Threads1080

During a visit my brother planned a ride on the High Trestle Trail, part of the Rails to Trails Conservancy. I was so awestruck as we approached the bridge, I knew I had to make a quilt.  Two years to the day after our ride, it was finished.  The sky is pieced with angular squares. The bridge is done with a modified paper piecing technique, as well as applique.  The rider is done with applique and thread painting.  The Des Moines River is quilted in the sky, as well as rotating squares to reflect the design of the bridge.  There is also quilting to pay homage to the railroad, with the ghost of an engine and a coal car. It was accepted into the AQS Des Moines Quilt Show October 2016.