Underground Railroad Blocks On the Wall!

First off, I want to thank all of you for your encouraging comments on this project, which was begun on May 23, 2011.  Twelve days later, fifteen different blocks were completed and the title story printed and ready for sashings.  Saturday night I got them pinned to my "fancy" design wall (Walmart polyester batting hung on nails over the patio doors! *grin*), though not very straight.  But at least we can see the block arrangement that goes along with the story block which was in my last blog.  That story, with its sashing, will be the last block on the quilt, in the lower right corner. 

The color balance is off a bit; seems those two blue fabrics I love so are all on the right side! 

Oh well; got to stick to the story!

Several of you mentioned you were not familiar with Eleanor Burns' book/pattern on the Underground Railroad Quilt, and had not heard the story.  She had a partner, Sue Bouchard, in the project, and the book is full of colored pictures and has very detailed instructions for constructing each step of each block; one of the best I've seen!  Every block also has an explanation about how it was used to help runaway slaves in their escape to freedom.  No doubt the book was planned in connection with the 150th Anniversary of the start of the Civil War. 

The printed story begins with the second block, but the quilt title is represented by the first block, the Underground Railroad block, often known as Jacob's Ladder block.  Here I'd like to include a portion of the explanation of the block and ultimately the name of the quilt; it really helps in making sense of the block arrangement.  So I'll just copy in italics a portion of it from the book:

The Underground Railroad "block has an alternating path of dark and light that can be used to show a direction."

"There is a story about a slave owner chasing a runaway who swore the man vanished as if he had stepped on some kind of "underground railroad."  The idea of an Underground Railroad taking people north to freedom was used to describe the network of abolitionists and safe houses that helped slaves escape to Ohio and Canada.  Safe houses along the way were known as "stations," those who guided the escapees were called "conductors" and the runaways themselves were called "passengers." 

"Harriet Tubman was one of the best-known conductors on the Underground Railroad.  After she made her escape from slavery, Tubman returned to the South a total of 19 times to bring over 300 fugitives to freedom.  She never lost  a single passenger.  It was her mission to guide them through unknown lands and take care of their needs.  She would tell them to wait in the woods while she went to the home of a friend to buy needed provisions.  She would not return until nightfall, using a song to communicate safety or danger to those hiding in wait." 

"Reaching a "station" in the North meant food, clothing, and a place to hide when capture was imminent.  But it did not yet mean freedom.  The Underground Railroad took them all the way to Canada in some cases.  Estimates are that as many as 100,000 people escaped slavery between the American Revolution and the Civil War."

I'm sure most of you have heard how a variety of signals, including quilts with flying geese, etc., were used to give direction to those seeking to escape.  Some have debated whether that really happened, or if it is just a legend of the times.  Seems to me that's really a likely story of how it actually happened. The story of each block is interesting, and is a reminder that we must never let such conditions occur in the U.S. again!

I'm really glad I decided to make this quilt; it has been an interesting history study, and a challenge of my piecing skills.  I'm looking forward to getting the sashings and borders on it and getting it quilted!   

I worked in the yard yesterday from 8 AM to 4 PM, for a change of activity.  It was hotter than you know where, but the humidity was down a bit, so with a lot of determination and a big glass of sweet tea close by, I got everything mowed, got weeds out of the rose garden, and watered everything!  I sat on the patio to cool off and watched the birds play in the water sprinkler.  Then after a once-over-lightly in the house, I was really tired and ready for a shower and my pj's! 

Sunday and church will be the beginning of a new week.  I hope it will be as productive as this past week has been!

Happy quilting to all of you!

---"Love"