Twilight Saga Charity Quilt: Graduation

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 

Graduation from Forks High
Pattern by Linda Causee and pieced by Angie as part of our Give-to-Win Twilight Saga Charity Quilt.

From Angie:
I used the pattern from my favorite 'paper piecing bible' 365 Foundation Quilt Blocks. Since I make most of my pictorial quilt blocks out of batik . . . these seemed like natural colors for a diploma. I had this grand idea of adding a gold thread tassel but the reality of that plan was disappointing so I nixed it. The words 'Forks High' are quilted in the background.

For every $5 donation to George Mark Children's House, you get one chance to win this quilt. Visit the Twilight Saga Quilt Page for more details.

Make your donation

Twilight Saga Charity Quilt: Grand Theft Auto

A bright yellow Porsche screamed to a stop a few feet in front of where I paced, the word TURBO scrawled in silver cursive across its back. Everyone beside me on the crowded airport sidewalk stared.

“Hurry, Bella!” Alice shouted impatiently through the open passenger window.

I ran to the door and threw myself in, feeling as though I might as well be wearing a black stocking over my head.

“Sheesh, Alice,” I complained. “Could you pick a more conspicuous car to steal?”

The interior was black leather, and the windows were tinted dark. It felt safer inside, like nighttime.

Alice was already weaving, too fast, through the thick airport traffic—sliding through tiny spaces between the cars as I cringed and fumbled for my seat belt.

“The important question,” she corrected, “is whether I could have stolen a faster car, and I don't think so. I got lucky.”

“I'm sure that will be very comforting at the roadblock.”

She trilled a laugh. “Trust me, Bella. If anyone sets up a roadblock, it will be behind us.” She hit the gas then, as if to prove her point. –Bella Swan and Alice Cullen, New Moon, page 439–440

Alice's Porsche
Designed and pieced by Cat as part of our Give-to-Win Twilight Saga Charity Quilt.

From Cat
I designed this block previously for another Twilight Quilt and still love it so used it again for this one. I'm an engineer and asked a lot of my motor-head male colleagues what they thought of the design before going ahead with it. They all approved .

I found trying to get the right fabrics for this one was tricky enough, but trying to find the right buttons was also a challenge. In the end I used some buttons from my grandmother's old button tin for the wheels and I needed some help for the headlight buttons. And of course I had to use Fairy Frost somewhere in this block, because we all know that vampires sparkle!

For every $5 donation to George Mark Children's House, you get one chance to win this quilt. Visit the Twilight Saga Quilt Page for more details.

Make your donation

Stephenie Meyer Quilt: Alice & Jasper

Of the three boys, one ... was taller, leaner, but still muscular, and honey blond. ... The short girl was pixielike, thin in the extreme, with small features. Her hair was a deep black, cropped short and pointing in every direction.
–Bella Swan, Twilight, page 18

“That's ... Jasper Hale. The one who left was Alice Cullen; they all live together with Dr. Cullen and his wife. They're all together though —Jasper and Alice, I mean. And they live together.” –Jessica Stanley, Twilight, page 20

“I was in Philadelphia. There was a storm, and I was out during the day — something I was not completely comfortable with yet. I knew standing in the rain would attract attention, so I ducked into a little half-empty diner. My eyes were dark enough that no one would notice them, though this meant I was thirsty, and that worried me a little.

“She was there — expecting me, naturally.” He chuckled once. “She hopped down from the high stool at the counter as soon as I walked in and came directly toward me. That's the only interpretation of her behavior my past had to offer. But she was smiling. And the emotions that were emanating from her were like nothing I'd ever felt before.

“‘You've kept me waiting a long time,’ she said.”

I didn't realize Alice had come to stand behind me again.

“And you ducked your head, like a good Southern gentleman, and said, ‘I'm sorry, ma'am.’” Alice laughed at the memory.

Jasper smiled down at her. “You held out your hand, and I took it without stopping to make sense of what I was doing. For the first time in almost a century, I felt hope.” –Jasper Hale, Alice Cullen and Bella Swan, Eclipse, page 301

Iris created the image in the crystal ball, layering different elements that represent Jasper in photo shop, including Jackson Rathbone's eyes. The image was transferred to printable fabric and placed in this block inside a crystal ball, which represents Alice's ability to see the future. The crystal ball pattern was designed by Jennifer Ofenstein and the block was pieced by former member, Shannon.

Breaking Dawn Charity Quilt: The Wedding

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

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

“I'll meet you at the altar.”

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

Pattern from Paper Panache, piecing by Mel

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

Breaking Dawn Charity Quilt: Alice's Note

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

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

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

“What?” Rosalie cried.

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

Design and piecing by Nicole

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

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

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

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

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

Design and piecing by Colleen

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

Eclipse Charity Quilt: Graduation from Forks High

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!

