Twilight Saga Charity Quilt

When life offers you a dream so far beyond any of your expectations, it’s not reasonable to grieve when it comes to an end. –Bella Swan, Twilight, page 1

I know. My geek is showing. But we're all friends here, right? And it's no secret that I ♥ Twilight. Since January of 2009, I've been working on a Twilight-themed quilt {which I really want to finish this year} and also collaborating with an on-line group of friends to create more Twilight-themed quilts, which have been auctioned or "raffled" off and all the proceeds given to charity. We call ourselves the Twi-Quilters. And we all love Twilight. But more than that, we've become friends.

All told, we've made seven eight quilts together and we are proud to show our ninth quilt and to give you an opportunity to win it—all for charity, of course.

My part in this quilt was the center block; representations of the four book covers. The patterns were designed by Cat, and I'd done three of the four covers several times each. The Eclipse cover was the only one I hadn't done and I was excited to try it. I enlarged the patterns to 12" and used my favorite Fairy Frost fabrics to put them together.

Our group members have donated all the fabrics and supplies as well as our time, to create this beautiful quilt, which includes our favorite scenes from all four of the Twilight Saga books. Angie, our quilter extraordinaire, has expertly and artfully finished the quilt and we're going to give it away to one lucky fan! For every $5 donation from you, which will go directly to George Mark Children's House, you’ll get one chance to win the quilt. We hope you'll give generously to this worthy cause. Donations will be accepted through March 9, 2013 and the winner will be announced by March 15, 2013.

Visit the Twilight Saga Quilt Page for more information and links to posts about the individual blocks..

Make your donation

The Twilight Saga Charity Quilt

“Twilight again,” he murmured. “Another ending. No matter how perfect the day is, it always has to end.” –Edward Cullen, Twilight, page 495

I belong to this really awesome on-line quilting group. We met through the TwilightMOMS forums and live scattered across the US. We even have a member {and pattern designer extraordinaire} in Australia. We're a little nutty in our obsession with a series of books about sparkly teenage vampires, and the crazy is translated with fabric and thread into quilts. We call ourselves the Twi-Quilters.


Over the last four years, we've created four Twilight themed quilts. We gave our first one to Stephenie Meyer, the author of our favorite books, and we auctioned off the other three and donated the proceeds to two different charities.

The final movie in the Twilight franchise, Breaking Dawn, part 2 is set to be released in just under a month. In conjunction with this culminating event, we are pleased to announce the Twilight Saga Charity Quilt. Here's just a teaser ...

The quilt will also include one embroidered quote and five blocks from each of the books, depicting our favorite moments in the Twilight series. Watch for more about this quilt coming soon.

As always, our goal is to raise money for a worthy cause. We're donating our time and materials and for every $5 donation you make to our charity, you'll get one chance to win the quilt. We've chosen George Mark Children's Hospital to receive your contributions. Details on donations will be announced soon.


In the meantime, here's a little something to tide you over. I mean, is there such a thing as too much Twilight?

My Twilight Quilt: Bella's Broken Heart

How many ways can one heart be mangled and still be expected to keep beating? I’d lived through a lot that should have finished me in the last few days, but it didn’t make me feel strong. Instead, I felt horribly fragile, like one word could shatter me.
–Bella Swan, New Moon, page 495

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

This block is symbolic several different ways. In New Moon, Edward leaves Bella because he hopes that she will be better off without him and she completely falls apart. Jacob becomes her best friend and helps put back the pieces. In Eclipse, Bella has to choose between Jacob and Edward because she loves them both. The pattern is by Jennifer Ofenstein, a very talented and prolific pattern designer.

And, my quilt to date.

Cat's Twilight Block of the Month: Block 10

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

Month 10 of Cat's Mystery Block of the Month is the Eclipse book cover. The beginner's block is a stylized version of it. The block goes together very quickly. I used Fairy Frost in Holly Berry for the ribbon, using the color variations in the fabric to add a little bit of dimension to the block.

