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.

My Twilight Quilt: The Clock Tower at Volterra

The throng jostled around me, spinning me the wrong direction. I was glad the clock was so visible, or I'd never keep my course straight. But both hands on the clock pointed up towards the pitiless sun, and, though I shoved viciously against the crowd, I knew I was too late. I wasn't halfway across. I wasn't going to make it.

. . . But there was a break in the crowd—I could see a bubble of space ahead. I pushed urgently toward it, not realizing till I bruised my shins against the bricks that there was a wide, square fountain set into the center of the plaza.

I was nearly crying with relief as I flung my leg over the edge and ran through the knee-deep water. . . . The fountain was very wide; it let me cross the center of the square and then some in mere seconds. I didn't pause when I hit the far edge—I used the low wall as a springboard, throwing myself into the crowd.

They moved more readily for me now, avoiding the icy water that splattered from my dripping clothes as I ran. I glanced up at the clock again.

A deep, booming chime echoed through the square. It throbbed in the stones under my feet. . . . I started screaming as I ran.

“Edward!” I screamed, knowing it was useless. The crowd was too loud, and my voice was breathless with exertion. But I couldn't stop screaming.

The clock tolled again.

. . . “Edward, no!” I screamed, but my voice was lost in the roar of the chime.

. . . The clock tolled, and he took a large stride toward the light.

“No!” I screamed. “Edward, look at me!”

He wasn't listening. He smiled very slightly. He raised his foot to take the step that would put him directly in the path of the sun.
–Bella Swan, New Moon, page 449-451

This block was a lot of fun to do. I used the design that Iris came up with for the Stephenie Meyer quilt. She used a photo from the New Moon movie set in Italy as the inspiration for her block and did an amazing job. I was completely blown away by her design. She was kind enough to send me a couple of the fabrics she used in her block; the stone fabric for the plaza, as well as the bottom floor of the building. I used a photo copy of her original block as a guide. Iris pieced the majority of hers, only appliquéing the clock, the rounded windows and the door. But with all those tiny, tiny little pieces, I decided to piece the main foundation of the block, the buildings, and then appliqué the other elements. It was a lot of work and I'm not sure if I saved time doing it that way, but I love to do needle-turn and am really happy with how it turned out.

And, yay! One more block filled in. There are about twice as many spaces filled in as there are empty, which is really encouraging.

Sneak Peek

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

Here's a sneak peek of what I've been up to lately. A little bit of piecing. A little bit of Fairy Frost. A little bit of needle-turn appliqué. A little bit of embroidery.

It's taking longer than I expected. It always does. But I'm having lots of fun.

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 Meadow

I reached the edge of the pool of light and stepped through the last fringe of ferns into the loveliest place I had ever seen. The meadow was small, perfectly round, and filled with wildflowers – violet, yellow and soft white. Somewhere nearby, I could hear the bubbling music of a stream. The sun was directly overhead, filling the circle with a haze of buttery sunshine. I walked slowly, awestruck, through the soft grass, swaying flowers, and warm, gilded air. –Bella Swan, Twilight, page 259

It's been a whole year since I worked on my Twilight quilt. It is fun to be back at it. This is Iris' meadow, as seen in the Piece, Love, Twilight quilt our little group of Twi-Quilters did for Stephenie Meyer. I debated back and forth for over two years whether to use this block, or the meadow block Cat designed using a still from the movie. It was a tough choice, but in the end I went with this version because in the book, Bella doesn't lie down with Edward in the grass. She sits and watches him. I disapprove of certain liberties film makers take when making a book into a movie. I did, however, use Cat's brilliant idea to use seed beads for the flowers. The trees are the same green fabrics I'm using throughout the quilt. I used a bit of Fairy Frost for the stream, and the meadow fabric was a fabulous share from Wanda. I love our little on-line quilting group. When someone makes an awesome find, there is always the sharing of assets.

This is my favorite part; the layout with one more block filled in. Hey, progress is progress, even if it is slow.

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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Big Day

When you loved the one who was killing you, it left you no options. How could you run, how could you fight, when doing so would hurt that beloved one? If your life was all you had to give your beloved, how could you not give it? –Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, page 2

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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Favourite Things Friday: Barbie®

Love her or hate her, Barbie has become an undeniable part of our culture. –Lists Galore

I know there is a lot of controversy surrounding Barbie. Hopefully I won't get booed right off of Favourite Things Friday, because I choose to look past all the hype and see her for what she is; a plaything. Did I ever want to look like her? Well, not exactly. I wanted to be her size {as in 10" tall} so I could live in the Dream House and swim in the pool and drive the pink convertible and wear her shoes. But do I have body image issues because of her? No.

