Flying Geese


In Autumn 1915, 12 year old Margaret watches the geese fly south over her Saskatchewan farm. Like them, she too is leaving, her impoverished family hoping to find a better life in Ontario. Poverty, illness, cardboard soles, and the Great War begin to erode her family. In a desperate attempt to find some order in her life, Margaret begins to make a Flying Geese quilt, drawing on her recently deceased Grandmother’s lessons in quilting. As Margaret’s life deteriorates, she places all her faith in finishing the quilt, firm in the conviction that the quilt will finally bring her back home. I am delighted to combine my two passions, quilting and writing, to create this story of Margaret and her Flying Geese quilt. An important aspect of history often overlooked is material history – non-verbal documents offering unique insights into people’s lives.

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