I did not do the advanced block for this month, although I would have liked to. The detailed pattern for the Eclipse book cover has been available for a year, but when I started on my Twilight quilt, it was not available. I used a pretty satin ribbon for the Stephenie Meyer quilt, Piece, Love, Twilight, and did the same for my quilt. You can see the block here. In an effort not to orphan any more blocks for that quilt, I decided to stick with what I'd already done. But I am hoping to get the chance to do Cat's block sometime, because I really love the talent she has for paper piecing designs.

Today's post brought to you by:

My Twilight Quilt: Graduation from Forks High

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 block is a repeat—kind of. I made this block as part of my contribution to the Eclipse quilt that the Twi-Quilters made. The pattern was a collaboration between my favorite paper piecing designer, Cat, and me. She started it and I finished it and used it to I used a bit of Fairy Frost in this block; Gold, Yellow, Banana and Snow in the tassel and Snow, Icing and Sand in the diploma scroll. I debated back and forth quite a bit about whether I should add a little bit of blue to the tassel to keep the Forks High School colors and use the black Civil Ward reproduction fabric as my background, or go with the blue again for the background. There's a tiny part of my brain that is wondering how it would have come out had I gone that way. I'm glad I went with the dark blue, though, because I like how the it makes the yellow cap really stand out.

Yay! One more space on my layout filled!

My Twilight Quilt: The 'Other' Jacob

“Do you think you could behave yourself a little better, at least?” I asked, irritated.

“No, I don’t. You decide, Bella. You can have me the way I am — bad behavior included — or not at all.”
–Bella Swan and Jacob Black, Eclipse, page 329

I used the Howling Wolf pattern by Jennifer Ofenstein for this block. The “other” Jacob refers to the pain that Jacob experiences as he loses Bella to Edward, which surfaces in a number of way and can be summed up as “bad behavior.” Jacob is Bella’s best friend. He helped her to heal after Edward left. When Bella goes to save Edward, despite the pain he caused her, Jacob is hurt. When Edward comes back, Jacob realizes that he's got to give it everything he's got to win her over. He pulls some pretty infantile stunts {like kissing her } to get her to realize that she loves him too. But it just isn't enough because Edward really is the one for her.

I used Moda Marbles in a lovely russet color {which I also used in the 'My' Jacob block} and the background fabric was a gift from a {non-quilting} fellow TwilightMOM in an exchange a couple of years ago. The pattern is a little bit chopped up, but I still like the overall effect. It kind of underlines the pain the howling wolf is experiencing.

Cat's Twilight Block of the Month: Block 8

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

Now that my box of Twilight fabrics and blocks is open, I don't really want to close it. I've been working a little bit on Cat's Block of the Month and a little bit on my own Twilight quilt. The idea was to do each of Cat's beginner blocks and then if I hadn't already done her advanced block for that month and was using it in my quilt, I would do that too. I've worked my way up to block 8 now. This was really fun to put together and took less than 45 minutes, including printing out the pattern and picking fabrics. I used Fairy Frost in Red and Snow and I love how it came out.

I already had the advanced block finished. I was Cat's pattern tester for this one and I posted about it previously. But, you know me . . . any opportunity to do a bit of sew and tell, so you get to see it again. The red in the shield is some of the last bits I had left over from the Stephenie Meyer quilt, Piece, Love, Twilight. I had a lot of fun putting this block together.

Today's post brought to you by:

Cat's Twilight Block of the Month: Block 5

"You see, every person smells different, has a different essence. If you locked an alcoholic in a room full of stale beer, he'd gladly drink it. But he could resist, if he wished to, if he were a recovering alcoholic. New let's say you place in that room a glass of hundred-year-old brandy, the rarest, finest cognac – and filled the room with its warm aroma – how do you think he would fare then?"

We sat silently, looking into each other's eyes – trying to read each other's thoughts.

He broke the silence first.

"Maybe that's not the right comparison. Maybe it would be too easy to turn down the brandy. Perhaps I should have made our alcoholic a heroin addict instead."

"So what you're saying is, I'm your brand of heroin?" I teased, trying to lighten the mood.

He smiled swiftly, seeming to appreciate my effort. "Yes, you are exactly my brand of heroin."
–Bella Swan and Edward Cullen, Twilight, page 267-268

Cat told me once that she sometimes dreams in geometric shapes. She really is a very talented lady. I love her designs. Slowly I'm catching up on her super fun Twilight Mystery Block of the Month. I've finished with June .


