Twilight Saga Charity Quilt: Book Covers

If one cannot enjoy reading a book over and over again, there is no use in reading it at all. –Oscar Wilde

Twilight Saga Book Covers
Patterns by Cat and pieced by Elizabeth as part of our Give-to-Win Twilight Saga Charity Quilt.

Twilight

New Moon

Eclipse

Breaking Dawn

From Elizabeth:
I had done Cat's Twilight, New Moon and Breaking Dawn patterns each several times and enjoyed doing them. I had never tried the Eclipse pattern, though, so I was excited to try it. I enlarged the patterns to 12" and used my favorite Fairy Frost fabrics to give the blocks that shimmering vampire quality.

I especially love the beautiful quilting Angie did in these blocks (and throughout the quilt). Her work is amazing.

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: Edward's Diamond Heart

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

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

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

I smiled ruefully at his assurance.

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

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

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

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

Edward's Diamond Heart
Pattern by Cat and pieced by Wanda as part of our Give-to-Win Twilight Saga Charity Quilt.

From Wanda:
My Edward's heart block is the pattern of our very own Cat Magraith! I have a love of the heart shape and have made hearts for our last quilt. This heart is paper pieced and made with sparkling white fabrics which just made me think of Edward putting his diamond heart charm on Bella's bracelet. The background fabric shimmers in the night highlighting the brightness of Edward's love for Bella!

From Cat:
Well I had the bracelet pattern so I also needed the heart. I did this block as pattern for a BOM that I did a while ago. The diamond heart is more than just the charm that Edward gave Bella, it also represents him. It appears at first to be cold and hard, but it is also strong, indestructible and a real treasure. It also sparkles .

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: I Am Switzerland

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 Am Switzerland
Pattern by Cat and pieced by Iris; embroidered quote by Jerri Lynn for our Give-to-Win Twilight Saga Charity Quilt.

From Iris:
There's something about this block that I really love. It's simple, but the combination of the sparkliness of the the Fairy Frost, the different textures, and the embroidery really appeal to me. I really loved putting this block together for such a special quilt.

From Cat:
I have been to Switzerland in the past as I have friends there and I noticed that a lot of the towns displayed shields for the country and region more so than flags, so to represent Bella’s “I am Switzerland” stance I created a Swiss Shield pattern. Although I hadn't read Breaking Dawn yet when I designed it, it was a good choice as Bella’s special gift as a vampire was to shield her loved ones, so this is a perfect representation for Bella.

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

Twilight Saga Charity Quilt: Bella's Truck

The thing, I thought to myself… it had possibilities — as a nickname, at the very least. –Bella Swan, Twilight, page 7

Bella's Truck
Designed and pieced by Nicole as part of our Give-to-Win Twilight Saga Charity Quilt.

From Nicole:
I wanted to make sure that Bella’s truck was included in this quilt. I knew that trying to paper piece it would be a trick in itself. So I went with appliqué. I found the “right” truck; Bella in the book is given a ‘50s Chevy, but the movie had a ‘60s Chevy. They are very different. Since we were going with our favorite scenes from the books, I wanted the book truck. With Forks being full of trees, I wanted the background fabric to have trees. She had a red truck, so obviously I had to use a red fabric. I chose one that looked more “rusted” but it was actually shimmery! Then I just layered them together and satin stitched around the pieces. Different sizes to outline the truck.

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

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

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

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

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

Design and piecing by Colleen

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

Breaking Dawn Charity Quilt: Bella's First Hunt

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: Isle Esme

“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: Jacob and Renesmee

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.

Eclipse Charity Quilt: It's All in the Details

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: Under Construction

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 am Switzerland

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: 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!

Eclipse Charity Quilt: Edward's Bedroom

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

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

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.

TQC Anniversary Giveaway

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

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