Stephenie Meyer Quilt: Vampire Baseball

[Edward] led me a few feet through the tall, wet ferns and draping moss, around a massive hemlock tree, and w were there, on the edge of an enormous open field in the lap of the Olympic peaks. It was twice the size of any baseball stadium. . . . Farther out I could see Jasper and Alice, at least a quarter of a mile apart, appearing to throw something back and forth, but I never saw any ball. It looked like Carlisle was marking bases, but could they really be that far apart? –Bella Swan, Twilight, page 367

Elizabeth designed this block {pattern available here} and it was pieced by Wanda.

From Wanda:
While looking for fabric for another project I had the good fortune of finding the miniture forest fabric which I used for the background. It totally gave the feeling of the baseball field as being the clearing in the middle of a wooded area just like in the book and movie. And while the vampires didn't have a perfect baseball field in the traditional sense this pieced field takes the looker right away to that part of the story. For some reason I never could get the home plate exactly perfect although I tried several times, but in the end there is no doubt it is vampire baseball! And just to complete it I found baseball and bat buttons. At first I thought I would appliqué a bat and ball but the buttons were perfect and looked the best to me. I loved making this block.

Breaking Dawn Charity Quit: The Irish Coven

Carlisle has sent friends from Ireland and Egypt.

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

Piecing by Jerri Lynn

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

Breaking Dawn Charity Quilt: The Romanian Coven

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“No matter how egregiously,” the second inserted.

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

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

Design and piecing by Joyce

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

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

Breaking Dawn Charity Quilt: The Amazon Coven

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

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

Design and piecing by Nicole

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

Breaking Dawn Charity Quilt: The Egyptian Coven

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

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

“What can he do?”

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

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

Breaking Dawn Charity Quilt: The Nomads

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

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

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

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

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

Design and piecing by Joyce

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

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

Breaking Dawn Charity Quilt: The Denali Coven

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

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

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

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

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

Design and piecing by Joyce

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

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

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