Eclipse Movie Premier Charity Quilt

[LizzieBug]

We, the Twilight Quilters Coven, are proud to announce that we will be making an Eclipse themed quilt which will be raffled off for charity in conjunction with the premier of the Twilight Saga Eclipse Premier. Details of the concerning the raffle and the charity to which we will donate the proceeds is forthcoming.

We welcome quilters of all skill levels. If you would like to join us in our endeavor, please post in this thread your agreement to join us. Please do not take lightly the committment to participate in this quilt. Although it will be a fun project, there have to be some rules. Please read through them before signing up to participate. By signing up, you agree to abide by these rules and understand that you have made a binding legal agreement to complete any and all portions of the quilt you sign up for.

1. You absolutely MUST follow through on your committment. Do not sign up if you do not plan to follow through.
2. There will be deadlines involved in completeing your sections of the quilt. Please abide by those deadlines. Life gets busy sometimes, and we can extend deadlines if the situation demands it, but plan ahead to make sure you're able to follow through.
3. By signing up to participate, you agree supply your own fabrics for the portion of the quilt you sign up for and to quilt by Coven rules which are these:
a. Wash your fabric before you begin (washing tips are to follow).
b. Use an iron at every step of the process; iron before you cut your fabric, iron after every seam, iron your quilt block as a whole. Ironing helps to keep your quilt blocks neat.
c. Do your best work. We are not expecting perfection, and quilters and sewers of all levels are welcome to participate. But this represents all of us, so each participant is expected to do her best work.
4. The finished quilt will be machine quilted.
5. The amount of time you invest in this project will be soley up to you. If you want to participate, but have a full schedule, you can stipulate that you would only like to complete one block, which would involve a minimal time investment.
6. Open discussion is welcome and even expected. We love to see what you're up to, so please feel free to post with questions, concerns, pictures, etc.

[LizzieBug]

Sign-ups are now closed.

Participants:
Elizabeth (LizzieBug): Coordinator
Graduation from Forks High
-Cap/Diploma/Forks High embroidered
Finals were done, and most of them had been a cakewalk. My high school education was over...I couldn’t look at it objectively, tied up as it was with my human life being over.

Edward's Bedroom
-Bed scroll-y with roses/Engagement Ring/Edward/s couch and new black iron bed
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.

Thread maintenance

Angie (jewah1976): Co-Coordinator
Jacob's Note
-note printed on fabric attached with ribbon to go in a real jean pocket
Don't giveyourself a brain hemorrhage, Jacob. Just spit it out.

Fire and Ice
-Camping tent in clearing with cliff
You said she needed a space heater, and here I am.

3rd Wife/Quileute Counsel Meeting
-Bonfire with smoke rising out of it to include a wolf and may be more symbols taken from legends
-the symbols can be embroidered outlines only so it looks smokey/ghosty
I was thinking of someone outside the magic altogether. I was trying to imagine the face of the unnamed woman who had saved the entire tribe, the third wife.

Machine Quilting

Iris (Mama2cjmj): Co-Coordinator
Quilt design and assembly
An Eclipsed Moon
-on background fabric
I would have been the air, the sun. The clouds I can handle. But I can’t fight with an eclipse.

Cat (HardHatCat)
Victoria
- Cat's PP pattern
Her orange hair was brighter than I remembered, more like a flame . . . the fire around her face seemed to shimmer slightly.

Jerri Lynn (jerrilynn)
Bella's Bracelet
- Cat's PP pattern
But I thought it was a good representation. It’s hard and cold. And it throws rainbows in the sunlight. My heart is just as silent. And it, too, is yours.

The Meadow
- Cat's PP pattern
I’ve chosen my life — now I want to start living it.
OR
The meadow was a peaceful, happy place today.
OR
Let's get out of here. Let's go to our meadow.

Joyce (livethedream)
Raffle Organizer
Nature
-Eagle/Fish
You see it everywhere. Nature taking its course - hunter and prey, the endless cycle of life and death. And yet, you don't see the fish trying to plant a kiss on the eagle. You never see that.

