Saturday at the Quilt Museum - Turkey Tracks, Wandering Foot, Milwaukee's Own

Okay, so I'm going to be cheeky and post Turkey Tracks Quilts this week. :-)

Thanksgiving is not about the turkey for me, though. It's about being thankful for the incredible blessings I have been given, just as the pilgrims were thankful in the midst of incredible hardship. I actually descend from 5 of the Mayflower passengers, which is amazing to me.

The Turkey Tracks pattern is also known by the additional names "Milwaukee's Own" and "Wandering Foot," and I'd never heard of the first before. I'm having a hard time finding anything about the origin of that particular name. Anyone know about it?

So, here we go......

Milwaukee's Own - Turkey Tracks
Colorado
1875
75" x 80.5"

This first quilt is such a study in simplicity. I really like it. It was made around 1875 in Colorado by an unknown artist. 

See more here:
http://www.quiltindex.org/basicdisplay.php?kid=4E-86-BA

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Top Only
Wandering Foot - Turkey Tracks
Mrs. Roland Gibbs
1860
84" x 86"

There's not much information about this one, but I like the particular shape of the "tracks" in it.  It's kind of fun to see the pieced alternate blocks, which would be less evident if the top were quilted.  I'm not sure I really like the zig-zag border, but the center is striking!

You can see a bit more here:
http://www.quiltindex.org/basicdisplay.php?kid=1D-FC-1412

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Turkey Tracks Variation
Mrs. H.C. McIlravy
Illinois
1840-1860
81" x 82"

Isn't this a pretty one?  The colors are reminiscent of Baltimore Album quilts done in red, yellow and green, with the occasional addition of blue.  I like the variation on the "tracks" part.

You can see more here:
http://www.quiltindex.org/basicdisplay.php?kid=18-36-808

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Turkey Tracks
1865
80" x 89"

There's really not much information about this one, but the hand quilting is stunning!  Look at the feather wreaths!  In the close-up, it's fun to see the prints she used, too.

To see more, click the link below.
http://www.quiltindex.org/basicdisplay.php?kid=4A-7F-B42

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Turkey Tracks
Possibly Ohio
86" x 90"

I love this one! From a distance, it looks like it's pink and green, but closeup you can see it's a red print paired with poison green.  The border is lovely and fits the open feel of the Turkey Tracks blocks.

And the quilting is stunning!!!

See it here at the American Folk Art Museum:

http://collection.folkartmuseum.org/view/objects/asitem/items@:2252

If the link doesn't work, use 'Turkey Tracks Quilt' in their search function.

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Turkey Tracks 

1880

I can find nothing about this one, but I liked it well enough to include it! The red fabric looks like a solid in the picture, but upon closer examination, it really is a print.  There's just something about red and white, isn't there?

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If you'd like to learn about the Wandering Foot pattern, there's an article here:

http://www.patternsfromhistory.com/pioneer_patterns/wanderingfoot.htm

And if you'd like a Free Wandering Foot Pattern, here are links to one:

• PDF with templates:
• http://www.patternsfromhistory.com/pioneer_patterns/wanderingp.pdf
• Piecing Instructions:
• http://www.patternsfromhistory.com/pioneer_patterns/wfpattern.htm

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Thanks for joining us for our tour of Turkey Tracks Quilts!

Happy Quilting!!

PLEASE NOTE:

- I am not a quilt historian.  I simply enjoy finding interesting quilts and sharing them with you!

- The quilt images on this post were sourced from Pinterest, The Quilt Index, and the American Folk Art Museum unless otherwise noted, and are linked to their origin whenever possible.