What I love about Barbie is that she can be anyone and do anything. And she looks spectacular doing it {and I'm talking clothes here, not body size}. The same doll, dressed a thousand different ways. Theme and variation. What's not to love?

I get the Barbie catalog every so often. I love to flip through and drool over all the outfits-in-miniature Barbie and company get to wear {as a side note, I tried sewing clothes for Barbie once. Super not fun}. Though I love to look, I am not an avid collector. My collection is hardly a collection at all. I have 12 dolls — the entire Wizard of Oz set released in 2007. This particular set {and I think there have been two others} includes Dorothy, The Scarecrow, The Tin Man, The Cowardly Lion, Glinda the Good Witch, Lullaby Munchkin, Munchkins Gift Set, The Wicked Witch of the West {my favorite}, and the Winkie Guard and Winged Monkey set. When I decided that I wanted the set, some of the dolls were no longer available. But when I do a thing, I do it properly. I had to have them all. I bought what was available and then stalked the auctions on eBay until I had every last doll. The most difficult to get was the Lullaby Munchkin. She was never sold individually. She only came in a gift set {which was no longer available} so the only way to get one was from someone who split up a set and put her up for auction. You know she was over-priced, but I had to have her to complete the set. My collection is sitting mint-in-their boxes patiently waiting for the library wing of Bug Cottage to be built, complete with glass display cases for things like dolls and chess sets. If you want to know the truth, though, I'm dying to take them out of their boxes and play with them. Dorothy's Ruby Slippers are to die for and I wonder if her dress is as soft as it looks.

The fun thing about Barbie is there is something for everyone. I love the recreation dolls, like the Wizard of Oz set and the Barbie loves Lucy collection. I think my favorite dolls are in the Barbie love Pop Culture collection. Wonder Woman. Bat Girl. Super Girl. Star Trek. Awesome! But certain of their collections are not for me. The vintage reproduction Barbies are a little bit creepy. How did they ever sell a single doll {much less become the sensation they are today} with that scowl she wears? I'm not overly fond of some of the Bob Mackie dolls either. Possibly the worst Barbie {and I use the term loosely to describe the molded plastic figures of either sex} ever put into production is the Edward Ken Doll from the Twilight series.

I think my favorite Barbie of all time, the one I wish I would have bought but didn't, is The Pirate Barbie^® Doll. She debuted in 2007, riding on the coattails of the popular series of Pirate movies, with a gold label {production classification for collectors; each label color denotes how rare or common a doll is} and a retail price of $174.99. I'm fairly certain I had her in my on-line shopping cart more than once, but I could never press the checkout button. Eventually her price dropped, going down in increments. Her final selling price from Mattel was $55, but at the time groceries were higher on my priority list than doll collecting. I took a quick peek and she's going for as low as $75 and as high as $250 on eBay right now. To collect, or not to collect? Just look at her bad pirate self. Is she not the coolest Barbie you have ever seen?

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Twilighty Fabric Postcards

Why don't you sit with me today? –Edward Cullen, Twilight, page 87

Yeah. I know . It is completely ridiculous to be so be so into a series of books about teenagers — teenage vampires, no less. But I am. If you haven't read the books, you can't judge. And if you have read them and don't like them, well, not everyone has good taste .

In an effort to feed my obsession shortly after first reading the books, I searched the internet for anything Twilight related. Eventually, I found TwilightMOMS^TM, where I met lots of other Twilight obsessed people. Those of us who liked to sew and/or quilt kind of banded together and formed a little group. We are each working on our own individual Twilight themed quilts and we've made a few quilts together as a group; we sent one to Stephenie Meyer and the other two were auctioned and all the proceeds were donated to charity. We live scattered across the States and we even have a member in Australia. We've been quilting together, coordinating our efforts via e-mail and private messages, for almost two years now. We've become quite good friends. We do a gift exchange at least once a year, we commemorate our anniversary with a little swap, and those who want to send each of the others a little something for their birthdays {tradition is a card and a fat quarter}. And we very often trade in Twilighty fabrics and merchandise.

Last fall, I decided to make Twilighty fabric postcards to send out with my birthday fat quarters. I used this tutorial, with a few minor alterations. I finished my outer edges differently {she did a satin stitch, I used pinking shears}. And I used Pellon Peltex 72F II double-sided fusible stablizer instead of the non-fusible Peltex to save on Heat 'n Bond to fuse the front and back to the Peltex. I still used Heat 'n Bond to fuse the additional fabric elements on top. For the pictures, I used fusible ink-jet fabric sheets.

