeth

When I started my blocks for this quilt, I had a something else in mind for my second block. But after putting together the Hen with Chick, I thought it might be cute to put together a little 'family' of chickens, using the same fabric (a Nancy Halverson print with hearts and a 'feathery' look to it) on the upper part of the rooster (another of Cat's designs) as I did the hen. I conferred with my co-conspirators and they all agreed that the family of chickens was fun. It was so neat to make a sneaky project for someone who inspires me so much! Good luck with the new little one, Cat!

Hippie Chicken by Angie

'The man', as I so affectionaly refer to my husband, couldn't decide between Broody and Flappin' over at Fat Cat Patterns but in the end Flappin' was just too silly not to use. Then of course I had to have crazy colors and batiks are kind of my thing so I tried to make them as crazy as possible. So Flappin' ended up being named the 'Hippie Chicken' with all her tye die fabrics.

Three Eggs by Jerri Lynn

Three Eggs pattern by Jennifer Ofensten at SewHooked.

Mother Hen by Joyce

I found this pattern at Fat Cat Patterns. It was designed by Syndi Rodenmayer. She is just too cute! I had to make her. This block could also be called 'Fun with Batiks' because I used so many. There are 10 different fabrics in this block. I selected the fabrics and in which section they would be used. I used Steam a Seam Lite 2, which made piecing things together and fusing easy. Once everything was ready, it was just a matter of putting the picture together one layer at a time. For the finishing touches, I added some white to the eyes and some eyelashes.

Cat's Rooster Right by Joyce

I learned later that this pattern was designed for Cat by Jennifer Ofenstein at SewHooked. Very cool! For fabrics, I was just looking for something fun and baby-appropriate. I liked the bold orange-red for the comb and the orange for the beak. The dots on the pale yellow fabric reminded me of feathers, and the batik in the middle had those shades in more vibrant tones.

Baby Volvo by Wanda

This is my first block for Cat's baby quilt. I had a pattern for rabbits in a car by Bunny Hill Designs. Rabbits Prefer Chocolate is the name of the quilt pattern. Anyway, my rabbit quilt is in progress, but I remembered that the quilt had one block with chicks coming out of eggs. So I searched the dark recesses of a closet and pulled out the pattern and decided that I wanted to make a baby chick driving a car. Of course the silver car represents a baby version of a shiny silver Volvo ;) ! So I used the chick and the car and put them together to make my block. It is fused with Steam-A-Seam Lite and then appliquéd with a blanket stitch. I wanted to write "baby Volvo" on the car, but just couldn't figure out where to put it so in the end I just left it as is, knowing that I could tell this and Cat would know it's a little piece of Twilight in her baby's quilt.

Struttin' Chick by Mel

This project was so much fun to make. As soon as I heard the idea, I was in! I knew Cat would be tickled pink to have a chicken quilt for her baby, being the owner of a small chicken family herself. So I went searching on Google and found this great Struttin' Chick pattern at Patch Pieces! I love it because the chick is so chubby!!! We agreed on pastels, but when I saw the beans fabric, I couldn't resist! It just looked too cute. I thought it would look like the chick was in a garden. The chick is made with a canary yellow fabric, with orange-y vines in it. The beak was made using leftover red-and-gold Christmas fabric; orange didn't work, as the chick was too close to orange already. The legs were embroidered using a zigzag stitch with my machine, and the eye is a star button. I have to say, I am glad Cat received the gift, because this was a HARD secret to keep!!! I'm so glad with the way it all came together. Kudos to Wanda and Angie for finishing it all up. Amazing work!!!

Eggbert by Angie

I got my patterns from Fat Cat Patterns ...and there were just too many cute ones to pick from. My first choice was Eggbert. He is so round and fat and cute. He was just screaming "I need to be on Cat's baby quilt!" I used Steam a Seam 2 under the fabric and then blanket stitched over the edges with coordinating threads. I know it is unconventional to use stripes for this type of thing.

Heart Chicken by Wanda

This is my second block for Cat's quilt. I resized a heart chicken from a pattern called Three Chicks by Lady Bug Lace. I just thought the chicken heart was in keeping with the love that surrounds motherhood and baby. It is also put together with Steam-A-Seam Lite and then hand appliquéd with a blanket stitch.

Chick by Jerri Lynn

Angie is our go-to girl for long-arm quilting. She said, "This project was so much fun! Yes, we all have a (some would say unhealthy) obsession with Twilight but we are also avid quilters. And I have yet to meet a quilter who doesn't love making things for other people. And the opportunity of making something for one of our sisters was a chance we just could not pass up! Cat, I hope you love it as much as we loved making it!" Here's a close-up of the super theme-coordinated quilting she did in the borders.

Iris made the label for the quilt back and Wanda organized and assembled this little fabric miracle. She said, "I have to say I had the honor to assemble the quilt and I had the most fun doing it! I showed it in different stages to various friends and all were in love with it and want a chicken quilt. In fact I think all participants want a chicken quilt and we have even talked about having a chicken block exchange this summer! When I was looking for border fabric (originally bought chicken wire but it didn't look good for the border) I took the blocks to a store with me. As the clerk was cutting the fabric, she asked what I was making and I was so excited to show her the coven chicken blocks and brag about us. She picked up the stack of blocks and admired the work and told me how she just loved 'this one' which was Joyce's block. She also commented on the wonderful quality of workmanship in the blocks. And she wasn't the only one. The shop owner of my favorite shop also said the same thing. After Angie quilted it, I got to take it to a quilt club meeting and they all admired it as well. Who wouldn't love chickens? Especially ones made for a sweet baby. The hardest part of this quilt was keeping the secret!"

After Cat received the quilt, she sent us a little message.

I would just love to say a big THANK YOU!!! to you lovely ladies for the chicken quilt. It is just beautiful. It brought a few tears to my eye! And a thanks you for the other little goodies that were added as well. It was a very thoughtful gift and i really appreciate all the thought and effort that went into it.

You ladies are just so AMAZING! I'm so glad to be part of such a wonderful and caring group.

Thank you again!

You Know you are a Quilter If........

2010-05-04T04:34:00.000-07:00

You Know you are a Quilter If........

This was posted in my guild's newsletter this month and thought it was too appropriate not to share.

There's more fabric in the house than food.
"Fat Quarters" are not the heaviest part of your body.
Your ironing board is always set up but you never iron clothes.
You think of your job as an interruption of your quilting time.
You pet fabric.
People are always picking threads off you.
You can measure a scant ¼" by eye.
"Featherweight" doesn't mean boxer.
Your "UFO's" are not from outer space.
You clean up your sewing room & they think you are leaving.

Eclipse Charity Quilt: I am Switzerland

2010-04-30T08:10:00.000-07:00

Switzerland by Angie

I am a neutral country. I am Switzerland. I refuse to be affected by territorial disputes between mythical creatures. -Bella Swan, Eclipse, page 143

I used Cat's Switzerland crest pattern. It is super simple and I wish I had had some time to embellish it some but was in a time crunch so I just made the pattern the way it was designed. Since I couldn't add anything, I tried to use the most fabulous fabrics I could in the block. I used white (Snow) fairy frost for the center cross and Holly Berry fairy frost for the shield part. I have to tell you about this fabric...I got it at 'my happy place,' MaryJo's. It was marked 'as is' so I thought maybe there was a mistake in the bolt somewhere...but didn't see any in the yard I bought so I didn't worry about it. Now I think it is discontinued. I have looked around to get more of it and even gone back to the store to get more and have never seen it's equal again. It is the most awesome fabric! It is different shades of blood red with the fairy frost print on it and then sort of sprinkled with gold glitter. You have to see it to appreciate it. Anyway...the black is just basic Kona cotton in black. I really like this pattern and like all of Cat's patterns it was super easy to make and lots of fun!

