Photo Graph Quilts and Things That Go Beep In The Night

It was a looooooonnnnng night at Chez Bee. We went to bed about 10:45 and were reading when the power went out. A quick check out the windows proved that it was neighborhood wide. Mr. Bee decided to get the flashlight, go out to the garage, fish around in the glove box to find the cell phone and call MG&E to see what was going on. We quickly discovered that Bentley had never encountered a flashlight before and was terrified. He’s such a brave protector. Mr. Bee said that he hid behind his legs when a dry leaf skittered across the street on their walk this morning. Took 5 minutes to explain that flashlights are our friends which prompted him to stop being scared and start trying to catch the light circle like a lunatic.

MG&E’s automated message said that they hoped to have our power restored in two hours or so. Fine. We were just going to sleep anyway. We didn’t need light. Of course I was considerably sleepier before participating in the Flying Bentley Wallenda Light and Laser show but anyway... I got back under the covers and snuggled in. The sheep were approaching the fence, but hadn’t started to leap over yet so I could count them when…BEEP. What was that? Listen. Listen. Listen. Hmmm. Nothing I guess….BEEP! Crap! Turns out our smoke detectors are hardwired into the house and when the lights go out they think their batteries need to be replaced. So beepedy-beepedy-beep we went for the next hour or so until the lights finally came on. Then we were up again resetting clocks and alarms so that we would get to work on time today. So YAWN! Molly Bee needs a major nap. Or a coffee IV.

But I started a quilt project last night that I am excited about. It’s a quilted photograph pattern. I went to the Tammie Bowser lecture at the quilt expo and was amazed. I had seen her books before and they totally do not do the technique justice. She had quilts with her at the talk and I was in the front row (because I’m THAT girl). She held the quilt up and it was just little bitty squares of color. Then she started backing up and when she got a few feet away, the images just popped! Kind of like those 3D magic pictures. The premise is that the colors of the pixels in a photograph are not as important as the value. As long as you put the light, medium and darks in the right place, you will be able to see the image. I was VERY intrigued and impressed but held back on getting the programs and stuff until I researched it more. Those of you who know me, know how atypical this is of me. It was a proud moment.

I came home, downloaded the sample demo from her website and then ordered her first book from the library. I picked a photo of a toddler I know and ran it through the program and was amazed. The book came last night so I figured out how to transfer most of the pattern to a huge freezer paper grid. I hope to do the rest tonight and start cutting fabric on Thursday night. It’s 2,142 one inch square pieces of 24 different colors (8 lights, 8 mediums and 8 darks) fused to a piece of interfacing which is laid over the grid with your pattern on it and then flipped and sewn like a watercolor quilt. I’m hoping it turns out and I’m hoping that I can get it done by the Employee Art Show here in December. Now of course I am seeing photos everywhere I look that will translate. I never do anything half way!

Off to drag the coffee vending machine to my desk for easier access…..