Finally, Something to Share...

Geese at Sunset was already partially completed when I signed up for this class... I had purchased the background fabric long ago and the first few geese along with the rest of the yardage had been waiting patiently in the studio closet. Now, the quilt is finished and it is full of repetition! (Chris even managed to carry out the repetition theme with her choice of quilting design, and she didn't even know that repetition was part of my effort!)

There are more photos here showing the different colors used for the inner borders, the different fabrics used for the two outer side borders, and close ups of the upper and lower outer borders created using the waste triangles trimmed off while making the geese. NONE of this was in my original plan and much of the inspiration came from Collaborative Quilting by Gwen Martson and Freddy Moran. The confidence to go forward came from the experience I gained during Tonya's first-ever online class. MANY THANKS, Tonya!!

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WHAT WE CAN LEARN FROM THE GEESE

As each bird flaps its wings, it creates uplift for the bird immediately following. By flying in V formation, the whole flock has at least 71% greater flying range than if each bird flew on its own.

People who share a common direction and sense of common purpose can get where they are going more quickly and easily because they are traveling on the thrust of one another.

When a goose flies out of formation, it suddenly feels that drag and resistance of trying to go it alone and quickly gets back into formation to take advantage of the lifting power of the bird in front.

It is harder to do something alone than together.

When the lead goose gets tired, it rotates back into the formation, and another goose flies point at the head.

It is sensible to take turns doing demanding jobs. Shared leadership and interdependence give us each a chance to lead as well as opportunities to rest.

The geese in formation honk from behind to encourage those up front to keep up their speed.

What do we say when we honk from behind? We need to make sure our honking is encouraging and not discouraging.

Finally, and this is important, when a goose gets sick or wounded and falls out of formation, two other geese will fall out with that goose and follow it down to lend help and protection. They stay with the fallen goose until it is able to fly or it dies, and only then do they launch out on their own, or with another formation to catch up with their flock.

If we have the sense of a goose, we will stand by our colleagues and each other in difficult times as well as in good.