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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My Twilight Quilt: La Push First Beach

I’d been to the beaches around La Push many times during my Forks summers with Charlie, so the mile-long crescent of First Beach was familiar to me. It was still breathtaking. The water was dark gray, even in the sunlight, white-capped and heaving to the gray, rocky shore. Islands rose out of the steel harbor waters with sheer cliff sides, reaching to uneven summits, and crowned with austere, soaring firs. The beach had only a thin border of actual sand at the water’s edge, after which it grew into millions of large, smooth stones that looked uniformly gray from a distance, but close up were every shade a stone could be: terra-cotta, sea green, lavender, blue gray, dull gold. The tide line was strewn with huge driftwood trees, bleached bone white in the salt waves, some piled together against the edge of the forest fringe, some lying solitary, just out of reach of the waves. –Bella Swan, Twilight, page 114-115

This is First Beach, along the Olympic coast in La Push, Washington.

First Beach plays a big part in the Twilight series. Bella spends a lot of time with Jacob there. Cat, one of my favorite pattern designers and fellow Twi-Quilter did a paper-pieced First Beach several years ago and I've been dying to do it ever since. I finally got to it!

This block went together so quickly and finished really nicely. I love how it came out! I found the same “water” fabric as Cat used in her block {although I might not have done the best job with the fussy cut} and the beach fabric has a little bit of sparkle to it {though you can't see it in this picture}. I used a mix of green fabrics for the trees, the same green fabrics I'm using throughout my quilt. My only reservation about the block is that the grays I picked for the mountains might not be quite dark enough. Still, it's one more block finished!

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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Sunday Sermons: Forget Not

{Image Source}

There is a German legend that just as God had finished naming all the plants, one was left unnamed. A tiny voice spoke out, “Forget me not, O Lord!” And God replied that this would be its name.

I would like to use this little flower as a metaphor. The five petals of the little forget-me-not flower prompt me to consider five things we would be wise never to forget.

First, forget not to be patient with yourself.
We spend so much time and energy comparing ourselves to others—usually comparing our weaknesses to their strengths. This drives us to create expectations for ourselves that are impossible to meet. As a result, we never celebrate our good efforts because they seem to be less than what someone else does.

Second, forget not the difference between a good sacrifice and a foolish sacrifice.
An acceptable sacrifice is when we give up something good for something of far greater worth.

Third, forget not to be happy now.
If we spend our days waiting for fabulous roses, we could miss the beauty and wonder of the tiny forget-me-nots that are all around us.

Fourth, forget not the “why” of the gospel.
The “what” and “how” of obedience mark the way and keep us on the right path. The “why” of obedience sanctifies our actions, transforming the mundane into the majestic. It magnifies our small acts of obedience into holy acts of consecration.

Fifth, forget not that the Lord loves you.
Wherever you are, whatever your circumstances may be, you are not forgotten. No matter how dark your days may seem, no matter how insignificant you may feel, no matter how overshadowed you think you may be, your Heavenly Father has not forgotten you. In fact, He loves you with an infinite love.
–Dieter F. Uchtdorf, Forget Me Not

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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