Cat's Twilight Block of the Month: Block 12

No longer just a nightmare, the line of black advanced on us through the icy mist stirred up by their feet.

We're going to die, I thought in panic. I was desperate for the precious one I guarded, but even to think of that was a lapse in attention I could not afford.

They ghosted closer, their dark robes billowing slightly with the movement. I saw their hands curl into bone-colored claws. They drifted apart, angling to come at us from all sides. We were outnumbered. It was over.

And then, like a burst of light from a flash, the whole scene was different. Yet nothing changed—the Volturi still stalked toward us, poised to kill. All that really changed was how the picture looked to me. Suddenly, I was hungry for it. I wanted them to charge. The panic changed to bloodlust as I crouched forward, a smile on my face, and the growl ripped through my bared teeth.
–Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, pages 367-368

This is it! The very last of the beginner's blocks in Cat's Mystery Block of the Month. These were so fun to work up. In this block, I used Fairy Frost in Natural for the white squares on the chess board and the red square is Holly Berry. This was fun and fast to put together. I would only make one tiny recommendation if you try this pattern, sew rows 2 and 4 from the opposite end {start at 4 and work backwards} so that the seams are opposite when you sew the rows together. It helps with getting everything lined up.

I've been thinking about how I'd like to put these blocks together. I can't decide if I want to do solid black sashing, or black sashing with red setting squares. And I can't decide which fabric to use. But I definitely want to get it put together soon.

I did the advanced block quite a while ago. I was Cat's pattern tester. Her pattern designs always amazed me. Here is the block that will go in my Twilight quilt. You can see another version I did of it here.

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Cat's Twilight Block of the Month: Block 11

. . . The Sitka spruces and the hemlocks, the yews and the maples. I only vaguely knew the names of the trees around me, and all I knew was due to Charlie pointing them out to me from the cruiser window in earlier days. –Bella Swan Twilight, page 136

This is the beginner's block for month 11 and I really loved putting this one together. I raided my stash of Fairy Frost for the trees. I used a different color for each one, because in nature, no two trees are exactly the same shade of green. I love how it came out.

The advanced block is La Push: First Beach, which is a block I've been dying to do since I became aware of Cat's awesome patterns. I'm including that block in my Twilight quilt, so I'm going to post it separately, later today.

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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.

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Cat's Twilight Block of the Month: Block 9

Your best friend is a werewolf? –Alice Cullen, New Moon, page 387

The beginner's block for month 9 of Cat's mystery quilt was another fun and quick block to put together. I used Fairy Frost, of course, I really like how it came out.

I'd already done the advanced block, but I thought it would be fun to show again.

I also did two different sets of paw prints for the New Moon quilt. This first set was about 50% of original size.

Jacob

Paul

Sam

Embry

Jared

It was a good thing that this is one of my favorite of Cat's patterns because we did a revision on the layout and the first set of blocks was just a little bit too big to fit the new layout, so I did a second set on an even smaller scale. After making so many of this block, I still think it is really fun to do.

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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.

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Cat's Twilight Block of the Month: Block 7

Aside from the laughter and playfulness, there was something different, and I couldn’t quite pinpoint what that difference was. I examined Edward the most carefully. His skin was less pale, I decided — flushed from the snow fight maybe — the circles under his eyes much less noticeable. But there was something more. I pondered, staring, trying to isolate the change.

I glanced up, and he was staring at me, that same inexplicable look of frustration in his eyes. Suddenly I identified that subtle difference in his face.

“Did you get contacts?” I blurted out unthinkingly.

He seemed puzzled by my unexpected question. “No.”

“Oh,” I mumbled. “I thought there was something different about your eyes.”

He shrugged and looked away.

