» Hometown Inspiration
April 4, 2017
Thanks to my husband, I am lucky enough to have a beautiful sewing studio in our basement, where I spend most days sewing, writing, and wreaking all sorts of creative havoc with my two daughters. I love my sewing studio. It is a place where I can retreat to alone, or have a group of friends over to keep me company while I sew. Sometimes, however, I need some inspiration that I can’t find in my fabric bins. One of my favorite things to do in this case is to take a trip downtown.
I find cities so inspiring in so many ways. First, there’s the sheer fact of the matter that we humans have figured out the engineering that allows literally thousands of people to live and work and visit the same small area at the same time. The plumbing structure alone is mind blowing! Then, there’s all of the different inspiring architecture. And, the many different people. I love watching people! So inspiring! And so amazing to think that each and every one of us has our own unique story. But, I digress.
As a young girl, my parents regarded regular trips into downtown Chicago as part of our education. It’s where they reinforced our appreciation for art and music, the fruits of human talent, and the love of all people, regardless of their background.
Now, I make sure I take my girls regularly. Sometimes, it’s for scheduled events. But often, we just wing it and see what happens. It’s these kinds of trips that are my favorite.
On Sunday, we piled into the car for just such a trip. We ended up at Maggie Daley park, a favorite of the girls. I love it because we always approach from the west and get to walk through Millennium Park to get there. Each time we do, I am always inspired by the lighting grid over the lawn in front of the Pritzker Pavillion,
the band shell (Maggie and Liz always say it looks like something from Star Wars),
even the gate separating the lawn from the walkway presents a possible quilting pattern – especially with the beloved bean in the background.
I have also been thinking of a possible quilt inspired by the Serpentine bridge ever since the first time we walked over it:
So I had all of this to mull over while watching the girls at Maggie Daley, a truly spectacular park for anyone under the age of 12, and a truly terrifying experience for any adult needing to keep an eye on said children. After I had my fill of panic attacks and short sprints chasing after my five year old to try and keep her in my sight, we decided lunch was in order.
Macy’s was on the way back to the parking garage (and happened to be hosting their annual flower show!) so we ended up there, continuing what turned out to be a rather inspirational day.
This is one of my favorite pictures from the day: Liz staring up at the giant coloring wall at the end of the flower show. Both Liz and Maggie informed me that our house needs a coloring wall.
A little primary color action on this Chicago bag.
I want a neon color sign (maybe without the “your kitchen” on it)!
And this sign for the Oriental Theater…I never noticed the crosshatching on the background of it before. I love how to looks with the neon stripes of the letters.
My dad’s mom used to take the bus into the city almost every day when he was little. He said she loved the energy of it all. She was a people lover, and a lover of beautiful things. There’s so much to see. Get out there and start seeing it!