The focus for June was Bella. Here is the beginner's block, a simple heart in red – red because Edward loves the smell of Bella's blood. [Editor's Note: I'm so not into vampires and this sounds totally cheesy, but trust me, just read the books.] I used Fairy Frost in Scarlet for Bella's heart and reduced the pattern to 3" {60%}. Because the beginner's block is the same this month as last {just in a different color} Cat did a cute bonus pattern for people who like vampires with fangs. I'm not one of those people, so I don't think I'll have a need for that pattern, but I do think it is funny.

The advanced block is the charm bracelet that Jacob gave to Bella in Eclipse. This pattern is one of the first that Cat designed, but she has just now released it {well, back in June }. This was my first attempt. You can read all about why it wasn't right here.

This is the Bella's Bracelet block that is going into my Twilight Quilt. I think this one came out much better. It is 6" {I enlarged the pattern to 120%} and you can read all about why this one works here.

I was starting to feel all on top of things, but Cat just put out Block 9 this weekend. I'm only hyperventilating a little. I've got the beginner's blocks for months 6, 7, 8 and 9 to do {and those go really fast}, and only the advanced blocks for months 6 and 7 to get all caught up. Being pattern tester has its advantages .

My Twilight Quilt: Bella's Bracelet Redux

[Jacob] turned the bag upside down and shook something silver into my hand. Metal links clinked quietly against each other.

"I didn't make the bracelet," he admitted. "Just the charm."

Fastened to one of the links of the silver bracelet was a tiny wooden carving. I held it between my fingers to look at it closer. It was amazing the amount of detail involved in the little figurine – the miniature wolf was utterly realistic. It was even carved out of some red-brown wood that matched the color of his skin. –Bella Swan, Eclipse, page 374

[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. –Bella Swan, Eclipse, page 438

Bella's Bracelet was one of the first blocks I made for my Twilight Quilt. That is to say, after I discarded all the blocks from the Zeppelin Threads Mystery Quilt, made my own layout and then changed it 2½ times, it was one of the first blocks I did. But it just wasn't quite right. The block {really, set of two blocks, because I'm making two quilts} went in the huge pile of orphaned Twilight quilt blocks and I went back to the drawing board.

I puzzled and puzzled over exactly the right background fabric to use in this block. The Mystery Quilt assigned purple to Bella, presumably, because in the movie Charlie buys her a purple comforter set for her bed. I tried to carry that over from the Mystery Quilt; the idea of assigning a color and fabric to each character to use throughout the quilt. And I wanted to use the fabrics I'd already invested in. It works great for Jacob. I found a really cool Moda Marbles in russet for him. I used that for his little wolf charm on the bracelet and on his Wolf Paw block. And it works for Edward too – white and sparkly. I used that in the heart charm on the bracelet, in his Diamond Heart block and in the Fire and Ice block. {Sidebar: I'm wondering why I didn't use Jacob's russet fabric in that block too. I went with an earthy orange fabric to represent fire, because the block is called Fire and Ice. But the design is very abstract and since it represents Jacob and Edward I could have gone with the russet fabric just as easily as the orange. I'd better not think about that too much, or I'll obsess over it and have another block for the orphan pile .}

I had a hard time with a color for Bella, though. The Mystery Quilt, with mostly traditionally pieced and appliqué blocks, was a very different style than my new layout, though. The fabric I used just didn't work for the paper pieced bracelet block {but it looks really nice in my Snowball Quilt }, so I went out and bought four or five other purple fabrics. Some of the Twilight Quilter's Coven girls even sent me purple fabrics. But none of them worked. So, I shoved the pattern to the back of my stack. As time passed, I pretty much gave up the idea of using one color to represent Bella and started thinking about the best color to use to set off the bracelet; the best color to use as a background. The last time I thought about it seriously, gold was at the top of my list. I like gold and silver together, and it seemed a nice, neutral color. I didn't have a specific fabric in mind, but last week when I pulled out my things to work on Edward's Diamond Heart, right on top was a piece of pretty ivory fabric with tiny gold flecks on it that Wanda had sent me. Bella's Bracelet was next in line after the Diamond Heart, so my mind was working on it more actively. Things clicked into place and I finally had a fabric that seemed just right for the background.