Eclipse Charity Quilt: Penguins

2010-04-29T07:46:00.000-07:00

Penguins by Joyce

"You won’t let me be like that. We’ll live in Antarctica."
Edward snorted. "Penguins. Lovely."
-Bella Swan and Edward Cullen, Eclipse, page 26

We wanted to celebrate the humor in Eclipse and enjoyed all the discussions between Bella, Edward and Charlie about where to apply and attend college.

I used the Wee Penguin design by Jennifer Ofenstein on Sewhooked.

If you've read about my other blocks, you'll recognize some of the fabrics. The feet are the yellow from the Forks high school sign. The beak is the batik used on the fish in the Nature block. The whites are also used in the Nature eagle, and the black was also used for Bella's silhouette. I wanted an icy blue for the sky, and loved the sparkly blue for the water.

I designed the school pennants on Printmaster and printed them on printable fabric, then cut them to size along with the 'sticks' and Steam-a-Seamed them onto the block. The penguin's eyes are black beads.

Eclipse Charity Quilt: Trip to Florida

2010-04-26T07:37:00.000-07:00

Trip to Florida by Joyce

I wasn’t about to send you off alone. With your luck, not even the black box would survive. -Edward Cullen, Eclipse, page 88

We wanted to symbolize the trip to Florida with the airplane because, not only did Bella and Edward take a plane to Florida, they have the whole 'black box' and 'what if' note conversation after they get home. I used the same blue batik that I used for the water in the Nature block for the sky in this one.

Originally, I had used grays for the plane, but there wasn't enough contrast, so I used 3 different reds. I like it much better!

The design is from Paper Panache and was designed by Linda Worland. It is called Airplane.

Eclipse Charity Quilt: Nature

2010-04-25T10:13:00.000-07:00

Nature by Joyce

You see it everywhere. Nature taking its course - hunter and prey, the endless cycle of life and death. And yet, you don't see the fish trying to plant a kiss on the eagle. You never see that. -Jacob Black, Eclipse, page 109

I read and re-read the section of Eclipse where Bella visits Jacob and they talk on the beach. I drew what I thought it might have looked like, then searched through pictures of eagles and salmon. I combined elements from many pictures to create the eagle in the position I wanted.

The sky is a batik that varies in color. It is one of my favorites. I used a darker batik for the water and sewed the two together. The beach came next, and I added some curves to give the feel of waves coming ashore. Having finished the foundation, I started cutting out the characters and details.

Bella is black with a treble clef design. Jacob is black with a 'furry' design. I drew the tree freehand and adjusted it to curve and turn with the designs on the fabric where possible.

The fish was drawn freehand and is a batik fabric which goes from yellows to purples. The eagle has many fabrics and is layered. I used Lite Steam A Seam 2 to attach everything and sewed where I wanted a bit more detail. The eye of the eagle is a french knot.

I think this is probably my favorite block. I really like how it turned out and hope you do, too.

Eclipse Charity Quilt: High School Days

2010-04-24T12:08:00.000-07:00

High School Days by Joyce

"Hey, Edward. Ditching, Bella?" [Emmett] grinned at me.
"We both are," Edward reminded him.
Emmett laughed. "Yes, but it's her first time through high school. She might miss something."
-Eclipse, page 283

Since high school plays such an important role in the books, we wanted it represented in this quilt. I started with a sketch of my design. Then I went to fabrics and details. I had this beautiful leaf fabric that really said 'Forks' to me, so used it as a background. I used Printmaster to create the book covers and poster and printed them on printable fabric. I had planned to put cover art on the books, but it just looked too busy.

For the high school sign, I framed the yellow fabric with the brown. After trying a variety of things, I decided to write Forks High School with fabric marker.

The center is three sections. The top is just the green fabric. The second is the sign. The third is the green bordered with the brown 'legs'. I attached them together, then added the left and right sides.

I attached the books with Steam-A-Seam 2 Lite (thank you, Iris, for sharing this with me. I couldn't live without it now!), then satin stitched around the book covers and binding to give it a little more detail and make the books look used.

I put the 'Save the Olympic Wolf' poster on the sign leg as if it had been blown there by the wind. It is supposed to look weathered and old.

Eclipse Charity Quilt: Jacob's Note

2010-04-23T04:47:00.000-07:00

Jacob's Note by Angie

Don't give yourself a brain hemorrhage, Jacob. Just spit it out. -Bella Swan, Eclipse, page 4

When I started thinking about this block I pictured a crumpled up piece of notebook paper kind of tacked down to the background. But that just seems kinda boring. I thought about making a shirt pocket with plaid fabric so it looks sort of like a flannel shirt. Then someone suggested using a jeans pocket like Bella took the note and shoved it into her back pocket. I happen to have a box full of my son's old jeans that I plan to make a quilt out of some day. Plus I was thinking that since they are smaller the pocket would be the right size. It was actually a little small. I had a hard time getting enough of the 'butt part' of the jeans that didn't have a seam on it, that is why it was set sort of wonky. But I like it that way. I added some blue fabric to the borders to make it big enough. Then I printed out the quotes from the note on printable fabric. I changed the order of the messages a little from the book since I REALLY like the "what part of mortal enemies" quote and I really wanted it to be seen once I put the note into the pocket. It is a simple block but I like it, I hope you do too.

Eclipse Charity Quilt: Council Meeting/Third Wife

2010-04-22T13:10:00.000-07:00

Council Meeting/Third Wife Block by Angie

I was thinking of someone outside the magic altogether. I was trying to imagine the face of the unnamed woman who had saved the entire tribe, the third wife. -Bella Swan, Eclipse, page 260

I had this great picture in my mind of a brightly colored campfire rising up from the logs. Showing through the smoke, I saw a beautiful native woman holding her arms out and in one hand there was a knife. I tried many versions on this idea...mostly with appliqué but as I am not a great artist, I couldn't get the picture right. It was really frustrating and I left it alone and did the other two blocks. I came back to this one last.

Iris had sent me a great pattern with tents on it and in one corner of that pattern was a campfire. So I made that pattern and stared at it for a while. And again, walked away because it just wasn't talking to me. I couldn't see the rest of the picture. Plus there wasn't anything framing it. I made a big ole' pine tree and tried to put it next to the campfire...it looked ridiculous! So the tree went into the 'to be used with some other project later' pile. I made a mirror image of the background without the campfire...I wanted it to look quilty so I used different sizes and colors of green on the meadow part of the background. Then I used fusible web to attach some free-cut trees I made and then blanket stitched those down as well. I was pretty ok with the backdrop but was still somewhat stuck with how to depict the stories that were told around the fire.

I knew I needed to represent the third wife portion of the story and searched for DAYS for the right picture that I kept seeing in my head. Alas, I could find no such picture so this was the best I could do. Iris had sent me some printable organza at the beginning of this project and that is what I used for the pictures. Once I had printed that one out, I decided that one picture was not enough and started looking for something to show the 'sprit wolf' portion of the story. I considered doing other pictures too but didn't want it to be too crowded. I was trying very hard to make the story elements not look 'ghostly.' I wanted them to look more like memories or like when you hear a story and you make pictures in your mind...I used almost all batiks for this block as I LOVE them! Nothing captures natural shading and real life colors like batik fabric. The logs in the fire were make with muleskin so they look heavier than the fire. Anyway..there's my crazy developments of this block...

