Friday, August 28, 2009

"I Was Dazzled"...by a Twilight Quilt

"Do I dazzle you?" --Edward Cullen
"Frequently." --Bella
Last year I began reading quilter Shannon LaCount's blog, The Quilted Word by Freckles Quilts. She mentioned being a huge fan of the book Twilight, by Stephenie Meyer. She also attached a link to a preview of the upcoming movie Twilight. I watched it with great interest. Oooo, this looks good! I had never read Twilight, but from the movie preview, I could see this was the kind of book I'd like. When I bought the book from a local bookstore, I recognized the cover. I had seen that distinctive cover before--two hands holding a red apple. A few months earlier I sat next to a 12- year old girl on a plane. She was completely absorbed in a book our entire flight. It was a thick, hardcover book. This piqued my interest. Such a young girl deeply immersed in such a big book? I glanced at the cover as she read. Two hands holding a red apple. I recognized that same cover when I bought my first copy of Twilight at the bookstore.

As I read Twilight, I continued to follow Shannon's blog. Soon she began to talk about working on a quilt with an online forum called The Twilight Moms. The quilt was to be a gift for Stephenie Meyer, representing all four of the books in the Twilight Series. A anxiously watched as Shannon and the others pieced their blocks. Eight of the Twilight Mom's communicated via email and on the Twilight Mom's forum to construct, what turned out to be, an amazing quilt.

None of the ladies had ever met before. What bound them together was their love of quilting and their love of Twilight. The ladies were from California, Colorado, Utah, Ohio, New Jersey, and Australia.

In April as the quilt was just about completed, I offered to quilt it for them. It was an honor to be involved in some way with these talented ladies. Throughout the entire construction of the quilt, the ladies worked as a team, giving ideas on the construction, layout, colors, everything! And all this was done via emails and on the Twilight Moms forum. The ladies named the quilt "Piece, Love, Twilight."

In the end of June the quilt top was finally constructed and ready for quilting. It was sent to me by Elizabeth Mills of Utah. I was anxious to receive such a treasured package. Once it arrived at my house, I called Elizabeth to let her know it arrived safe and sound. I'm sure she and the other had been holding their breaths and were relieved it didn't get lost. Above: The Twilight Quilt on my doorstep. I'm sure my mailman had no idea what a precious package this was! When I first saw the quilt top, it truly took my breath away! I could see the thought to detail, and excellent workmanship in each and every block. Included with the quilt were suggestions from the ladies. I knew that my job as the machine quilter would be to simply enhance the quilt. My job was to complement each block, not overtake them. Now to get started...

The quilt backing loaded.

Next, the batting. I used Hobbs Heirloom 80/20 batting.Above, the quilt top loaded and ready to quilt.

In each corner of the quilt were machine embroidered quotes from the four books of the Twilight series. Below, please enjoy some of the 15 blocks representing different locations, characters, and favorite parts of the books:
La Push First Beach (below)
Edward's Crystal Heart (below) The Volturi: Clock Tower in Volterra (below) Below, Bella & Edward's Stone Cottage (left) and the final line from Breaking Dawn, the last book in the Twilight series (right). Below, Isle Esme (left) and Renesmee's Locket (right).
A quote from 'New Moon', the second book in the Twilight series. (below)
This block represents Jasper and Alice. (above) This block represents Emmett and Rosalie (below) The block on top represents vampire eyes changing color. The block underneath represents Carlisle and Esme. (below) Below, "And so the Lion fell in love with the Lamb" block (left) and Bella & Edward's Wedding Dance (right)
Below, Bella's Truck (left) and Jacob's paw print (right)
Below, the blocks represent Forks (left) and Charlie Swan (right).

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Above is the center medallion of the quilt. It includes parts of all four books in the series. I set the books with the quilt, so you can see how beautifully they included details from all the covers. Even the satin ribbon was painstakenly torn to look like ribbon on the cover of the Eclipse book!

Below, some of the detail work I did on the quilt...I changed threads frequently. Remember I just wanted to enhance the quilt...

Finally all the machine quilting was done. And it just so happened I was going up to Utah on a family trip, so I brought the quilt to Elizabeth and personally hand delivered it to her. Below we are pictured in Utah, together on the day we finally met. The very last thing I said, "You might think about entering this quilt in a quilt show...it's that awesome!"

