I think a lot about change and moving on to the next place wherever that may be for me. I love stories of the Oregon Trail and how those people came across this vast prairie and these rugged mountains. Many went back and many stopped along the journey. Many died on the trail and many lost everything including loved ones as they struggled to reach their dreams. Those precious items carried along the trail and often lost or left behind included their completed and valued quilts as well as those in progress. The stories of those quilts and the women who loved them keep calling to me.
Here is a great site that tells more about the women of the Oregon Trail. It is found on the website for the "End of the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center" located near Portland, Oregon. I have also enjoyed reading the work of Judy Anne Johnson Breneman as represented on her website, Womenfolk , and from this page on pioneer women and their quilts. You will enjoy a visit through her writing.
So being as I am going to be here in Laramie off and on for the next several months, I have made the decision to focus my learning on the history of quilts starting with those connected to this part of the country. Of course, I am going to keep creating my own quilts and quilting, but those stories of all of those beloved quilts are calling me to listen. I will share some of my journey here from time to time.
One of the places I really enjoy visiting online is "The International Quilt Study Center" at the University of Nebraska - Lincoln. I have found the database an excellent source of pictures and information. You can get there by clicking the link, "The Quilts" on the left of their home page and then searching through their collections. I have been feeling a bit sad that I will not be able to go to a couple quilt shows this spring because of my teaching here. So, I have decided to make the journey through Nebraska from here to Lincoln in the spring when I am finished with my work here to visit the Quilt Study Center.
Maybe this will become my next "career". One thing for sure, I am always so grateful that I have the perseverance of the pioneer woman to keep "moving on". It is all about those good genes!