Eclipse Charity Quilt: Rosalie's Unhappy Ending

2010-04-20T08:38:00.000-07:00

Rosalie's Unhappy Ending by Mel

Would you like to hear my story, Bella? It doesn't have a happy ending -- but which of ours does? If we had happy endings, we'd all be under gravestones now. -Rosalie Hale, Eclipse, page 154

Being a mommy of a toddler is fantastic. I find inspiration in my kid's toys, I swear it's true!!! That's where I found the inspiration for this block. My daughter has some cue cards, and one of them had a handheld mirror on it, one of those antique-looking, ornate ones. I thought right away of Rosalie (you know you're a Twilight fan when...) What I did was hand draw a template and then I imported it into my computer and used EQ5 to draw up a paper piecing pattern. I am proud to announce that this is my very first paper piecing pattern!

The mirror represents Rosalie's beauty and vanity. It is broken because in the end, her story is sad and her life gets shattered. I thought this was a great representation for her. I decided to use a gold-tone mirror, because I feel like Rosalie would not have anything silver, only gold. I originally had an ornate rose at the top, but it didn't look right. The background fabric is just some fabric I had bought and never used. I thought it fitted perfectly, as it looks really period-like. I used some fairy frost (courtesy of by Wanda!) for the mirror, and a sparkly black fabric for the broken piece. As a final touch, to make it more polished and rich looking, I added iron-on rhinestones on the mirror frame. So this is my interpretation of "Rosalie Unhappy Ending". Enjoy!!!

xoxox
-Mel

Eclipse Charity Quilt: The Volturi

2010-04-19T07:54:00.000-07:00

The Volturi by Mel

We don't make exceptions. And we don't give second chances. It's bad for our reputation. -Jane, Eclipse, page 578

This block gave me cold sweats and waking nightmares! It was a very important part of the book for me, and being a Volturi fan, I wanted to get this just right. I had the idea of having the Volturi guard, with Jane at the head, holding skulls. The skulls are meant to represent the fact that to the Volturi, Bella's life is going to be over one way or the other. It was then suggested that I put a forest background, to make it fuller. The Forest block is a design by Cat, and was paper pieced. I used what I hope looks like a stormy sky fabric because that's how I remember the scene form the book. The two guard Volturi in the back are holding skulls, which are actually buttons. The Volturi are appliquéd. In the front, you can see Jane, engulfed in fire to represent her very special Pain talent. Also, her cloak was made out of a black fabric with some flowers in it, as when I was watching the special features for New Moon, I realized they used a flowered fabric for her cloak. I thought it would be cool to use this in my representation. If you have been following our blog, you will most probably notice that the Volturi look practically the same as they did in my last block, for the New Moon quilt. I thought why mess with something that worked well for me??? So I used Heat 'N Bond and zigzag stitched my way through the Volturi! However, I added a little twist this time: red French Knot eyes. I hope this lives up to expectations! (I'm still hyperventilating at the thought of making this block...which I volunteered for!!!)

-Mel

Eclipse Charity Quilt: Bella's Broken Heart

2010-04-18T10:39:00.000-07:00

Bella's Broken Heart by Wanda

It had not been Edward and Jacob that I'd been trying to force together, it was the two parts of myself, Edward's Bella and Jacob's Bella. But they could not exist together, and I never should have tried. -Bella Swan, Eclipse, page 608

I used Jennifer Ofenstein's paper pieced pattern on Sewhooked for Bella's Broken Heart. Of course as you know, one piece of the heart belongs to Edward and one piece to Jacob, so in the beginning I experimented with different fabrics in the heart to represent each one. But it just didn't look right so I opted for the traditional red heart using a batik fabric which seemed very heart like to me! The gray background was used to explain the storm and mood in Bella's heart at being torn between two loves.

-Wanda

Eclipse Charity Quilt: Jasper

2010-04-17T13:57:00.000-07:00

Jasper by Wanda

She took a step closer, and inclined her head as if she were going to kiss me. I stood frozen in place, though my instincts were screaming at me to run. -Jasper Hale, Eclipse, page 295

The Jasper block consists of a machine appliquéd state of Texas and a Confederate uniform. I chose the little star fabric for the "lone star state" and for the star that Jasper wears on his uniform as a Major in 1861. The uniform is machine appliqued as well with some straight stitching for sleeve embellishment and French knots for buttons. Just for fun and interest I might add that in the beginning I wasn't sure how to draw the uniform so I researched on line. Then one day as I looked at a sale ad for Macy's I saw a coat which made me think of the military uniform and that helped me with the lines! The background fabric is a Civil War reproduction print which represents the time frame of his story and the dress fabric for the women he was evacuating and for Maria who changed him.

-Wanda

[Editor's Note: Wanda did the most beautiful French knots for buttons on the coat. Click on the picture for a closer view.]

Eclipse Charity Quilt: Imprinting

2010-04-16T16:46:00.000-07:00

Imprinting by Wanda

Sometimes ... we don't exactly know why ... we find our mates that way. I mean . . . our soul mates. -Jacob Black, Eclipse, page 122

This is a traditionally pieced love heart with a machine appliquéd paw print to show imprinting. The paw is a rough sketch (not exactly the same) of Cat's paper pieced paw pattern, which was used in our other quilts. I wanted the appliqué to be similar to that, but felt the best way for me to achieve this was to appliqué it.

-Wanda

Mimi: This Chick's too hip

2010-04-15T21:21:00.000-07:00

Sent from Heaven
up above,
Here is a baby
for you to love.

Happy news! Last month I became a first time g-ma! David Augustus was born on March 19th weighing in at 8 lbs. and 7 oz. At first the new parents couldn't decide if they would call him David or Gus, but the latter prevailed and so its baby Gus! As all of you know, newborns can be fussy so I call him Afusstus sometimes. As far as being called Grandma I wasn't sure about this so my daughter started calling me Mimi which I love, but will still answer to grandma too. I saw a sign I'm going to buy which reads: MIMI: This chick is way too hip to be called grandma!

A new baby in the family is such a blessing and it felt heavenly as my daughter placed her newborn son in my arms. I fell in love instantly.

I'm working on a monkey quilt for baby Gus (should have had that finished by now) and a special little white collared smocked bubble suit for him to wear to church on his blessing day.

I'd like to say thank you to all those who sent their good wishes, comments and thoughtful gifts. It's been a delight.

-Wanda

A Poem for Patchworkers

2010-04-14T04:48:00.000-07:00

A Poem for Patchworkers

Patchworkers are a different breed
The things we hope for, the things we need,
We wish for fabric to finish that row
we sometimes wish our guests would go.

We wish all day for that time to be
that special time - that time for ME.
Each needle is threaded, the colors arrayed,
Scissors and pattern have been carefully laid.

Now we relax, this is our pleasure,
stitching this piece of soon-to-be treasure.
We always ignore that mental warning,
Stitching all night mades it rough in the morning.

But time's unimportant, we don't heed clocks,
We just need fabric and a sewing box.
Our project awaits us, now we proceed
this must be heaven - what more do we need?