I used Silver Fairy Frost for the bracelet {what else? } Under the 'frost' overlay, the fabric has subtle variations in color and I used the lighter fabric for the front of the bracelet and the darker fabric for the back, as indicated in the pattern, to give it perspective. As mentioned, the little wolf charm is made from a Moda Marbles in russet and the heart charm is white with iridescent sparkles {Crystalline Solids from JoAnn's}. I'll add jump rings to the block {probably after it is quilted} so the charms are attached to the bracelet.

This is one of the first Twilight patterns Cat designed. We used it in the Stephenie Meyer quilt and it is included in Cat's Mystery BOM.

And now my favorite part of my Twilight Quilt Sew and Tell, the layout with one more block filled in :

My Twilight Quilt: Edward's Diamond Heart

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

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

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

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

I smiled ruefully at his assurance.

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

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

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

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

In Eclipse, Jacob gives Bella a charm bracelet with a little wolf charm he's carved himself. Edward, wanting to be represented also, adds a heart-shaped 'crystal.' So, I thought Edward's heart should be represented in my Twilight quilt.

I've been following Cat's Twilight Mystery Block of the Month, although I'm a little behind. I just finished up the May blocks. I decided to do all of her beginner's blocks {which were new designs specifically for the BOM} and put them together in a wall hanging {you can see my May beginner's block here}. Some of her designs for the advanced blocks have been around for a while and I incorporated them into my quilt layout {which went through several different revisions before I finally settled on this one}. Others were new for the BOM, so I decided that I'd do her advanced blocks during their months in the BOM if they were in my layout {and if I hadn't done them already } or if I had already chosen {or made} another pattern, then I would do that instead. Edward's diamond heart is one that I'd already spent a bit of time tweaking a pattern so that it was just right for my quilt before Cat did her design.

I used Shae Merritt's Legend of Zelda Heart Container pattern as a starting point for my block. I enlarged it, drew in lines to create facets and then placed a full, flat heart on top similar to a heart-shaped cut diamond. I did the paper piecing first, completing the entire block before appliquéing the heart in the center. Behind the appliqué, I cut away the center of the block where the seams intersected to eliminate bulk. I used three different sparkly fabrics; white with sliver glitter, white with iridescent glitter and grey with silver glitter {Platinum Fairy Frost}. And the background is my trusty Civil War reproduction fabric {which always makes me think of Jasper} that will be used throughout the quilt.

Here is my layout, with one more block filled in .

Cat's Twilight Block of the Month: Block 4

He ... touched the silver bracelet for just a moment. ... On [it] there now hung a brilliant heart-shaped crystal.

"... I thought it was a good representation. ... 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."

–Bella Swan and Edward Cullen, Eclipse, pages 438-439


I have my May beginner's block done. Both the beginner's and the advanced blocks are representations of the crystal {that we all know is really a 5-carat diamond. Well, all us us except for Bella, who wouldn't let Edward give her something that extravagant . She's a little ridiculous sometimes} heart Edward gave her. I used this really cool iridescent sparkle fabric that is hard to get a good photograph of and just looks speckled in a scan. The fabric is called Crystalline Solid and I got it at JoAnn's. They have it in pink and purple all the time, but the white is only in stock occasionally. I found it in ivory one time, but that must have been a special run because I haven't seen it since. But I digress. Sorry. The shiny fabrics distracted me.

I love the simplicity of the beginner's blocks. I'm doing them all at 3" {pattern reduced to 60%} and I'm going to make a wall hanging of them.

The advanced block is a faceted 'crystal' heart. I am putting a crystal heart in my quilt, but I'd already put a bit of work into a pattern for my own version before Cat had hers finished, so I'm working on that now, and I'll post it separately. I'd seen all of Cat's designs and her layouts before she started her Block of the Month, but by that time I had finalized the layout for my quilt and didn't want to change it. Again. So I decided that if her pattern was one that I was using in my quilt, I'd work on it during the month it was the BOM if I hadn't already done it, and if I wasn't going to use hers {although, I have to say they are all very good! I love Cat's work}, then I'd do my own version of whatever was the BOM. I felt like I needed a little break from paper piecing. It is very time consuming, and I wanted to feel like I was making progress on a few things. But I'm really in a Twilighty mood these days and want to get a few more blocks for my quilt finished, and hopefully catch up on the BOM before my quilting mood changes.