I had all the supplies necessary on-hand. I bought I don't know how many yards of the double-sided fusible Peltex {with a 50% off coupon, I'm sure} probably a year-and-a-half ago, planning to make birthday fabric postcards to send to family and friends in 2010. I never got around to and I still have a ton of it left. It is all cut and ready to be made into more postcards. Maybe 2012 will be my year.

I started working on these last fall. I was going to make them a few at a time, as the birthdays came up. But life got on the way and the three I started with for October birthdays got set aside. Then two more birthdays happened and I decided that I'd better just finish them all in one go and get the late ones out to the birthdays that had already passed and then be prepared for the birthdays still to come. And while I was at it, I made a few extras.

These are for the girls who are Team Jacob. I used these as an opportunity to to a little free-motion quilting practice. I did pebbles across the brown strip. The first one wasn't much fun, but I'd gotten into a groove by the second one. My original plan was to quilt in a birthday wish using the character's font from the book, but after spending well over an hour on the first one, I changed my mind. This cute little paw print fabric I used for the background came from Angie.

These are for the girls who are Team Switzerland. Again, I did a little FMQ practice — horizontal straight lines on the background, a few flourishes at the corners of the pictures and some elongated loops across the burgundy strip. Sorry about the fuzzy picture.

And these are the Team Edward postcards. I found this fabulous batik with the apples on sale on-line, six or eight months ago and bought a yard, wondering what fabulous project I could make with it. LOVE it for these postcards! The red Moda Marbles came from Wanda. I quilted swirly scrolls along the red accent strip and did flourishes or frames around the picture.

More postcards for Team Edward. I did the same quilting on these; swirly scrolls on the accent strip and frames around the pictures.

Our group is predominantly Team Edward. Iris sent me that gorgeous gold fabric I used for the accent strips. Nothing too original with the quilting on these — elongated loops across the gold strips and flourishes on the pictures. I also did vertical straight-line quilting on the backgrounds for these.

I did stippling on the red background and just a straight stitch across the black accent strip. That fabric is some of the tiny bit I have left from the quilt we made for Stephenie Meyer. I love the swirls in it.

I love this picture of Bella and Edward. I kind of went with what I knew for the quilting and did elongated loops across the burgundy accent strip and flourishes on the pictures.

And this is my absolute favorite — Edward in the meadow. Wanda found the background fabric and sent a little bit to everyone in our group who wanted some. It goes perfectly with this picture. I did little flowers across the accent strips and flourishes at the corners of the pictures.

And there you have it. Fifteen Twilighty fabric post cards. Am I going to count this as fifteen finishes? You bet your sweet Aunt Fanny I am! It is nice to start the year off with a bang, especially since most of what I've been working on are things I started a while ago. Hooray for clearing out projects half-done!

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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: 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 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

I'm going to use this block in my own Twilight Quilt. I am debating about whether to keep the blue background for my quilt or to use my trusty black Civil War Reproduction fabric for my own blocks. In my 'research,' I found out the Forks High School colors are blue and yellow, and as I mentioned, I like how the blue works with the yellow cap. But I also like continuity in my quilt, which would mean using the black background. Opinions?

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 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 I realize that it is very silly for a 37 year-old woman with two children and a wonderful husband to be obsessed enough with teenage vampires to be quilting about them. When I talk about the books, it makes it sound even sillier. But Stephenie Meyer can tell quite a story.

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 with my on-line quilting group. 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. I plan to finish the second block tomorrow and get them in the mail to the group member who is assembling the quilt.

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

My Twilight Quilt: Fire & Ice

The wind shook the tent again, and I shook with it.

The temperature was dropping. I could feel it through the down bag, through my jacket. I was fully dressed, my hiking boots still laced into place. It didn't make any difference. How could it be so cold? How could it keep getting colder? It had to bottom out sometime, didn't it?

Edward sat as far from me as possible in the cramped space, afraid to even breathe on me when I was already so cold. It was too dark to see his face, but his voice was wild with worry, indecision, and frustration.

I heard the sound of the zipper around the tent door pulling swiftly down.

Jacob slid through the smallest opening he could manage, while the arctic air flowed in around him, a few flecks of snow falling to the floor of the tent. I shivered so hard it was a convulsion.

Edward's hand was suddenly hard on his shoulder, restraining, snow white against the dark skin. Jacob's jaw clenched, his nostrils flaring, his body recoiling from the cold touch. The long muscles in his arms flexed automatically.