Author Unknown

Letter to the Editor

2010-04-12T21:35:00.000-07:00

The Twilight Quilters Coven and the Stephenie Meyer Quilt, Piece, Love, Twilight were featured in the February/March issue of Quilter's Home Magazine. The April/May 2010 issue features a letter in the reader's comment section in response to the article about us. We must admit before we continue, that none of us like the fanged vamp pictures QHM has paired with articles related to our quilts, so we edited out the vamp that went along with this letter for this post. We were thrilled that more than just the TQC members read the article about us and the SM Quilt, and we were excited that quilters out there were doing the same thing we are -- quilting about the books we love so much. Click on the article for the image at a readable size.

For those of you who've dabbled around a bit with Twilight quilting or crafting, we'd love to see your work! If you've blogged about it or have a web-site that you've posted to, enter the direct link to your specific post or page in Mr. Linky below and we and our readers will be able to check you out.

Instructions:

Click on the 'click here to enter' link.
Type in a short description of your Twilight craft followed by your first name.
Enter the address to the specific web-page or post that contains your Twilight craft. (Note: Please link to the specific post and not to your home page. For blogs, click on the title of your blog post to bring up the url for that specific post and not your entire blog. Non-specific links will be deleted).
Type in your e-mail address (will not be shared).

Eclipse Charity Quilt

2010-04-12T20:58:00.002-07:00

On January 22, 2010 we began officially planning an Eclipse themed quilt to be finished and given away in conjunction with a fundraiser for Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation and the release of the Eclipse movie on June 30. This is our index page for the quilt. All of the posts related to this quilt are indexed and linked here, so you can follow our progress and find everything about the quilt in one place.

Our discussion thread on TwilightMOMS

Jacob's Note Block
Penguins Block
Trip to Florida Block
High School Days Block
Nature Block
Imprinting Block
I Am Switzerland Block
Rosalie's Unhappy Ending Block
Council Meeting/Third Wife Block
Jasper Block
Graduation from Forks High School Block
Newborn Combat Training Block
I Can't Fight With An Eclipse Block
Bella's Bracelet Block
Edward's Bedroom/The Proposal Block
The Tent Scene Block
Bella's Broken Heart Block
Victoria Block
The Volturi Block
The Meadow Block
The Quilt Under Construction
Give to Win
The Beginnings
It's All In the Details
The Finishing Touches
Thanks For All the Support
And the Winner Is . . .
A Home for the Eclipse Quilt

Eclipse Charity Quilt: Graduation from Forks High

2010-04-08T11:47:00.000-07:00

Graduation from Forks High by Elizabeth

Edward kissed me quickly, sighed, and went to go stand with the C's. . .

I walked down the line to take my place behind Jessica, mildly curious as to why she was suddenly so friendly. . .

Jess was babbling before I was in earshot.

". . . so amazing. I mean, it seems like we just met, and now we're graduating together," she gushed. "Can you believe it's over? I feel like screaming!" . . .

She droned on and on, and I was sure the sudden return of our friendship was due to graduation nostalgia. . . I paid attention as well as I could while I shrugged into my robe. And I found that I was glad that things could end on a good note with Jessica.

Because it was an ending, no matter what Eric, the valedictorian, had to say about commencement meaning "beginning. . ."

It went so quickly. . .

I watched as Alice, suddenly appearing, danced across the stage. . . Edward followed behind. . . Only the two of them could carry off the hideous yellow and still look the way they did. . .

Mr. Greene said something I didn't hear, and everyone around me shouted and screamed. Yellow hats rained down.
-Bella Swan, Eclipse, pages 353-355

This is my Graduation from Forks High block. When I showed Mr. Bug the pattern, he pointed to the section with the tassel in it and asked, is that actual size? He wondered how all those tiny pieces were going to come off. I think the tassel is my favorite part, though. I used Fairy Frost in Gold, Yellow, Banana and Snow. I also used Fairy Frost on the diploma scroll; Snow, Icing and Silver. I like how the dark blue background makes the yellow really stand out.

Finals were done and most of them had been a cakewalk. My high school education was over. And I didn't really know how I felt about that. I couldn’t look at it objectively, tied up as it was with my human life being over. -Bella Swan, Eclipse, page 323

This block is going in the mail today, on its way to Iris, who designed this quilt and will be assembling it. Hooray! I'm finished!

Eclipse Charity Quilt: Edward's Bedroom

2010-04-07T11:57:00.000-07:00

Edward's Bedroom by Elizabeth

Edward's room was at the farthest end of the third floor hallway, hard to mistake even when the huge house had been less familiar. But when I switched the light on, I paused in confusion. Had I picked the wrong door?

Alice giggled.

It was the same room, I realized quickly; the furniture had just been rearranged. The couch was pushed to the north wall and the stereo shoved up against the vast shelves of CDs -- to make room for the colossal bed that now dominated the central space.

The southern wall of glass reflected the scene back like a mirror, making it look twice as bad.

It matched. The coverlet was a dull gold, just lighter than the walls; the frame was black, made of intricately patterned wrought iron. Sculpted metal roses wound in vines up the tall posts and formed a bowery lattice overhead.
-Bella Swan, Eclipse, page 150

The Twilight series of books are a far cry from a Harlequin romance novel, but things get a little steamy in Eclipse when Edward provides a bed for Bella to sleep in while he has his family hold her hostage when he is away on hunting trips. He returns early from a hunting trip and there is a lot of kissing. But that is as far as he lets it get. As a matter of fact, when Edward himself holds Bella hostage with the rest of his family away for the night, Bella tries to seduce Edward. Fortunately, Edward is a bizarrely moral vampire and insists that Bella marry him first.

I pause here to point out that this all sounds very silly when I talk about it. But Stephenie Meyer can tell quite a story. If you haven't, you ought to read it in her words.

I'm happy to report that I've finished the most difficult of the two blocks I signed up for for the Eclipse Charity Quilt. I think it came out pretty well. The pieces in the ring and the rose were so small and intricate that I'm going a little bit cross-eyed. The ring represents Edward's eloquent proposal and the black rose on the floor represents the rose Edward broke off the bed frame and crushed to dust to show Bella just how fragile she is to him. For the bed frame, I used some of the black fabric that was left from the Stephenie Meyer quilt. I thought that the swirls in the fabric would give the bed that sort of 'wrought iron appearance.' I used shades of gold for the rest of the room. The book describes the bed covers as just lighter than the walls, but I went with lighter walls to give the block a bit of contrast. The fabric I used for the walls is absolutely gorgeous and feels so nice. I combined three patterns, altering and resizing to get the final result. I used Harry's Bed by Jennifer Ofenstein, Cat's Rosebud pattern, and Gaunt's Ring by Michelle Thompson. All of these patterns are available at SewHooked.

I coveted you. I had no right to want you -- but I reached out and took you anyway. And now look what's become of you! Trying to seduce a vampire. -Edward Cullen, Eclipse, page 454

TQC Anniversary Giveaway Winner

2010-04-01T11:40:00.000-07:00

Comments were closed last night and we've drawn a winner for our giveaway.

We drew the winner by hand. All the comments were printed out, cut apart into strips, folded and put in a big bowl. We really mixed them up and then Grasshopper, Elizabeth's son (who's home sick from school today) pulled out the winner. Our prize goes to Zarina:

The favourite tool will be have to be the rotary cutter. I still remember cutting those pieces by scissors eons ago - and those hexagons (which am working on now).

Congratulations Zarina!

Boring details, mostly for Zarina. You'll be receiving an e-mail shortly requesting your mailing information so we can send your prize to you. We put this giveaway together on-the-fly. It was very last minute and none of us live close to each other. We live scattered across the US, Canada and Australia. So a few items for the prize have not arrived at 'prize central' yet. Your package will not be shipped until April 6th, which is only next Tuesday -- not so far away. Thanks for being patient with us. This is our first giveaway. We'll hopefully have it more 'together' the next time around.

