Looking for the Goose

Gussie Herr's block is made from the traditional building blocks of patchwork - hourglass, flying geese and half square triangles.

I began the search through BlockBase to find a name for this block.  It always takes a while when you don't have a name to start with.  I was surprised when I found the closest match.

This block is Brown Goose.  It doesn't look like Gussie's block until you realise the only difference it the corner half square triangles which have been reversed.  That's why I love the traditional patterns, basic blocks are used to build up a multitude of different pieced patchwork blocks.

Brown Goose isn't the only name for this block.  It is also known as Gray Goose, Double Z, Devil's Claws, Framed X, Old Gray Goose, Old Maid's Puzzle and Ribbons. 

Ruth Finley says,

"While not particularly attractive, this pattern was widely used for every-day quilts .... because it was easy to piece"

Same block, different orientation.  This one was made entirely of half square triangles, reverse the top and bottom to get the Brown Goose.

This one is almost a goose, it needs some corners.  I wonder what happened.  Did she run out of material? Did it fall down behind the sofa and never finished? Maybe the maker was relieving the boredom of pregnancy, and once the labour pains started patchwork was forgotten ....