In fact, I was sure there was something different. I vividly remembered the flat black color of his eyes the last time he’d glared at me — the color was striking against the background of his pale skin and his auburn hair. Today, his eyes were a completely different color: a strange ocher, darker than butterscotch, but with the same golden tone. I didn’t understand how that could be, unless he was lying for some reason about the contacts.
–Bella Swan and Edward Cullen, Twilight, pages 41 and 46

When I pulled out the storage bin I keep my Twilight fabrics in to work on my Breaking Dawn Quilt blocks, this pattern kept staring at me. It was sitting right there on top, and every time I would go to pull fabrics out, it would stare at me some more. So, I finally decided to work it. This is the beginner's block for month 7 {which was August. Of 2010}. The pattern is called Topaz Eyes and makes reference to the color of Edward's eyes. Well, OK, not just his, but all 'vegetarian' vampire eyes. It worked up really quick and it was fun to do. I used an ivory iridescent sparkle fabric that I picked up at JoAnn's more than 2 years ago and haven't seen there since for the skin. The sparkle is hard to see in the photo {it always is}. The others are fabrics I received in swaps from fellow Twi-Quilters Iris and Wanda.

The advanced block for this month is called The Meadow. Cat took a screen shot from the movie and turned it into a paper piecing pattern. I've debated back and forth for two years now {I got a sneak preview} whether or not I was going to use Cat's meadow in my quilt. There's this whole book vs. movie vs. pros and cons of each pattern going on in my head. Long story short {mark the date and time; that won't happen again} I've finally decided to use Iris' meadow pattern from the Piece, Love, Twilight quilt. But make sure you go and take a peek at Cat's block. It is amazing!

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Cat's Twilight Block of the Month: Block 6

The wolf closest to me, the reddish brown one, turned its head slightly at the sound of my gasp.

The wolf's eyes were dark, nearly black. It gazed at me for a fraction of a second, the deep eyes seeming too intelligent for a wild animal.

As it stared at me, I suddenly thought of Jacob. –Bella Swan, New Moon, page 244


I'm slowly closing the gap, getting caught up with Cat's Twilight Mystery Block of the Month. July's focus was Jacob. The beginner's block is the same as the previous two months; a heart, this time in Jacob-y colors. I used Fairy Frost in Coin for Jacob's russet colored heart.

I'm a very visual person, so I thought it would be fun to see how all the blocks I've finished look together. I'll probably put a black sashing between them with red setting squares at the corner, but I haven't decided for sure.

The advanced block for July is the cutest wolf block. Which presents a bit of a dilemma for me. As I mentioned when I posted my May block, I already had my layout decided on when Cat announced her BOM. I'd chosen to use her paw print to represent the part of Jacob who is Bella's friend, who she loves. And I chose Jennifer Ofenstein's Howling Wolf block {pattern here} to represent the part of Jacob that Bella can't stand, the pushy, obnoxious, moronic DOG! {Eclipse, page 332} Cat's wolf is too sweet to represent the angry, hurt side of Jacob and I've already got the paw print done for the nice side of Jacob, so to keep my pile of orphaned Twilight blocks from growing, I'm going to have to go with common sense and leave this wolf block out of my quilt.

Perhaps I'll do a wolf pack wall hanging sometime {after I finished the 572 other things I'm working on}, making the wolves in their different colors {yeah, I'm gonna list them all }:
Sam {black}
Paul {dark silver}
Jared {medium brown}
Embry {gray w/spots}
Jacob {russet}
Quil {deep chocolate brown}
Leah {silver}
Seth {sandy brown}
Collin {?}
Brady {?}

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 .

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.

Cat's Twilight Block of the Month: Block 3

It didn't matter to me that we were surrounded by our extraordinarily dangerous enemies. As the clock began to toll out the hour, vibrating under the soles of my sluggish feet, I knew I was too late – and I was glad something bloodthirsty waited in the wings. For in failing at this, I forfeited any desire to live.

The clock tolled again, and the sun beat down from the exact center point of the sky.
–Bella Swan, New Moon, pages 1-2


I haven't worked on anything Twilighty in a while. I've been listening to the audio books lately while I have been working on other things, so I thought I'd dust my paper piecing skills off and see what I could get done. The April blocks {yes, I know I'm waayyy behind} are representations of the New Moon book cover. Everybody is scratching their heads over the parrot tulip that graces the cover. It is a really far stretch to relate it to anything in the book, so I won't even go into that.