We had lots of great comments and honestly wish that we could have picked you all to win our anniversary gift. But since we can't, we thought we'd share with you instead few of our favorite comments from the giveaway.

Z Any Mouse:

My favorite quilting tool is the picture of shirtless Edward I have taped to my sewing machine (also named Edward), to give me incentive to quilt every day. It really works!

Backstitch:

I'd use this fabric and the ruler (in a size I don't have) to make a block for a coworker who loves Twilight and vamps in general and also quilts. She has it pretty rough and it'd be nice to do something for her that I know she'd like.

Ashley:

I'm so glad a friend of mine convinced me to begin the series two years ago. I've read it 3 1/2 times since. I'd love to use this fabric to create a little something for her for introducing me to the books.

Deanna:

My favorite quilting tool is my imagination. I would be lost without it.

SewCalGal:

Favorite quilting tool: Porcupine quill. Yes, a porcupine quill is a must have to help guide small fabric pieces into your sewing machine to ensure even 1/4" stitching at starting point (and frequently finish).

Melzie:

*Sewed* your button on my sidebar! hehe xoxo

Kristen:

I can't believe I just now heard of this blog!

Janet:

My favourite tool is the stitch ripper - especially on the days that I don't have to use it!

Welcome to all our new followers. We've got a project in the works that we're excited to show you over the next few weeks. A big thank you to all who entered and congratulations again to our winner, Zarina, who, by the way, lives in Malaysia!

TQC Anniversary Giveaway Update

2010-03-31T20:48:00.000-07:00

When we announced our giveaway last week, we mentioned that there might be a few more things included in the little prize. At the last minute, we wanted to update you with a few more 'for sure' items in the prize draw.

We are giving away to one lucky winner a 4" x 8" OmniGrid ruler, perfect for trimming all those Twilighty paper piecing patterns as you go. And a few of our favorite sparkly fabrics, because vampires sparkle and we quilt about vampires. Fabrics include a fat quarter each of white with iridescent sparkles (a favorite for Vampire skin), Hollyberry Fairy Frost (red with gold sparkles), Platinum Fairy Frost (silver with silver sparkles) and Diamond Fairy Frost (not shown, but for sure included, black with silver sparkles). We're also including two three-packs of Twilight Quilters Coven Quilt notecards, three each of the Stephenie Meyer Quilt and New Moon Charity Quilt. Lots of people have left comments that their seam ripper is their favorite tool (my favorite was followed by 'especially when I don't have to use it'), so we've added one of those in there -- because we're very familiar with that tool too! And the last thing added is a book hook, created with Twilight in mind. Each of the beads and element represents something or someone special from the series.

There are only a couple of hours left in the drawing. We'll close at midnight Mountain Daylight Time. To enter, read the rules and ENTER HERE!

Also, please note that the Diamond Fairy Frost had to be shipped from one side of the country to the other to make it to rest of the prize and although we'll be drawing tomorrow, we won't ship until April 6th.

Eclipse Charity Quilt: The Tent Scene

2010-03-31T06:01:00.000-07:00

The Tent Scene by Angie

You said she needed a space heater, and here I am. -Jacob Black, Eclipse, page 490

Ok, I am giving this 'blogging' thing a shot. This is my re-creation of the famous 'tent scene'. If you are like me, this was one of your favorite parts of the book. I adored the banter between the 'boys' and the fact that Bella wasn't sure if she dreamed the whole thing or not. I was trying to capture the battle for heat and cold within the tent so the far side is shaded in dark blues and the other side is a mixture of orange (heat) overpowering the blue (cold). I considered adding some kind of element to show the snow storm that was blazing outside the tent (perhaps some glitter) but decided against it in an effort to keep the idea of the scene inside the tent. I am usually a 'less is more' kind of girl. Of course knowing me, I may change my mind if I see something at A.C. Moore that will have the right feel when I run my errands today. I may use the quilting elements to show the storm. I also considered putting a sleeping Seth outside on the ground. If I can find the right shade of brown, I still may do that too. So anywho...this is where I am at for now.

The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner

2010-03-30T18:30:00.001-07:00

Announced today on Stephenie Meyer's web-site, a new book will be coming out on June 5, 2010. The book is titled The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner: An Eclipse Novella. From Stephenie's web-site:

This story was something that I worked on off and on for a while, just for fun, in between the times I was writing or editing other Twilight novels. Later, when the concept for The Twilight Saga: The Official Guide came up, I thought that might be a good place for Bree. Her story is a nice complement to Eclipse; it explains a lot of the things that Bella never knew. So I dusted it off and finished it up for placement in the Guide.

Then I got the news: my "short story" was nearly 200 pages long when typeset. It was too long to fit into the Guide—without ending up with a tome as heavy as the Oxford English Dictionary. My publisher approached me with the idea of releasing the Bree story on its own. One of the major benefits of this plan was that it would be out before the movie, so people would get to know Bree before they saw her in the film. That made sense to me, and we decided to go ahead with it.

The book is available for pre-order from Amazon for a GREAT price, with $1.00 of each purchase going to the American Red Cross. It will also be available for free (yes, really!) at BreeTanner.com from June 7 to July 5, 2010.

The Host

2010-03-27T14:51:00.000-07:00

I knew it would begin with the end, and the end would look like death to these eyes. I had been warned.

Not these eyes. My eyes. Mine. This was me now.

The language I found myself using was odd, but it made sense. Choppy, boxy, blind, and linear. Impossibly crippled in comparison to many I'd used, yet still it managed to find fluidity and expression. Sometimes beauty. My language now. My native tongue.

With the truest instinct of my kind, I'd bound myself securely into the body's center of thought, twined myself inescapably into its every breath and reflex until it was no longer a separate entity. It was me.

Not the body, my body. -Wanderer, The Host, page 9

I'm a Stephenie Meyer fan. Not just a Twilight fan, but a Stephenie Meyer fan. I love her writing style. Her books are nice and thick and full of juicy details. I have a hard time putting them down. The Host is no exception. She take impossible elements and creates a believable world, a place you could almost swear you'd been to. I'll be first in line to buy her next publication, because the places she creates are places I like to visit.

The Host is coming out in paperback on April 13th. If you've never read it, here's your chance to get a copy for free. Eve's Fan Garden is giving away 10 copies of the book, so head over there and check it out.

Personally, I like hardback books. They stand up to the wear and tear of reading and re-reading much better than a paperback. I had a copy of The Host in paperback (really, I did! They were only available through the school market at book fairs in the spring of 2008) but I traded one of my best girlfriends for a new copy in hardback. But I entered this giveaway because the paperback includes a new, never-before-published “Bonus Chapter.” Personally, I'm hoping for a sequel, but even just another chapter of Stephenie's amazing writing is a bonus for me.

To enter the giveaway, fill out the form at the bottom of their post. You can also leave a comment, but that doesn't count as an entry. Good luck!

TQC Anniversary Giveaway

2010-03-25T21:36:00.000-07:00

We searched our threads in the forums at TwilightMOMS and determined that March 31, 2009 is the day that we officially organized ourselves into a quilting group. To celebrate, the members of the Twilight Quilters Coven are participating in a swap. Each member is sharing a little gift with the others consisting of her favorite quilting tool, TQC memorabilia, or fabric. We thought it would be fun to host a little giveaway as part of our celebration. Since we put this together on-the-fly, there might be a thing or two more that we add but for now, we are going to show you what we are 100% sure that we are including.

