Finish before Friday

May 29, 2015

I am so excited to have this finish. This is an improv piece I did for our local Modern Quilt group challenge. I was not sure how this was going to go. I started out just piecing a few things and then the more I added the more it brought back memories of the bridge that crosses over the Missouri River near my childhood home. It is a rare double decker bridge that believe me, struck fear in my heart more than once growing up.

This is a view from the South Dakota side. The risers were running that section up and down until the 80's. The lower level was originally for rail traffic but than never happened by the time the bridge was almost finished so it is one way traffic on top and bottom. The bottom has a super scary metal grate for a huge portion of it...thus the plaid fabric representing the grid near the bottom of my piece.

Upper level with an up close view of the structure of the risers. I tried to include some of this structure in my piece as well as the worn pavement with the stripe fabric.

The side view gives the cool triangular piece that I filled in toward the center. When I was young I walked across that bridge quite a few times. It is not for the faint! :)

Here is a view on the bottom level heading south. You can see the big beams framing this entryway and I tried to show those with my partial framing pieces in my quilt.

The final beams bring you right into "Nebraska - The Good Life"

Finally my piece is entitled "Early Birds"

In 2009 this bridge closed because the new Discovery bridge was complete. Some of my family were home for Thanksgiving in 2011 when this old bridge opened for walking. I woke my sister up at the crack of dawn on Thanksgiving day and we headed down to walk the bridge. Cold, no frigid temperatures, windy and that was before we walked the top side! Glorious sunrise in gold and orange as we walked to the top. Truly a memorable morning. When we made it back home everyone was still asleep...thank goodness for us "early birds".

Bridge photos by John A Weeks III -Yankton Meridian Highway Bridge

Linking up to Finish it up Friday with Crazy mom quilts and