Click on the BOM button to go to the May blocks post.

Eclipse Charity Quilt: Give to Win

The Twilight Quilters Coven, an on-line quilting group I belong to, has put together an Eclipse themed quilt for charity.

Photo courtesy of Twilight Quilters Coven, used with permission.

No doubt, you've seen the movie by now and so you're more excited than ever about getting a chance to win this quilt, because we're giving it away to one lucky Twilight fan! TQC members have donated time, talent 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. You can help us out with a donation to ALSF. For every $5 increment donation you get a chance to win the quilt. 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 on the TQC blog or on the Eclipse charity Give-to-Win page. The winner will be announced on August 10, 2010.

Besides all the amazing blocks, the quilt has 3 autographs from the saga's actors: Peter Facinelli (Carlisle Cullen), Chaske Spencer (Sam Uley), and Daniel Cudmore (Felix)! Check out all the beautiful details.

You can also help us by spreading the word! Blog about our quilt and display one of our buttons in your sidebar. Grab a button below!

Small Button - 150 pixels wide

<center><a href="http://www.twilightquilters.org/"><img border="0" src="http://img706.imageshack.us/img706/7400/eclipsebutton.gif" /></a></center>

Large Button - 220 pixels wide

<center><a href="http://www.twilightquilters.org/"><img border="0" src="http://img39.imageshack.us/img39/7400/eclipsebutton.gif" /></a></center>

If you blog about this quilt, leave a link and I'll make sure the TQC Admin stops by on your blog and leaves you a lovely comment!

I Can't Fight With an Eclipse

If you visit my blog very often, you'll know that I'm a Twilight fan. Just a little. The newest movie comes out in just over 26 hours.

Most die-hard fans already have their tickets for the midnight showing somewhere in between June 29 and June 30. But I am not one of those fans. I have tickets for a pre-screening at 4:30 pm tomorrow afternoon. Squee! I'm just a little bit excited. And slightly stunned at the way these tickets presented themselves to me, since I keep my Twilight addiction pretty close to the vest (unless you read my blog).

This movie promises to be the best yet in the saga, with amazing special effects and plenty of action between the vampires and the werewolves, which I will totally love. But what I'm really looking forward to is this:


I am a hopeless romantic. And Bella and Edward's story is a world-class romance.

Mr. Bug is my movie date tomorrow afternoon. I'm a little nervous about that. Because as I just mentioned, I'm totally going for the sappy, romantic, girl stuff. It's not like I haven't watched the other movies with Mr. Bug. I've got Twilight and New Moon on DVD and he's watched both of them with me. But I went to see those movies for the first time with the girls and had a few months to contain my enthusiasm for a fictional character before I saw the movies with Mr. Bug.

It's not like he doesn't know I'm nuts over the books. I read the first one in about three days and then I had to go back and re-read my favorite parts. Then I read the next three books in the next three days. By about the time I reached the end of book 3 I could see Mr. Bug was running out of patience with my vacation from reality. I only slept about three or four hours a night and fed the kids cold cereal for breakfast and dinner so that I could read. About a week after my first time through the books, I read them again. This time Mr. Bug noticed that I wore this goofy grin every time I had my nose in one of the books. I'm positive that I'll be wearing that same goofy grin throughout the movie tomorrow. I'm not sure how to fit that in with Mr. Bug sitting next to me in the theater.

Mr. Bug read the books before I did. He said they were a decent read and thought I would like them, but he's not a romantic in the way that I am so he said that some of the mushy stuff was barely stomachable. I once asked him if he were Team Edward or Team Jacob. He said he was Team Bella, which made me happy because in my head I'm still 17.

Eclipse Give to Win Quilt

Twilight Quilters Coven, an on-line quilting group I belong to, has been working on a little project for charity. This is our Eclipse Give to Win Quilt.