Our giveaway includes a 4" x 8" OmniGrid ruler, perfect for trimming all those Twilighty paper piecing patterns as you go. And a few of our favorite sparkly fabrics, because vampires sparkle and we quilt about vampires. Fabrics include a fat quarter each of white with iridescent sparkles (a favorite for Vampire skin), Hollyberry Fairy Frost (red with gold sparkles), Platinum Fairy Frost (silver with silver sparkles) and Diamond Fairy Frost (not shown, but for sure included, black with silver sparkles).

First, the rules.
1. Any comment/entry that contains the words, 'real vampires don't sparkle,' or any variation thereof will be immediately deleted. This is not up for debate because vampires aren't real.
2. Please, please, please edit your profile (Google, Twitter, Yahoo, AIM, Netlog or OpenID) to include your e-mail. We need a way to contact you if you're the winner. If you would prefer to keep your profile void of your e-mail or are using the anonymous commenter option, then leave your first name and e-mail in your comment in the following format: address (at) domainname (dot) com. If we can't contact you, you can't win. Therefore, any comment/entry that does not have contact information will be deleted.
3. Giveaway is open until March 31, 2010, the date of our anniversary.
4. Winner will be drawn on April 1st {no joke}. We'll probably draw by hand, but in the event that we're absolutely inundated with entries, we'll use a random number generator to select the winner.
5. A giveaway entry consists of a comment on this post.
6. Each entrant is allowed only one comment/entry per category (listed below), for a total of four entries. Multiple entries in the same category will be deleted.
7. Negative, profane and/or inappropriate comments will be deleted. This is left to the sole discretion of the TQC Administrator.
8. TQC Admin and Authors are not eligible for this giveaway.

Now, let's get to the nitty gritty. How do you enter?
1. Answer any of the following questions:

What is your favorite quilting tool? OR
What is your favorite TQC quilt block? OR
Who is your favorite Sparkly Vampire?

You only get ONE entry for the question category, so just answer in ONE comment post. You can answer all three questions if you want, but you only get ONE post to do it in. Multiple entries in this category will be deleted.
2. Follow our blog. The easy link for following is at the very bottom of our blog. If you have a Google, Twitter, Yahoo, AIM, Netlog or OpenID, you can use an existing ID to follow our blog. Then leave a comment saying that you follow us (current followers, that includes you!).
3. Grab our button and put it on your blog. The code for the button is in the right hand column. The small button is 150 pixels wide and the large button is 220 pixels wide. Then leave a comment saying that our button is on your blog.
4. Blog about our giveaway. You have our permission to copy the giveaway goodies photograph and/or this post in its entirety. However, please do not copy other photographs or posts from our blog without permission from us (please feel free to link directly to any of our posts, though). Then leave a comment saying that you blogged about us.

Good luck!

-The Gang at the TQC
Angie, Cat, Elizabeth, Iris, Jerri Lynn, Joyce, Kate, Mel, Nicole, Vivian, Wanda

Cat's Twilight Block of the Month

2010-02-08T15:07:00.000-08:00

Our very own Cat has put together a wonderful Twilight themed Block of the Month quilt program.

You can find her patterns at Twilight Crafts on LiveJournal. A new pattern will be released the first weekend of every month and it will run for twelve months.

Cat says, It's a free BOM that will be having 2 lots of patterns each month; a beginners version for those new to the scene and an advanced version for the bravehearted.

Patterns will be posted on the Twilight Crafts site the first weekend of every month with 12 patterns in all. If you join in the group on the LiveJournal page then you can also go in the drawer for monthly prizes (see details at the site).

It would be great to have as many people as possible join in.

All patterns have been designed by myself and are provided free for personal or non-profit use.

Here is a sample of the first 2 patterns available:

Beginner's Block #1

Advanced Block #2

We've started a thread for it at TwilightMOMS as well.

Elizabeth's Mystery Quilt Challenge Update, Part IV

2010-02-05T10:58:00.000-08:00

Since Christmas, and the crafting mayhem that accompanies it, has passed, my main project focus has been my Twilight Quilt. I started this project just over a year ago and it has been set aside so many times for other pressing projects. I have been collecting patterns and fabrics, filing away ideas for future use, dreaming, planning. And I finally get to put all that to use. The only problem I have now with this quilt is deciding which block to work on next. I have filled six empty spaces since the beginning of 2010. And I'm working on filling the seventh. I've started my own blog to catalog and keep track of my crafty things. As I finish each block I've posted the details while they're fresh in my mind. But I wanted to share an update here as well.

First, my quilt is no longer called the Mystery Quilt. I've pretty much hammered out all the details and I realized one day that due to the insane amount of work that I'm putting into not just one quilt, but two identical Twilight quilts, that the quilts must be called, More Than A Little Obsessed. "Why," you might ask, am I making two identical Twilight quilts? There are a couple of reasons. My quilt started out as a 'snuggle-under-it-and-read' kind of quilt. I was following the Block of the Fortnight Mystery Quilt instructions on the Zeppelin Threads web-site. I'd bought enough fabric for two quilts and intended to make one for Stephenie Meyer and one for myself. When there was a pause in the release of the instructions for the Mystery Quilt, plans began to emerge for a group quilt for Stephenie (now know as Piece, Love, Twilight) and it seemed to me that a sending a quilt to Stephenie from just me was no longer the thing to do.

Still, I'd started two quilts and so I decided to finish two, mainly because I'd bought enough of a very expensive black Civil War reproduction fabric for two quilt backs. I'm beginning to think that was a little neurotic. Plans for my own quilt began to evolve at this time. But by the time I realized that I was going to be spending an obscene amount of time on each block and that my quilt had expanded and morphed into something that no one would ever use for such a casual purpose as snuggling under to read, it was already too late. I was already in too deep with my 'twin' quilts to give it up. I'd spent too much time on the few blocks I'd completed to abandon one set and make just one quilt. There was only one thing to do, keep on keepin' on.

Before I realized the intense amount of time each block would take, I didn't think to keep track of the hours I was spending on this quilt. Once I realized that is was taking hours and hours for each block, I just had to turn a blind eye. I couldn't bear to think of how much time it was taking. So, I think that the name More Than A Little Obsessed is very fitting for these identical quilts. And anyone who has read Twilight should understand the meaning.

Now the question is, 'what to do with the second quilt?' I plan to add a room onto my house for the first quilt and build a shrine to it. The second quilt will probably be locked away in some earthquake-proof, fire-proof, flood-proof, impervious-to-natural-disasters safe placed on the dark side of the moon.

Now on to sew-and-tell with the last six blocks I've completed and a preview of the seventh. This is I Am Switzerland and belongs in the Eclipse section of my quilt. This is Cat's design and I was lucky enough to be her pattern tester. Thank you, Cat, for sharing your wonderful talents! The red fabric is the same that I used in the sashing and borders of the Stephenie Meyer quilt, almost the last bit of it. And the black is my ever faithful and trusty Civil War reproduction fabric, which will also be the quilt back.

This is the My Jacob block, representing the 'Jacob' who is Bella's friend. Another Cat original, the Paw Print pattern is available at SewHooked. Adding the claws was Iris' idea. Thanks for the inspiration!

I wanted something spectacular for the Meteor. You know, the meteor Edward compares Bella to in New Moon. I think that this fits the bill. I used The Night Sky pattern by Marcia Hohn. Two words for this block? Fairy Frost! I used Gold, Yellow and Banana.