"Scoot over, Bella," he said, zipping the sleeping bag open farther.

I stared at him in outrage. No wonder Edward was reacting this way.

He crammed his body into the nonexistent space, forcing the zipper up behind himself.

And then I couldn't object -- I didn't want to anymore. He was so warm. His arms constricted around me, holding me snugly against his bare chest. The heat was irresistible, like air after being underwater for too long. He cringed when I pressed my icy fingers eagerly against his skin. -Bella Swan, Eclipse, pages 487-494

As I was refining my layout for this quilt, I found a block called Light and Dark at The Quilter's Cache. I really wanted to incorporate it in my quilt. Iris says it makes her think of Midnight Sun. It made me think of the chapter in Eclipse called Fire and Ice. The block is 12" and originally I'd planned to make two 6" sections of it, one with 'fire' as the dominant color and one with 'ice' as he dominant color. But as my layout evolved, I realized I needed to make room for other blocks and so I gave this block one 6" square and reduced the pattern by 50% to make it fit.

I like the representation; each of the 'ice' dominant sections has a bit of fire in them and vice-versa. Edward, who is obviously the 'ice' in this block also has a bit of fire in him. He's not exclusively ice, although he is as cold. And Jacob, who runs at a toasty 108.9, is not all fire. That is what makes it so hard for Bella to choose between them.

When putting this block together I wanted the fabric to be just right. I used Platinum Fairy Frost for 'ice.' It has a silver background with silver glitter. I love the way it shines. The 'fire' is a hand-dyed fabric that Iris sent me. It has a lovely, earthy texture and tone, with variation in the color that made me think of fire. I hope I got it right.



And now, my favorite part. I know you just saw the layout, but here it is again, with one more block filled in.

My Twilight Quilt: The Cullen's, the River & the Cottage

Edward took my hand . . . and darted through the backyard to the edge of the river. -Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, page 409

[Alice] dropped my arm, made two lithe bounds, and leaped over the river.

'C'mon, Bella,' she called from the other side. -Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, page 474

I haven't worked on my Twilight Quilt much as of late. I was a little discouraged with the floating porch on the Cullen's House. So, I've slowed down my pace a little and worked on other things. I finally decided it was time for some renovations. I added supports under the pillars, which hopefully anchor the porch. It wasn't quite as bad as I thought it would be, but who really relishes the task of unpicking anyway?

I had all the other pieces for this panel put together and so I only needed to put them all together; the Cullen's House, a bit of forest*, the river, more forest* and Bella and Edward's cottage. Click on the photo for a closer look.


This panel occupies the space for three blocks, plus the sashing in between.

The Cullen's House Pattern

*Key: 1 Paper Pieced Tree = 500 Trees in the Forks Forest

My Twilight Quilt: Cottage and Forest

This is Bella & Edward's cottage (you've seen that part) with two of the four panels that will connect it to the Cullen's house.


I have to admit, I'm not crazy about the forest*. The taller tree, closest to the house, is maybe a little too 'patch-worky' or 'country.' Iris shared this pattern with me and I think it is called 'Country Pine.' The pattern directed you to alternate every third section of the tree a different color. I debated about whether or not to do this, right up until I started construction. I pulled out my stash of greens and put three together that I thought would blend well with each other. I started working and still felt hesitant after putting in three sections of tree. I decided to 'give it a chance' and liked it better once I'd rotated through the colors a second time. Now that it is finished and in place I'm back to my original thoughts of it being a little too 'patch-worky.' I do like the brighter green tree which is from 365 Foundation Quilt Blocks by Linda Causee, but it is a little bright next to the other tree. No do-overs though. I'm low on the grey sky background fabric. If I'm careful I should have enough to finish the other two panels of the 'joiner' section and the Cullen's house, plus have enough left for the sky at Jacob's house. I'd really like to use that fabric it in a few other places. I'm going to have to put out another internet search party to find some more.

The next section, which will be on the left of the forest*, is the River and then another tree will sit to the left of that. The Cullen's house will be on the far left. The River pattern is from 365 Foundation Quilt blocks and the third tree is also a 'Country Pine.' I digitally adjusted the patterns for the forest* and river to fit into the space I had available. I took the aspect ratio lock off so I could make both the width and height what I needed them to be. It was a fun process to tweak the patterns so that they would be just right for my project.

I can't wait to get working on the next two sections of the "River and Forest*" portion of this panel.

*Key: 1 Paper Pieced Tree = 500 Trees in the Forks Forest
1 Raw-Edge Appliqué Tree = 150 Trees in the Forks Forest