Trip to Florida
-Airplane or notes on school paper
I wasn’t about to send you off alone. With your luck, not even the black box would survive.

School with Books & Flyer
-Wuthering Heights & Pride and Prejudice & Wolf flyer
. . . Ditching, Bella?
We both are.
Yes, but it's her first time through high school. She might miss something.

Kate (CCG)
Fighting training
-silhuette-moon-vamp-wolf; Bella leaning on Jake as a wolf during the fight
The Wolf Pack
This is hard for them. I'm grateful they're coming at all. (& Peter's autograph)

Mel (Melly)
Raffle Organizer
Rosalie
-Cracked handmirror with roses
*If we had happy endings, we’d all be under gravestones now.

The Volturi Guard
We don't give second chances.

Wanda (Meredemer)
Imprinting
-wolf paw on heart
"Sometimes . . . we don't exactly know why . . . we find our mates that way. I mean . . . our soul mates" (with "Sam's" signature)

Jasper Uniform
-Uniform with Major insignia
She took a step closer, and inclined her head as if she were going to kiss me. I stood frozen in place, though my instincts were screaming at me to run.

Bella's Broken Heart
-Jennifer Ofenstein's broken heart
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.

[LizzieBug]

This is an approximation of the layout we will use:
Finished size: 58" x 62" (width x height)
Finished block size: 7" x 7"
# of blocks: 20 (1 is the Eclipse done directly on background fabric)
Quote size: 7" x 2 1/2"

[LizzieBug]

Fabric Selection:
• Use only 100% cotton fabric for your quilt.
• Specialty quilting shops carry the best quality fabric for quilting. However they tend to be more expensive. Their fabric lines also run like clothing lines, they change from season to season and do not repeat, so you have to buy what you think you’ll need when you find it, otherwise you might not be able to get it later. JoAnn’s or other fabric stores carry 100% cotton fabrics, usually arranged together for easy identification as fabrics intended for quilting. Wal-Mart also carries 100% cotton fabrics, and though the price is great, the quality isn’t always the same. Often their fabrics have a petroleum smell, even after laundering. Fabric stores and Wal-Mart generally have a line of fabrics that they keep in stock continuously, so if you run out, you’ll usually be able to find it again. Buy the best quality fabric your budget allows.
• It is best to select fabrics with a print, even it is a tone-on-tone print like white-on-white. This gives your quilt texture and visual interest. Using a solid fabric is rarely advisable.
• When selecting fabrics, “audition” colors and textures as you go. Your fabric selections don’t need to “match” per se, but do need to “go” with each other. If you are unable to find all your fabrics at one fabric store, take what you have with you to the next store so you can see how a particular piece of fabric compares with the rest of your selections.
• Be careful when choosing stripes, plaids and large prints. Consider where you will be using it in your quilt. Stripes and plaids may not match up perfectly depending on how they are cut. A large print may overpower the other fabrics in your quilt block.
• Try something different, something you might not usually consider. Your perspective may change once you see it next to the other fabrics you’ve collected.
• Most importantly, choose what you like. If you don’t like it before you begin to sew, you definitely won’t like it after.

Tips for Washing Fabric:
• Wash your fabrics in cold water. This will help prevent fading.
• If you are using dark or vivid colors, a cup of vinegar in the wash will help to set the colors in.
• Make sure the soap you use does not contain phosphates.
• The warm air in the dryer will cause the shrinkage that pre-washing fabrics is supposed to achieve.
• When you throw your pieces of fabric in to dry, to help them from clumping up against the sides of the dryer, put a ball in with them. The bouncing of the ball will help to toss the fabrics around and let them dry faster. You can use a tennis ball, or I've seen "laundry balls" in the "laundry aids" section of either Wal-Mart or ShopKo (can't remember which, and not with the laundry soap, but on the aisle with laundry bags and sorters and ironing boards and such). I use two jumbo-size bouncy balls (this also works great for bed sheets and blankets).
• Iron your fabric after washing. Use steam and the cotton setting.

