The premise that quilts contained symbols and secret messages for slaves escaping along the Underground Railroad of the pre-Civil War and Civil War era is met with differing opinions.  However, research continues with some saying there definitely were quilts that aided and others who maintain it’s all a folk tale.

Diane Grenier is a quilter who spent two years researching Underground Railroad quilts and has created a reproduction.  Learn about her own fascinating journey in Heidi Kratzke’s story, “Underground Railroad Quilt” threads way to freedom.

Other stories relating to this topic:

Hidden in Plain View – A Favorite Quilt Book

The Runaway Quilt (An Undergound Railroad Novel)

The Underground Quilt Controversy

Quilters Celebrate Black History Month

Student Makes Quilt Depicting Slavery & the Underground Railroad

(c)2008 Mary Emma Allen

Post from: Blisstree

Underground Railroad Quilts – A Great Fascination

   I’m always on the lookout for books that relate to quilting, often those that are inspirational and evoke memories.  I discovered Quilts From Heaven , Finding Parables in the Patchwork of Life, by Lucinda Secrest McDowell at Penelope Anne’s Manic Bookworm’s Ballroom.

According to Penelope Anne, “This book was very rewarding, it shared numerous moments of truly touching personal affirmations that directly correlated to a quilt pattern in each chapter. “

Then Penelope Anne posted a poem from the book, Pieces of My Quilt, starting with “If quilts could talk…..”

Doesn’t that simply lure right into wanting to read the book? 

 Also, doesn’t it make you want to write down what your quilts might say if they could talk?

What would your quilts, old and new, say?

(c)2008 Mary Emma Allen

Post from: Blisstree

Quilts From Heaven…Another Quilting Book That Intrigues Me

   Civil War Era quilts provide fascination for quilters interested in history and needlework of prior eras. Much research has been done about quilts of those days and books written about them.

As I researched on this topic myself, I discovered Marcie’s Patchalot more blog and a post about the Civil War quilts she and a friend, Connie, have made…or are making.

I’m sure you’ll find Every Picture Tells a Story fascinating.  Perhaps it will provide you with ideas about a project you could undertake. 

 Stories about Civil War Quilts are somewhat related to my previous post, The Underground Quilt Controversy, since the events underlying all of them date back to that era surrounding the Civil War or War Between the States.

(c)2008 Mary Emma Allen

Post from: Blisstree

The Fascination of Civil War Era Quilts

 Do you believe that escaping slaves, during the Civil War [in the United States], often used quilts and their symbols as guides to freedom? 

Are you on side of the story that maintains there isn’t enough evidence, only folklore, to justify this theory? 

Or are you trying to figure out just where you stand?

Much discussion has evolved and a number of books written about this topic, from various viewpoints.  Justifiably, the slaves made quilts during the early to mid-1800s for their owners and themselves.  Did they incorporate secret codes or symbols into the quilts and their patterns to guide fellow escaping slaves a path to freedom?

Although the experts can’t agree, quilter Barbara Reeves Hart presents programs on the topic.  Learn about one she’ll be giving on Feb. 2, Quilts preserve a part of history telling story of Underground Railroad.  She finds that people are fascinated by this topic.

From the nearby woods, a runaway slave looks with hope at the colorful quilts spread out on the plantation’s clothesline. Did those displayed quilts give him a message, show him the way to freedom?   (From the newspaper article above by Fran Fralow in the Gaston Gazette.)

The book, Hidden  Plain View, A Secret Story of Quilts and the Underground Railroad, by Jacqueline L. Tobin and Raymond G. Dobard, popularized the idea of the codes found in quilts of this era. 

The secret code used by Ozella [McDaniel Williams'] ancestors to assist fellow enslaved blacks in their escape to freedom became the subject of Hidden in Plain View.

Numerous novels, including Jennifer Chiaverini’s The Runaway Quilt, along with children’s books tell this tale and captivate readers.  Songs also have evolved around this theme of secret codes in quilts

Some researchers claim there is no valid evidence, only folklore, to support the theory, so they are dubious.

Where do you stand on “The Underground Quilt Controversy?”

Related Posts: 

The Runaway Quilt (An Underground Railroad Novel)

Hidden in Plain View – A Favorite Quilt Book

(c)2008 Mary Emma Allen

Post from: Blisstree

The Underground Quilt Controversy