Bridges...The Beginning

Tomorrow I am picking up the quilted "Building Bridges" quilt. I'm so excited I can't sleep. Since I'm wide awake I thought I'd share a bit about how "Building Bridges" came to be.

The idea was of course, sparked by my move from Kansas to Chicago.  I knew that I couldn't change the name of my blog, but I wanted a more urban, edgy look.  My youngest son, Jon, volunteered to sketch some ideas for me and he sent me this.

His drawing was the starting point and the inspiration for my new logo which the super talented Sarah created for the blog and my business.

My husband has been working in Chicago for years before we moved, but in all my times in Chicago I never made the bridge connection.  I walked over the Michigan Avenue bridge more times than I can count, but I never really thought about the river and all the bridges in the city.  I walked under the el on Wabash in the loop and never took the time to look at the trestle and how it supports the train and the lines and shapes it creates.  Fact is, I've always been a bit fearful of bridges.  I don't especially like going over them or walking under them.  Funny, how inspiration was right in front of my nose and I didn't see it until it had a personal connection for me.

After we moved, Bruno and I began walking the city and it seemed like I was either on a bridge or under one multiple times a day.  I started to notice and think about bridges and the concept struck a chord with me.

I was trying to bridge two very different ways to live, two different places, and a new way to work.  I have to admit now that it was all a bit overwhelming.  All those feelings seemed to relate to bridges and they flowed out and on to fabric.

Whenever I walked the city I paid attention and observed the lines, angles, shapes and the proportions of bridges and trestles.  Noticing led to the designs of the five bridges that are in the quilt.  None of them are copies of real bridges, they are an amalgamation of my observations.

 There was no sketching involved and I have to admit, no planning.  Each bridge evolved organically. I didn't have finished sizes in mind for the blocks either.  I simply kept building each bridge until I thought it was done and then I moved on to the next.

I have to warn you now, this week's posts are going to be about this quilt: the setting, the quilting and hopefully the finishing!