Photo courtesy of Twilight Quilters Coven, used with permission.

I did two blocks for this quilt, Edward's Bedroom/The Proposal::

and Graduation From Forks High School:

Besides all the amazing blocks, the quilt has 3 autographs from the saga's actors: Peter Facinelli (Carlisle Cullen), Chaske Spencer (Sam Uley), and Daniel Cudmore (Felix)! Check out all the beautiful details.

The best part is that we're giving this quilt away! TQC members have donated time, talent 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. You can help us out with a donation to ALSF. For every $5 increment donation you get a chance to win the quilt. 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 on the TQC blog or on the Eclipse charity Give-to-Win page. The winner will be announced on August 10, 2010.

Block Credits
Miscellaneous:
Design, layout and assembly: by Iris
Machine quilting and binding: by Angie

Blocks:
Jacob's Note: design, layout and piecing by Angie
Penguins. Lovely.: pattern by Jennifer Ofenstein
Trip to Florida: pattern by Penny Pennington, piecing by Joyce
High School Days: design, layout and piecing by Joyce
Nature: design, layout and piecing by Joyce
Imprinting: design, layout and piecing by Wanda
I Am Switzerland: pattern by Cat, piecing by Angie
Rosalie: design, layout and piecing by Mel
Council Meeting/The Third Wife: pattern by Quiltmaker, layout and piecing by Angie
Jasper: design, layout and piecing by Wanda
Graduation from Forks High School: pattern by Cat and Elizabeth, piecing by Elizabeth
Newborn Combat Training: design, layout and piecing by Kate
I Can't Fight with an Eclipse: design, layout and piecing by Iris
Bella's Bracelet: pattern by Cat, piecing by Jerri Lynn
Edward's Bedroom/The Proposal: modified bed pattern by Jennifer Ofenstein, rosebud pattern by Cat, modified ring pattern by Michelle Thompson, composite block pattern and piecing by Elizabeth
Fire & Ice/The Tent Scene: pattern by Quiltmaker, layout and piecing by Angie
Bella's Broken Heart: pattern by Jennifer Ofenstein, piecing by Wanda
Victoria: pattern and piecing by Cat
The Volturi Guard: design, layout and piecing by Mel
The Meadow: pattern by Cat, piecing by Jerri Lynn

Piece, Love, Twilight: A Quilt for Stephenie Meyer

I've been a member of the Twilight Quilters Coven for more than a year. Our official anniversary is March 31, 2009, but we were talking about Twilight and quilting and working on our own Twilight themed quilts before we formed our group. We live scattered across the United States, Canada and even have a member in Australia. As we chatted about the books and quilting and quilting about the books we decided that we wanted to give something back to the woman who has inspired each of us in so many ways. Despite the geographical obstacles, we began work on a Twilight themed quilt that was eventually named Piece, Love, Twilight: A Quilt for Stepehnie Meyer.

When we began this quilt, we'd never met each other in person. We coordinated design and blocks on a thread at TwilightMOMS. Our starting point came from a member who has since left our group. She suggested a medallion for the center of the quilt with a representation of each of the book covers in the parts of the medallion. Because I'm bossy and opinionated, she and another of our group nominated me to be the project leader, and being bossy and opinionated, I took the job. I took the medallion idea and ran with it. I made a scale paper model of the medallion and then we began discussing ways to complete the rest of the quilt. We brainstormed for the best ways represent the books in quilt blocks and make it work with the medallion center. We decided to put a quote from each book in the four corners of the quilt and blocks representing characters and key parts of the books on all four sides. I had no experience with PhotoShop (still don't), or even Microsoft Paint, so I Mickey Moused another paper model, printing out pictures and a rough grid filled in with color so that we could have a layout to be getting on with.

Each of us signed up for blocks that interested us and when they were completed, everyone mailed them to me for assembly. My part of the quilt was the three outer layers of the medallion. I felt like the quilter who had come up with the medallion idea should have the honor of creating the center block. Here are a few shots of my blocks.

This is the parrot tulip from the New Moon cover. The Twilight and Breaking Dawn covers really make sense after you've read the books, but the parrot tulips on the New Moon cover have a lot of folks shaking their heads. In the weeks after I read the books, I read on-line somewhere that Stephenie Meyer didn't have a lot of say in the book covers until the later books.