How strongly are you opposed to grand theft auto? Alice's Porsche was fun to put together. This is also Cat's design.

Bella's Truck was among the first patterns I collected for my quilt (and another of Cat's designs). I'd been itching to try it out for months. It was so satisfying to finish and fit into my electronic layout.

I worked on Charlie's House in two sections. It technically takes up two blocks, although the blocks aren't separated by sashing. I started out with the forest* while I mulled over which fabrics to use for the House, which turned out to be a surprise to me, mostly because I wasn't sure what color to make Charlie's house. The books don't say (trust me, I've looked). Charlie's house in the movie is white. The Cullen's house is white, but in the movie, it is tan. This presented a problem because I wanted to stay true to the books in the representation of the Cullen's house and the only image of Charlie's house was white, and I couldn't have two white houses. So, after talking it over with the other coven members, I went with a light tan. I like the results.

I'm currently working on a section across the bottom of the quilt that has the Cullen's house, the river, a bit of forest* and Bella & Edward's Cottage. Here is this section in progress. This takes up a little less than half of the section this block will fill when complete. The river, more forest* and The Cullen's house goes to the left of this completed section.

*Key: 1 paper pieced tree = 500 trees in the Fork Forest

Paper Piecing Tutorial

2010-02-03T23:09:00.001-08:00

I don't know if I like to paper piece, but I do like the results you get from paper piecing. Paper piecing is time consuming. And sometimes a little frustrating. But the cool things you can create in fabric from paper piecing patterns are amazing. As I've worked on group quilts with the Twilight Quilters Coven and my own Twilight quilt, I've honed my skills as a paper piecer. I think I'm slower than ever, but hopefully I can put together some instructions that will be helpful for beginners or those who have only done basic paper piecing.

Paper Options:

There are many options for how you prepare your pattern. The obvious choice is foundation paper. It is nice and stable to work with while piecing, but does not tear away after you've finished your project. Some foundation papers must be trimmed away. The foundation paper I linked to washes away, but is a little expensive at $1.20 a sheet. You can also use newsprint (blank, obviously, available in rolls at a local newspaper office). The advantage of using this is ease in removal after you've finished piecing. The disadvantage is that it tears easily and may be difficult to copy or print on. Copy paper works well, but is a little thick. The lowest weight I've seen in stores is 20 lb. paper. If you can find a lighter weight, that is best. Recycled paper, even at the 20 lb. weight seems to be a little lighter than regular paper, so I try to use that when using copy paper.

My personal recommendation is vellum paper (17 lb. weight). There are several weights of vellum available, so make sure to go with the lightest you can find. Avoid vellum card stock. There are several advantages to using vellum paper. You can print or copy on it easily. Many craft stores and copy shops carry it, making it readily available. You can see through it. It is thin but strong, so it doesn't tear accidentally, but will tear away easily when you've finished your project.

Pattern Sizing:

You may find a pattern that you love but it is the wrong size for your quilt. You can adjust the size of your pattern by dividing the size you want your pattern to be by the size that it is and then multiply by 100 to get the percentage.

For example, if you want your pattern to be 4" and it is 5" you divide 4 by 5 and get a decimal of .8. Multiply the decimal by 100 and you will get the percentage that you need to reduce it. In this case you would reduce the pattern to 80%.

Using the same 5" pattern, but enlarging it to 6" means that you divide 6 by 5 and get a decimal of 1.2. Multiply it by 100 and you will get the 120%. In this case, you enlarge the pattern to 120%.

Supplies:

Rotary Cutter
Ruler with ⅛" markings (I like the 4" x 8" Omnigrid)
Small Cutting Mat ( 6" x 8" to 9" x 11" is about the right size to keep next to your sewing machine)
Spray Starch (I like Faultless Magic Sizing)
Dry Iron
Scratch Paper
Portable ironing board (if you are buying new tools for this, may I recommend this portable cutting/pressing station which has one side for pressing and one side for cutting and folds up for transport and storage)
Neutral colored thread

Let's Get Started:

Once you have your supplies assembled and your pattern ready you can get started. Some patterns are marked with a seam allowance around the pattern. I completely ignore this and add my own seam allowance plus a little cushion for error.

Use your rotary cutter (yes, I said rotary cutter) to cut your pattern pieces out (paper dulls cutting tools as we all know, so you may want to keep separate blades, one for "paper piecing only" and one for "fabric only"). When cutting the pattern pieces, add ⅜" around all inside seams, that is, all seams that connect with another piece in the block. The notes I put on some of the pictures are a little hard to read at this size, so click on any picture for a closer look (right click to open in a new tab).

Add ½" around the outside edges of the block.

The reason for adding a bigger seam allowance than you need is because fabric doesn't always behave the way it is supposed to, so you want a cushion to work with, just in case.

Here is the pattern all cut and ready to go. We're working with Cat's design for the New Moon Cover, which will be available soon. The pattern is the back side of your finished block. What you see on the pattern will be the reverse of your finished block.

Prepare your fabric by cutting it into strips. The strips should be wide enough to extend beyond the widest piece required for that color. Using spray starch and steam, press your fabric strips. This is important in a neat finished product.

Paper piecing is like paint-by-numbers, only with fabric. The pattern will indicate which color of fabric to use in each numbered section. Because I enlarged this pattern, it is all in black and white, so I kept a copy of the colored original close by to make sure I was using the right color in each section. Some patterns will write out the color to be used rather than coloring in that section.

Following the key on the pattern for sewing order, begin piecing the first section indicated. Cut a piece of fabric in the corresponding color from your prepared fabric strips large enough to completely fill in section 1 (the area inside the dotted red lines). Don't try to cut an exact piece. Work with pieces of fabric that fill the area plus seam allowance. The wrong side of the fabric should be against the wrong side of the pattern. If you flip the pattern and fabric over, you should be looking at the right side of the fabric. You can pin your fabric into place on the paper side of the pattern if you want to.

Place the fabric that will cover section 2 right sides together with the fabric for section 1. The majority of fabric 2 should be on the side of section 1. We are moving from section 1 to section 2, so when the fabric is turned from section 1, the right side will show and it will cover section 2.

Slightly reduce your stitch length. My default stitch length is 2.5 and I reduce it to 2.0. Place your pattern and fabric pattern side up and sew on the line between section 1 and section 2, beginning about ½" before the stitching line begins (or intersects with another seam line) and extending about ½" beyond the end of the stitching line (or intersection with another seam line -- in this case, all the way out to the edge of the pattern). Be sure to backstitch at the beginning and the end of your seam. This will help prevent your stitching from being pulled out when removing the paper later.

With the pattern facing up and the fabric laying flat, fold section 2 of the pattern back onto section 1 along the seam line.

Place your ruler along the seam and cut away the excess fabric in the seam allowance. On this particular pattern I am cutting at ⅛", which is half the normal seam. This pattern has many small and overlapping pieces and so I am using a smaller seam allowance to reduce bulk. On less complex patterns, a ¼" seams works just fine.

Unfold the pattern and open the fabric out so that right sides are showing and the seam is under the fabric. Place the pattern on a piece of scratch paper (the ink of the pattern will transfer when heated and you don't want it on your ironing board cover to transfer to other fabrics later) and press with a dry iron (steam makes the paper curl, well worse that just a dry iron). Make sure to only press on the fabric side of your piece and not on the printed side of the pattern.

*Note: If you have used starch on your fabric and you are turning a small piece you can finger press here instead of using an iron.