I knew that Twilight fans would enjoying seeing such a beautiful masterpiece! So, Elizabeth consulted with the rest of the ladies, a vote was taken, and they decided to enter it in the 36th Annual Springville Quilt Show, held at the Springville Utah Art Museum. Elizabeth quickly finished the binding and entered it. Below is the information card to accompany the quilt...And what do think happened?....
It won a blue ribbon! It won for the Best Group Quilt! $100 was awarded. The nine ladies involved in this quilt decided to donated the prize money to a charity. :)

One weekend in August, during the run of the quilt show, some of the Twilight Moms got together to go see the completed quilt in person. Pictured below are four of the ladies. A fifth Twilight Mom, Wanda Beach visited the next day. This was the first time they met in person!

Left to right: Vivian Love (yours truly!), Shannon LaCount, Elizabeth Mills and Iris Fox, pictured with the Twilight Quilt in Springville, Utah.

Shannon LaCount--who first introduced me to the Twilight Moms and this wonderful quilt project--and I finally met in person. Having emailed and read each others blogs for so long, it was like seeing an old, dear friend. It was wonderful to finally meet her! We were brought together by Twilight and quilting! Thanks for allowing me to participate with you!

Shannon also created a blog to follow the progress and stories of the Twilight Quilt. Read The Twilight Quilters Coven to find out about the ladies and more projects they are involved in. The blog introduces you to the ladies involved and details about all the quilt blocks. From their blog: "We are a group who met online in support of a another Twilight quilting project. A few of us thought it would be fun to have a blog where we could continue to inspire each other with Twilight quilted projects, design, swaps, and accomplishments. The possibilities are endless!"

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And just like reading a good story, where you hope there's a good ending...

The ladies are still eager to be able to present the quilt personally to Twilight author, Stephenie Meyer. If you know of a connection that might help them, please email: twilightquilterscoven@gmail.com

15 comments:

QuiltSue said...

Beautiful quilt, lovely story, well-deserved award. Thank you for showing us the quilt and telling us the story.

jlk said...

That quilt is amazing! I sure hope they get to meet Stephenie and give it to her.

Vicki W said...

Cool quilt! Thanks for sharing so many detail photos and the store about the quilt.

Shannon said...

Vivian,

Thank you so much for writing this entry! I couldn't have said it better myself.

I am so emotional right now after reading it. (shhh....don't tell anyone but I'm actually teary eyed).

I am so proud of this quilt! This quilt means so much to all of us, The quilt is so much more than just a quilt. It represents our love for Stephenie, Twilight, and our friendship....

Thank you Vivian for quilting for us and being such a good friend.

We couldn't have done it without you!

Anonymous said...

No longer an interest, 'Twilighting' gives grown women a chance to swoon again. Weren't the teenage years beautiful? It's not a cult, it's now a QUILT!

Anonymous said...

Vivian, what a wonderful story! I lived in AZ for a short period of time and I think Stephanie Meyer spoke at the Changing Hands Bookstore in Tempe. Here is info on the shop. I don't know if they might be of help trying to get in touch with her. She is a lovely young woman - saw several interviews by her on local TV there. Barbara S.
Changing Hands
6428 S McClintock Dr
Tempe, AZ 85283
480-730-0205

joyce said...

Vivian,
Thanks for sharing the story and all the 'close up' pictures. Shannon isn't the only teary-eyed quilter. It is absolutely beautiful!
I wish I could have made it to Utah. Thanks so much for sharing the story and for doing such wonderful work.
Joyce

dianne said...

i just came here from Shannon's blog - thank you so very much for the pictures and the story - it is an awesome representation!

Eva said...

I saw your quilt at the Quilt Show. I was AMAZED! I didn't have my camera so I am so glad you put a picture of it up. Thanks! -Stranger in Utah =)

Charlotta-love said...

Um, wow. That is incredible! Fantastic work!

Joanna said...

Oh my goodness! What an amazing quilt! I've been following the progress you've shared with the Quiltropolis longarm group, and have been wanting to see the quilt in person.

My mother-in-law and I are planning a trip to the Springville Art Museum tomorrow to go see the show before it ends (August was over way too fast.)

You are all fabulous women who did an amazing job and I hope you get to present this beautiful gift to Stephenie Meyer. :)

rachel griffith said...

oh good gravy!!!

Material Mary said...

What a fun experience. The quilt is great, having read all four Twilight books. Fantastic job to all who participated.
Mary

Anonymous said...

Vivian, I love the picture of the box on your doorstep! Priceless! You did a beautiful job quilting and we're so glad that you are part of our group!

Rachel said...

I don't know if you heard that Vivian passed away a couple of weeks ago. I am her sister-in-law and have been working on putting some of her posts together in books. This will be a project in the making for many years. I saw this beautiful quilt and thought you ladies should know. Suzie McCune (suzielmccune@gmail.com)