I'm doing all my beginner's blocks at 3" {I reduced the pattern to 60%} and I want all the images to really pop, so I'm using my stash of Fairy Frost. I scanned the block, so some of the shimmer is lost. I used Hollyberry for the red {I also used it in the apple for my beginner's block one} and Snow for the white. I really like this stylized version of the tulip. The pattern is really fast and easy, too. I finished it in about an hour.

The advanced block is a more literal recreation of the book cover. I got to be Cat's pattern tester for this block. You can see my first block here. The finished block comes out at 5". The dots {while awesome for other stuff} are a little distracting and my seams pull just a little. Then I reduced the pattern to 80% {see also: ideas-that-sound-great-in-my-head-but-are-a-little-tricky-in-the-execution } and made four more of these to use in our quilt for Stephenie Meyer. I did three other parrot tulips blocks {enlarged to 120% for a 6" finished block}; one for a book cover banner, and two more for my own twin Twilight Quilts {have I mentioned ideas that sound good in my head but are a little crazy in real life?}.

I know I've posted about this block before, but since it's been a while since I've done anything Twilighty, a re-run will have to do.

Here is a little index {mostly for me} of each of the blocks that have been released to date. I've got a little catching up to do .
Block 1, February: Twilight Book Cover
Block 2, March: Charlie
Block 3, April: New Moon Book Cover
Block 4, May: Edward
Block 5, June: Bella {with bonus pattern}
Block 6, July: Jacob
Block 7, August: Edward & Bella
Block 8, September: Edward, Bella & Jacob

Cat's Twilight Block of the Month: Block 2

Cat's Twilight Mystery Quilt blocks for month two (posted waaaay back on March 6) are a representation of Charlie.


This is my beginner's block, done at 3" (reduced the pattern to 60%). I'm going to put the beginner's blocks in a little wall-hanging. I'm using my most favorite sparkly and shiny fabrics for it. Here I used Yellow Fairy Frost, but the scan of this block makes it hard to see how shiny it really is.

Here is Cat's Advanced design for her Block of the Month quilt. She used the City of Forks official emblem in her design. Check it out here.

My advanced block is a variation of the block for this month, designed specifically for my own Twilight quilt. It is 4" x 6" and is designed to look like Charlie's badge. You can read more about it here.

I'm just sneaking in under the wire with these blocks. The next set of patterns are due out on the first weekend of April, which is a couple of days from now. I'm hoping that I posted pictures of them at Twilight Crafts soon enough to be included in the Round Up of this month's blocks. it was really fun to go there and see my last month's blocks in with all the other really cool blocks.

Cat's Twilight Block of the Month: Block 1

Cat's Twilight Block of the Month is really exciting. I've seen her layouts, both for the beginner's quilt and the advanced. I even got to test a few of the advanced patterns for her. I consider that quite an honor. I will be using nearly all of her advanced patterns in my own Twilight Quilt, so I will have those blocks to show each month, but I won't be assembling them in her layout. So, I thought that I would follow along with the beginner's blocks and put together a little sampler. I've decided to do them at 3" instead of 5" (I reduced the pattern to 60%) and I'm going to use my favorite shimmery and sparkly fabrics for this little sampler.

Here's my little apple, beginner's block #1. It was fun and quick to put together. I used the very sparkly Hollyberry Fairy Frost for the apple.


And this is my advanced block #1 done at 6" (enlarged the pattern to 120%). I've had it done for quite a while, waiting to go in my Twilight quilt, but since it's the block of the month . . . any occasion to do a bit of sew-and-tell, right?

Cat's Twilight Block of the Month

My favorite paper piecing pattern designer, Cat, has put together a wonderful Twilight themed Block of the Month quilt program.


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

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

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

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

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

Here is a sample of the first 2 patterns available:

Beginner's Block #1

Advanced Block #2

You can also visit the thread for it at TwilightMOMS.