My favorite paper piecing designer, Cat is responsible for no less than six of the designs in this quilt. But at the time, she didn't have a design for the Eclipse cover ribbon (another one that makes us wonder). So I decided to use real ribbon. This was a bit of a scary proposition, though, and so I sashed the center block, cut my setting triangles and moved on to making the Breaking Dawn chess board. I'd already modeled that out in about 12,472 1" paper squares, so I knew what I was up against there. I thought that if I had the Breaking Dawn portion of the medallion all ready to go, it would force me to come back to the ribbon and just do it.

I used the actual book cover as a model for the placement of the ribbon on the quilt. I snipped away a section of the selvage edge of the ribbon with my sharpest scissors and pulled out the cross threads. Then I hacked away the length-wise threads kind of the way the hairstylist does when she's texturizing your hair. I pinned it in place and sewed it down. It was kind of a group consensus to make it a continuous pattern through the four setting triangles, rather than repeating the ribbon break in each section. I think it worked out well.

This section was pretty smooth sailing, for the most part. I strip pieced as much as possible and only sewed individual 1½" blocks when absolutely necessary. I used the Breaking Dawn cover for the chess pieces — traced them onto paper and then reversed that over a light table and onto Heat 'n Bond Lite. The shadow details were added in by the marvelously talented quilter, Vivian of Quilts with Love.

Here is the complete center of the quilt. I find myself wondering if this quilt has any appeal greater than a niche market. But you kinda have to admit that the red, white and black really catches the eye, even if you have no clue what it is all about.

The blocks came in and as everyone else's work on the quilt was complete, I still had a bit to do. I arranged the blocks around the center and took photos of different layouts. We talked about it and may have even had a formal vote on it. The layout we ended up with was a general consensus among the group. When I finished the top, I mailed it to Vivian, who did a beautiful custom quilting job on it. She then hand-delivered the quilt back to me 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. 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:
Twilight Book Cover: Forbidden Fruit pattern by Cat, piecing by Shannon
New Moon Book Cover: Broken Petals pattern by Cat, piecing by Elizabeth
Eclipse Book Cover: design and piecing by Elizabeth
Breaking Dawn Book Cover: 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:
The Forks Forest: design and piecing by Wanda
Charlie: Two-Tone Star pattern by Jennifer Ofenstein, design and piecing by Jerri Lynn
Vampire Baseball: pattern by Elizabeth, piecing by Wanda
Bella's Truck: Red Truck pattern by Cat, piecing by Joyce
“My” Jacob: Paw Print pattern by Cat, piecing by Jean

Left Column:
Vegetarian Vampire Eyes: traditional jewel box pattern, piecing by Jean
Carlisle & Esme: Hardback Book pattern by Jennifer Ofenstein, layout and piecing by Iris
Emmett & Rosalie: Grizzly Bear pattern by Linda Hibbert at Silver Linings Originals, piecing by Shannon
Jasper & Alice: Crystal Ball pattern by Jennifer Ofenstein, Jasper fabric by Iris, piecing by Shannon
The Meadow: pattern and piecing by Iris

Right Column:
The “Other” Jacob: Howling Wolf pattern by Jennifer Ofenstein, piecing by Joyce
La Push: First Beach: La Push: First Beach pattern by Cat, piecing by Jerri Lynn
Bella's Bracelet: Charm Bracelet pattern by Cat, piecing by Joyce
Edward's Diamond 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: Strike Up the Band part 1 and part 2 pattern by Liz Schwartz & Stephen Seifert, piecing by Shannon
Isle Esme: Quill 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 in November of 2009. 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.

Working with a geographically scattered group creates an interesting dynamic. You have to give up a certain amount of control and develop trust in your fellow quilters. The result is sometimes unexpected, but alway amazing. Thanks ladies for a wonderful year of quilting together. I'm looking forward to many more.

P.S. Although we really expected nothing in return, it was totally awesome to receive a personalized autographed New Moon collector's edition from Stephenie Meyer in the mail. Each of us got one. Pretty amazing!