Pull the paper away from the stitching in the area beyond the stitching line. This helps to get a clean seam allowance around each section added to the piece. Also, most of the backstitching will be trimmed away as you work, so by pulling away the paper while the backstitching is still there you will avoid pulling out the seams when removing the paper after the block is completed.

Place a strip of fabric that will cover section 3 right sides together with sections one and two. Stitch along the seam line between sections 2 and 3, extending at least ½" beyond the beginning and end of the seam line (where the seam line intersects with another seam line).

With the pattern side up, fold section 3 back onto sections 1 and 2 along the seam line as you did with the first seam. Trim the excess seam allowance away (as before). Fold the pattern back into place, open out the fabric and press. Remember to pull away the pattern from the seam at both ends of the seam line.

At this point your pattern is starting to take shape in the center, but still looks like kind of a blob around the edges. Don't worry! We'll get there. Continue adding sections to your block until every number has been filled in with fabric. This pattern has 4 sections. This is what it looks like from the back (pattern side) after it has been stitched, trimmed, pressed and the pattern has been pulled away beyond the seam lines. If you have been finger pressing as you work, make sure to press the whole piece with a dry iron now.

We're ready to cut this piece to shape now. Trim inside seam allowances to ¼".

Leave a ½" seam allowance on the outside edges of the pattern. This is the back of the piece.

This is what it looks like from the front.

Continue assembling pieces as directed by the pattern. The instructions for this pattern read:
AB > CD > E
FG > H > I
ABCDE > FGHI

Translation:
Row 1: assemble pieces A and B and sew them together; assemble sections C and D and sew them together and then sew joined sections AB to joined sections CD; assemble section E and add it to joined sections ABCD. Set the joined sections ABCDE aside.
Row 2: assemble sections F and G and sew them together; assemble section H and sew it to joined sections FG; assemble section I and sew it to joined sections FGH.
Row 3: Sew joined sections ABCDE to joined sections FGHI.

When it comes time to join two sections together determine the most important points in the two sections to match each other. In sections A and B it is most important that the two stem sections in the middle of the pieces match.

To help get the points to match up, insert a pin from the back (pattern side) through the center of the intersection where the points should meet on one pattern piece. Put the second pattern piece, right side together on top of the first and insert the pin through the top pattern from fabric side out through the pattern paper. Begin stitching with the pin still in (it should stick straight up through both pieces). Remove the pin and continue stitch along the seam line, backstitching at the beginning and end of the seam.

Remove the paper from the seam allowance on both sides of the seam and in about the width of the seam allowance on the side that you turn the seam to. This helps with removal later. After the paper has been removed, press the joined sections.

As I mentioned earlier, sometimes fabric doesn't behave as it should. When you lay the pattern out before assembly, all the pieces match up. But when you add fabric, sometimes you get unexpected results. That's why it is important to build in a little wiggle room when preparing your pieces. Since we left a ½" seam allowance around the outside of the block, there is a bit of extra fabric to work with and there shouldn't be a problem with the outside edges not matching in the top corner

Repeat the above steps for individual section completion and joining of sections as necessary to complete your pattern. This is the finished block before the extra fabric in the seam allowance has been trimmed away. By leaving a ½" seam allowance all around the edge of the entire block it gives an extra ½" to work with when centering and trimming your block.

There are two schools of though as to when to remove the paper from your block. Some quilters prefer to leave the paper in until after sashing has been added to the block. The paper gives the block stability and keeps the bias pieces on more complex patterns from stretching when you put it into place in your quilt. Some quilters like to remove the paper now after piecing is complete. I've tried it both ways and prefer to remove the paper at this point (*see below). The reason I use starch, apart from getting a neater finished result, is that it helps to stabilize the bias in the fabric. I suggest that you try both ways and find the method that suits you best.

This is the back of the block. Trimming the seams as each piece is assembled helps keep the back neat and reduces bulk in the block. I left the paper in the falling petal at the bottom of the block because I wanted to use the outer seam line as reference for where to trim the block.

Before trimming, give the block a good pressing with steam and if necessary, more starch. Again, the starch is to help stabilize the the different biases in the fabric.

There are several options for how to square up your block. The easiest way is to use a square ruler the size of your block (plus a ¼" seam allowance all the way around). Center the ruler over the block (right side up) and using the grid in the ruler to make sure the design is straight, trim away the excess fabric.

*If your pattern is fairly simple (only a few pieces per section and only two or three sections to join overall) and lays nice and flat with the paper still in, you can use the outer seam lines and the grid on your ruler and/or cutting mat to square up (remembering to leave a ¼" seam allowance on all four sides).

In squaring up this block, I used a landmark on the block as a reference. As I mentioned, I left the paper in the falling petal at the bottom because I wanted the seam to cut off as the pattern indicated. I used the grid on my ruler and on my cutting mat, as well as the line on the pattern to decide where to trim this block up, remembering to leave a ¼" seam allowance all the way around.

Here is the finished block. The camera bends the image a little, but trust me, this was nice and square when I put it into place.

A word about unpicking:
If you by some chance make a mistake, you don't have to throw out your whole section -- you can unpick paper piecing. Make sure to pull the stitches out from the fabric side so you don't tear your paper. Once you get the stitches out, you'll be ready to give it another try.

Paper Piecing Pattern Resources:
SewHooked by Jennifer Ofenstein (a Coven Favorite)
The Quilter's Cache by Marcia Hohn
Paper Panache
Piece by Number Etsy Shop
Silver Linings Originals by Linda Hibbert

Vampire Instructions

2010-02-02T14:16:00.000-08:00

Shared by Iris.

TQC Exchange: Iris got some love from Elizabeth

2010-02-02T14:11:00.000-08:00

From Iris on January 17:

Coming at a great time to cheer me up from a "down" weekend, this afternoon I opened the mail to find a surprise from my secret exchange buddy! It's a 5" x 7" matte print of this beautiful s ketch of Robert Pattinson by Noel Cruz. Thanks secret buddy! I heart you. I'll update this post when I find out who sent it!

Update: Elizabeth was my xchange buddy! Look at the beautiful "Abbey Bag" pincushion/scrap bag she made me! She'd sent me the pattern but let's face it I was never going to get around to making it! This is perfect! And a selection of green fabrics. She knows I love green! Also the little rascal sent along a frame for that gorgeous print of the Robert Pattinson sketch! I had been thinking about getting a large frame and putting a printout of the original photo next to the sketch....now I have a better idea since I already got a frame, I'll just print out the original small and put it on the lower right corner! I heart you Elizabeth! Thanks for the great goodies!

TQC Exchange: Joyce's Gift from Iris

2010-02-02T08:26:00.000-08:00

From Joyce on January 19:

I got a package today!!!!!!!! Iris, Thank you so much!!!! She sent some Steam-a-Seam 2, a white disappearing ink pen (which I actually desperately needed), a sweet note, and Twilight Candleholders and candles. She used each book cover and a fun quote to decorate the votive holders, and each candle scent represents something TS related (Edward, Bella, Forks, and Isle Esme). It's too bad we don't have scratch and sniff posts! They smell delicious!

TQC Exchange: Cat's gift from Joyce

2010-02-02T08:19:00.000-08:00

Posted by Cat on January 28:

Last night I went to the post office and guess what finally was there waiting for me?

So excited!!! I recieved some lovely goodies from Joyce. Some lovely booties with a traditional quilt pattern design cross stitched into them, a love hand towel with cross stitch details, and some red and black quilting fabric plus some musical note fabric. I love them - thanks so much for that!!!