A Bridge, some Blocks, and a Buy

This week (and the weeks to come) was busy. Our professors were gone all last week, so we had to design our bridge without any guidance. It was a good learning experience for sure, but it was really difficult at some points. It's hard to get 17 people to agree on design choices.

We presented our final bridge design to some members of the Clifton Forge Community on Thursday. We had drawings, a model, and lots to say. Our ideas were well received, and now we're going to get the ball rolling with construction! On Monday, we're meeting with a structural engineer, and then we can really hammer out the construction details and start making construction documents (CD's). THEN WE CAN BUILD OUR BRIDGE.

A watercolor rendering of our pedestrian bridge

Sadly, as school picks up, sewing drops off. I think I sewed maybe four Scrappy Trip Along blocks this week, and I still have at least 14 more to do. Plus, I have my uncle's tshirt quilt to piece together, AND the Cheery Squares quilt to quilt. I've decided on squiggles, instead of loops. Hopefully that'll be easier to manage, haha. Once I find time to practice, I'll make a final decision.

Scrappy Strips cut and ready for sewing

Tshirts cut and ready to be laid out!

When my roommate Tuna moved out to go backpacking in India (yeah, I know, it's awesome and I'm jealous), she left all of her furniture in her room. Bed, dressers, desk, chair, etc. So, when I made her room my quilt studio, I started storing all my projects in different drawers. It's been a great way to keep everything organized.

So, in the fall, I'll be studying abroad in Europe with 19 other architecture students. We'll be visiting Germany, France, Austria, Switzerland, Spain, Italy, and other places to study architecture. It's going to be rad, and I BOUGHT MY PLANE TICKET OVER LAST NIGHT. I'm so excited. The trip begins in Berlin on August 29, but as I was looking at flights from Dulles, I saw that Iceland was a popular place for a layover. So, I thought, "Couch, why not spend a few days in Iceland before the trip begins?" So, I will be leaving America for Iceland on August 23, spending 5 days in puffin-land, and then meeting up with the rest of my group on Berlin. A couple other friends are going to Iceland too, so I won't be alone. BUT SO EXCITED.

So! If any of you dear readers have been to Iceland and know of some killer places to see that a 21-year-old student without a car can get to, let me know! I'm especially interested in cool buildings.