[LizzieBug]

Quilting is simply piecing fabric together to make a design or picture. Nearly everything is sewn in a straight line. And although sewing in a straight line is simple, that is the tricky part of piecing -- keeping your lines straight . Marcia Hohn at the Quilter's Cache makes recommendations for supplies to get you started. Here are a few tips I thought might be helpful for those who are new to quilting.

• Be as exact as possible. Careful construction will yield the best results.
• Wash and dry your fabric before beginning construction.
• Cut your fabric on the straight grain. Sometimes the manufacturing process pulls fabric off-grain as it is rolled onto the bolts. After you have washed your fabric, pull the selvage edges together. If the fabric puckers at the fold in the center, it means that the fabric is not on grain. Slide the selvages opposite of each other, but still keeping them parallel with each other until the pucker disappears. You mat have more fabric one layer at the end of your piece than at the other. Cut perpendicular to the fold and selvage edges, and this will put your fabric back on grain.
• When cutting your fabric pieces use your ruler as much as possible to be the size guide, rather than the grid marks on your cutting mat. Place your fabric under your ruler, lining the straight edges of the fabric with the size marking on your ruler and cut.
• Seam allowances for quilt piecing are ¼”. To help keep things on size, sew a scant ¼” seam allowance; that is, sew just a hair’s breadth inside of the ¼” mark.
• Press your fabric at every step. Use the cotton setting and steam in your iron. Press your fabric before cutting. Press your seams before you open out your fabric. Press each seam flat (not open) towards the darker fabric, unless the pattern indicates otherwise.
• Chain stitch as much as possible. That is, begin your stitching on a scrap of fabric. When you come to the end of the scrap, place your first pieces to be sewn together level with the edge of the scrap. Continue sewing off the scrap and onto your pieces without backstitching. Continue adding your quilt pieces to your chain of fabric, until everything that you need to sew has been added. Place your scrap of fabric at the end of the chain and sew off the last piece onto the scrap. Cut the chain apart and press.
• It is not necessary to backstitch at the beginning and end of each piece of fabric. The pieces will be pressed flat, rather than open, which is less stress on the seam. Backstitching adds unnecessary bulk.

Paper Piecing
Paper piecing is like paint-by-numbers with fabric. It can be intimidating, especially on a pattern with lots of small pieces. It is a little more time consuming that traditional piecing, but yields results not possible with traditional piecing. Marcia Hohn has a wonderful tutorial. Her instructions are simple and easy to understand and can be applied to more complex paper piecing patterns. She also has a selection of other simple paper piecing patterns you can try out.

• A light weight paper is recommended for paper piecing. You can purchase packages of foundation paper in the quilting supply area. Recycled printer paper (20 lb. weight) works well as does vellum paper (17 lb. weight).
• When working with paper piecing patterns that have complex designs or irregular shaped pieces, don’t try to cut an exact piece. I prefer to work with strips of fabric, sewing them on and then trimming them down after they are turned.
• Press the fabric with a dry iron after each new piece of fabric is added. This keeps your paper piecing neat.
• Use a blank sheet of paper under your paper piecing blocks when you press. The ink will transfer a bit with the heat of the iron, so you don’t want it on your ironing board cover to transfer later to other projects.
• Allow enough fabric to go beyond the ¼” seam allowance. Once you’ve completed each section of the block, trim it with your ruler and rotary cutter to a ¼” inch seam allowance before sewing it to any other pieces in the block.
• It is sometimes useful to leave the paper in your pieces until completely assembled and sewn into place in your quilt. The paper will help stabilize the many different biases of the fabrics and keep it in place until sewed into your quilt. If you have multiple pieces that make up a block, remove the paper in the ¼” seam allowance after sewing the pieces together.
• If you prefer to remove the paper in your pieces, use a spray starch to help stabilize the fabric.

Appliqué
Again, I refer you to Marcia Hohn's tutorial for appliquéing. She also has some great basic patterns.

[LizzieBug]

How to post a picture in a thread or a PM

1. Your pictures need to be in one of the following formats: jpg, jpeg, png, gif, bmp, tif, tiff, pdf, and must be less than 1.53 megabytes. I have never had an issue with the megabytes and I usually use the highest resolution with my camera.

