goose tracks

This is better than going to a quilt show! I can look at the quilts with my coffee in hand and the many different photos of each quilt is much better than a white glove lady turning over the corner of a quilt. The stories with each quilt are all wonderful, heartfelt and inspiring. I learned about this blog festival through Vicki Welsh and her Field trips in Fiber.

Thank you Amy and all her sponsors for doing this. 

I made this quilt for my oldest son. He was in the navy for 5 years and has always been my little patriot. When he was 4 he wanted to give his Dad an American flag to hang outside the house for Christmas. His favorite Christmas tree at the Festival of Trees in Bookings was always the tree done by the American Legion with American flags all over it, not the one with Lego's that he helped decorate or the one dripping with candy. It was no surprise when he enlisted when he was a senior in high school.

I finished this quilt for him last spring, he chose navy blue and red and the goose tracks pattern.  Most of the fabrics have a star motif. I added orange because he likes to hunt and strongly believes in our right to bear arms. One print has a pen nib which represents his interest in our democratic process. He was president of the Veterans Club in college and helped write legislation to establish a Veterans Resource Center on college campuses in South Dakota. He also spoke to the House and Senate Committees. I'm so proud of him.  I expanded the reds to include hot pinks and orange because they are like turning the lights on in the quilt. The border is wide piano keys and flying geese with eight point stars in the corners.

It was professionally quilted by Kay Peterson  www.myolivebranch.wordpress.com  with free motion feathers and stars. It is 100 inches square.

I always enjoy learning the history or folklore concerning quilt patterns. The goose track is a pieced variation of the appliqued turkey tracks or wandering foot pattern which was a 3 or 4 toed skinny foot that looked very much like a turkey track popular in the1800's. It was very bad omen to make a Wandering Foot quilt for a baby boy because he would leave home and never come back. So considering westward expansion in the US and lack of dependable communication, a young man going west may very possibly never be heard from again.  My son was 26 when he received this quilt with the hope he doesn't come live with us but it has stars, the North Star, in the corners so he will always find his way home.

Happy Quilting,

Ann