Elizabeth's Mystery Quilt Challenge Update, Part IV

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

New Moon Quilt: The Flight Home

I believe some of this was posted previously but lost in the unfortunate incident we had in Oct. Anyway, here is The Flight Home block I created for the New Moon quilt. I started with the La Push: First Beach block designed by our wonderful Cat Magraith and avaliable at sewhooked.org under guest designers. Cat, thank you for bringing a little bit of magic into my life with all these fantastic PP patterns! And thank you Jennifer for your great website chock full of PP goodies!!!

Then I found this cute Airplane pattern available at Paper Panache. I actually have a degree in Aeronautical Engineering, and while it's true what they say, use it or loose it....I still get a thrill at seeing airplanes, so this one was a fun piecing! I loaded it up with 3 shades of gray/white, all sparkly since it's still high up in the air where the sun could be hitting it above the cloud cover!

I used 3 different tree patterns: The Carlson Pine from Forest Quilting is the tall guy. I just extended the trunk a bit. The two medium bushier trees come from a book I have, "Paper Piecing the Seasons" by Liz Schwartz. It's one of those books that was a gift 10 years ago and I'm not crazy about much in it, but it surprisingly has turned up a couple of good nuggets! The smallest tree was a share by Angie, I believe. It is from 365 Foundation Quilt Blocks by Linda Causee.

Then it was on to the signs. My vision when I signed up for this block was always to have an airplane coming down between La Push and Forks, to show Bella being caught in the middle of her "two good things". But originally I wanted the two signs to be right next to each other under the plane. Well, after I pieced the tall tree I realized I wanted to make it taller, so I just added to the trunk. But then that looked bad, so I decided that I'd relocate the Forks signs to cover it up, and also I didn't really want to cover up half of the smaller tree! I grabbed photos of the two signs from online, resized them, and raw edge, machine stitch appliqued them on. Not crazy about how the Forks sign turned out (I really wanted to use that green star fabric, because it reminds me of Charlie, but overall just not happy with fabric choices), but really like my La Push one. Although the tree behind it bugs me, came out crooked. :(


One last note. The whole thing was a mish-mash of components to begin with, and then I ran into a little problem after I'd completed La Push, the airplane and two trees. I realized I was running out of sky fabric, quick! I didn't want to re-do everything, so my solution was more mish-mash! I actually took apart one of the trees to salvage some of the sky, used a grayer batik to make the right third look like a storm was coming in from the east, and frugally finished piecing the rest. I even dug into my trash for scraps I'd previously thrown away just to crazy piece some of the sections under the airplane! I wasn't even sure if I'd be able to join up La Push with the rest of it! I guess that quote is true, "when life throws you scraps, make a quilt" ! =)

New Moon Quilt: Grand Theft Auto

Alice's Yellow Porsche by Cat

New Moon Quilt: Japanese Lanterns

Japanese Lanterns by Wanda


Just a few little fused lanterns,with machine stitching to represent the "line of glowing Japanese lanterns hung from the porch eaves, reflecting a soft radiance on the huge cedars that surrounded the house" as Bella arrives for her birthday party. I thought of piecing my own lanterns (actually made an attempt, getting as far as cutting) but I just couldn't help using these as they were just so cute and just the right size! And really that is how I imagined them anyway.

New Moon Quilt: Bella's Gifts

Bella's Gifts by Wanda


I fussy cut the first gift so as to create a moon in the middle of the gift. I orginally selected this particular fabric because it seemed to be similar to a present that Alice was holding in an official New Moon photo. I hand appliqued the squares for the packages and fused and stitched the ribbons. My background fabric is also symbolic of moons with the circular design. My roses are cut from another fabric and fused and machine stitched. And even though there are only two they represent the "hundreds of roses" used to decorate for Bella's birthday. They also balance the "small pile of silver wrapped gifts." And yes, the ribbon bows are washable!

New Moon Quilt: Happy Birthday Bella!

Bella's Birthday Cake by Iris



Looks good enough to eat, but like the Cullens (and Bella for that matter), we wont be digging into this lovely confectionery creation. Made of fabric, ribbon, and silk flowers, and standing at 15" tall, my version of Bella's Birthday cake is part of the lovely New Moon quilt that will be up for auction at the THE NEW MOON EXPERIENCE put on by TwilightMOMs and EventsbyAlice NOV 19th & 20th for the premier in Salt Lake City! The auction proceeds will be going to Alex's Lemonade Stand, the official TwilightMOMs charity.

And if you want to get yourself or that special someone a special gift in honor of Bella's birthday today, the tickets to THE NEW MOON EXPERIENCE are 20% off. Just follow the link above!

I wanted to stay true to the books, and yet loved the movie version of the cake, so this is a hybrid of the two....3 tiered with "fondant" strips, fresh flowers, and a shinny name topper, but pink, pink, and more pink as only Alice can do!

Iris