2. Go to this web-site: Image Shack. You can ignore pretty much everything on there except for the following:
a. Under the welcome, it says "upload" and then there are three choices. The default is "images," and that is for uploading files directly from your computer.
b. There is a big empty box below that with a "browse" button to the right. Use the "Browse" button to locate the picture(s) on your computer that you want to upload. You can download more than one picture at a time.
c. Ignore the next box that says e-mail (unless you want to register with them, but that is completely optional and I have not).
d. You may or may not want to resize your picture. To change the size of the picture you have to use a semi-hidden drop-down menu now. It is under the e-mail line and says upload options/resizing. Click on it and the drop-down menu will appear. You have several choices:
1. Skipping the first two choices (Avatar and Thumbnail, which are both very small), 320 x 240 (for websites and e-mail) is the third choice in the dropdown menu and usually the size I do for forums. If you have a high resolution photo, this size works really well and the details are pretty visible.
2. The fourth size choice is 640 x 480 (for message boards). This is a larger size and is great if you really want to show lots and lots of details.
e. Under the resize menu is a drop down menu that says "Add Label to Thumbnail.'' You want to select no on that one.
f. Once you've completed the above steps, click the blue button that says "Upload Now" Depending on the size of your image(s), it will take a few seconds to a few minutes to host your picture(s).

3. Once you've clicked the "Upload Now" button, a progress bar will appear. Once the picture(s) has been down new screen will appear.
For a single image:
a. Underneath the picture there will be several choices for code to share your image. The first one is Link, the second one is Direct Link and the one you want is Forum Code.
b. Click on the box next to Forum Code. That, it will highlight the whole line.
c. Right click on the highlighted web address. Using the menu that pops up, click on "copy." Go to step 4 now.

For multiple images:
a. A gallery page will appear. In order to get the individual links for each picture, click directly on the picture you want. You'll go to a new screen.
b. A box with links for sharing the image will appear to the right of the image. The first section says Links to share this image. Skip to the second section, which says Embed this image. You want to use the first option in that section, which is Forum Code.
c. Click on the box next to Forum Code. That, it will highlight the whole line.
d. Right click on the highlighted web address. Using the menu that pops up, click on "copy."

4. Move to your post and right click in the post where you want the picture to appear. When the pop-up menu appears, click on "paste."
a. If you're doing multiple images, return to the Image Shack site and click the back arrow to access the other images, repeating step 3 to insert them into your post.

5. Voila'! You now have a picture in your post .

Here's an image I downloaded while testing out my instructions. I hope it makes you smile.

[LizzieBug]

For more details about each block, visit our blog

Notes by Angie


Fire & Ice or The Tent Scene by Angie


The Third Wife or Tribal Council Meeting by Angie


I am Switzerland! by Angie


Victoria by Cat


Edward's Bedroom by Elizabeth


Graduation from Forks High by Elizabeth


The Meadow by Jerri Lynn


Bella's Bracelet by Jerri Lynn


Forks School Days by Joyce


Trip to Florida by Joyce


Nature by Joyce


Penguins. Lovely. by Joyce


Fighting Training by Kate


Rosalie's Unhappy Ending by Mel


The Volturi Guard by Mel


Bella's Broken Heart by Wanda


Imprinting by Wanda


Jasper by Wanda

[LizzieBug]

We are so excited to announce that the Eclipse charity quilt top is finished!



Iris spent many, many hours bringing her beautiful design to life. She did an absolutely amazing job and I'm so excited to be associated with something so beautiful. Iris, you are amazing! Thank you so much for heading up the assembly of this quilt. You totally rock!

We will give this quilt away to one lucky person who donates to Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation. For details about this and more about the quilt, check out the post on our blog. We also have a web page set up for donations! We hope to raise lots of money for ALSF, so tell your friends !

[LizzieBug]

Block ideas:

An Eclipsed Moon
I Am Switzerland
Graduation Cap
Bella's Bracelet
Edward's Diamond Heart
The 'Other' Jacob (i.e. Jen Ofenstein's Howling Wolf)
Fire and Ice
Battle in the Woods (Edward v. Victoria)
An Engagement Ring
The Meadow
The Wolf Pack (how big is it now, BTW? Leah, Seth and Embry are in for sure. I'm not sure if I can face another paw block )
The Volturi Guard
I forgot about Bella's heart breaking, the smaller half belonging to Jacob and the larger part belonging to Edward. What if we used Jennifer Ofenstein's broken heart pattern for that, making the bigger side white and sparkly and the smaller side russet brown?

These are things I jotted down when I was reading it last time. Some of them are rather obscure (like you would expect anything else from ME)

Wolf Poster
House Arrest
Invisable Wolves (the fact that Alice can't see them)
Trip to Florida
Slumber Party
Rose's Story
Jasper's Story
Counsel Meeting (Campfire story)
3rd wife
Fight raining
'Slave for life'
2 Magnets
The Camping scene

A campfire block for when Bella goes to listen to the wolf stories. Maybe it would be cool to incoporate some sort of dreamcatcher block in there, to represent the native-americanny-stuff.
"Rosalie unhappy ending" : an ornate, handheld mirror (preferrably gold colored) like in this picture: Rosalie's picture, though with an ornate guilding at the top, with the reflective glass cracked!
I feel like Jasper would be cool, to be represented with a grenade clenched between teeth to represent he is an army recruit. Though this is a bit morbid, I guess... Sewhooked has a great Green Day grenade, which is shaped like a heart...

I'll just list my ideas as I wrote them. Of course these are just ideas we are talking about and certainly some may not be doable for whatever or even liked at all.

Charlie's Cooking- jar of spaghetti sauce
Window Panes- Edward in and out of Bella's window
Forks High School?
Letter of acceptance to University of Alaska
Books- Wuthering Heights and Pride and Predjudice
Bella's Pocket with note from Jacob sticking out "doesn't change anything. Sorry.
Flyer- Save the Olympic Wolf
Imprinting-maybe a wolf paw in a heart
Rosalies story -the mirror (already mentioned) but also baby carriage and roses and violets
Hostage Slumber Party-Edwards couch and new black iron bed (had to draw furniture for a classes I once took and I will probably try this for fun...similar idea to LizzieBugs New Moon motorcycles)

Did we have down to do Cat's rendering of the book cover for one of the blocks?

[jewah1976]

I am IN!!!!!

[mama2cjmj]

Of course I'm in! Here's my last post on the chat thread, bringing the Eclipse discussion over here:

So, am I reading the posts right and you all want me to coordinate again? If so, I'll go and start the Eclipse thread and we can begin discussions on it.

You know I am fine with you doing it if you want. I also like Iris's idea of people posting their layouts and voting on them. And I think she mentioned that she was working on one...

Actually about 3 of them! Nothing terribly special, it just takes me a while to share because can't seem to make what looked cool in my head into a cool drawing....plus I have to keep discarding ideas because they would make it too complicated and I don't want to kill myself putting it together.

I just spent the whole morning with a group of 80+ kids in a bus and a theater full of about 1000 of them at a contemporary ballet. All the while I was thinking "what COULD I be doing?!" That might be the last field trip I do this year. I have about an hour to revel in the silence before picking up C. This weekend is our "Valentine's" so I'm driving the girls down to their aunt's tonight. Tomorrow DH & I have tickets to OVO (Cirque du Solei) at 8pm and Sunday tickets to Wicked. I don't know how much "me" time I'll have, it's supposed to be "us" time. How bad am I thinking about all the missed sewing/graphics time? I did finally get to sew the other day, but only to hem my curtains and mend a shirt! But I set up my sewing area and put up my Twilight quilt and Maya's Peep quilt on the design wall, and was making up my mind what to work on next.

Well anyway, I'm hoping to share Eclipse designs Monday or Tuesday. We really do need to get going on it so that we can have plenty of time to enjoy the process and get the auctioning up and running.

I hope others are working on designs too!

[Melly]

I'm in.