Is it a good idea????
 

Hello quilty friends... well, I'm an new member in a little study club and my program is coming up in March. After a conversation with another member, it appears that the members of this little group do not know the stories of the role quilts played in the "underground railroad." In addition, a few have old quilts and quilt tops, but few, if any, are quilters. SO... I'll be researching the "underground railroad". This particular member was telling me how her mother and grandmother quilted 12 stitches per inch and nothing less was acceptable. Of course, this sent a minor chill down my back because the best I've accomplished is 7-8 stitches per inch. My stitches are (fairly) consistent... but then, I'm very "global" in my outlook... Momma used to say, "no worry, a man goin' by on horseback won't notice that" referring to a smidge or a smudge... You get the picture... Well, I got to thinking, maybe she might be interested in trying a few stitches herself. She would definitely appreciate those quilts with 12 stitches to the inch!! And then, maybe they ALL would enjoy taking a few stitches...

So, my questions are: 1) do I try to get everyone to take a few stitches or is this too ambitious? there are less than 10 of us...
and 2) any recommendations on books/articles/etc. to do research on the quilts used on the "underground railroad?"

Thank you, quilty friends for any suggestions and for all your help here on the QB!! Love to all!

You might want to read this.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quil...round_Railroad

Try PleasantHillTexas.org and watch the video on the Pleasant Hill Quilters page. These ladies make a wonderful presentation about the Underground Railroad. You can search google for more info about them.

I wouldn't do this topic because it has been pretty thoroughly debunked. The Wikipedia article goes into how and why.

I agree with the others. It's something nice to think about, but the evidence that it actually existed just isn't there.

Most people that get 12 stitches or more to the inch hand quilting are using a very thin batting. Myself, I am happy with trying to be consistent to 7 or 8 or maybe 9 to the inch.

The number of stitches per inch that are reasonably achievable depends greatly on the batting used. Vintage batting was very different from most present dat battings as manufacturing processes have changed dramatically. Vintage battings had no scrim or bonding agents and were quite thin. The most vintage batting I can think of that is still available today is Mountain Mist blue ribbon cotton.

Does this mean the underground railway didn't exist. I've read about it and looked at blocks and their supposed meaning.

Is it all untrue?.

The undergroud railway certainly did exist, however any connection to quilts and/or blocks has been fairly well debunked.

Fthank you . I went to a talk about the underground railway based on the quilt blocks that the speaker had made.

True or not, I think that would make an interesting program. And yes I would make some simple quilt sandwiches for all to try quilting. Either use a block to be quilted or just draw a design on whole cloth. Have fun with it.

There is a book called "Hiding in Plain Sight" which explains why some people believe that quilts may have been used some of the time in some places. As far as I know there is no factual proof that they were used, and none that they weren't. The people who would know are all gone. I doubt the people who wrote the history at that time would never have even considered that uneducated slaves could outwit white slaveholders and probably never asked. Also in the Jim Crow South it might not have been healthy to admit it.

Bottom Line. We don't know for sure and you cant prove a negative.

And finally Wikapedia is a fun source and many of its articles are accurate but anyone can post anything

You know... I had a question in the back of my mind about the validity of the use of quilts during the Civil War years... I really do appreciate all these responses! And what a relief to realize that batting was surely much thinner then! I have just been astounded to think that anyone could get 12 stitches per inch with the battings I've used. I'll have to try myself with a thin batt! Thanks everyone for contributing! I KNOW I will be telling them about the wonderful Quilt Board!!! Again...
Love to all!!!

But it would still be an interesting program. Make up 10 potholders and let them try stitching, then you can later machine quilt them, and maybe return them to them.

I watched Georgia Bonesteel once and she said not to be concerned about the number of stitches per inch, consistent in size she considered to be more important. And I had to laugh when she said no one is going to put on your head stone "She quilted 12 stitches per inch." I guess we could if it was really important to the person, but I would rather mine said she made each one with love.

Quilts, quilting, and history provide so much for us, I believe it is a shame that anyone perpetuates myths.

"Critics of the book said that it had some serious flaws:

• There are hundreds of first-hand accounts of the Underground Railroad. None of them mention quilt codes.
• There are hundreds of slave narratives collected by the WPA in the 1930's. None of them mention quilt codes.
• Some of the patterns mentioned in Hidden in Plain View were not used until the 20th century, according to Quilt Historians." http://tedpack.org/quilt1.html

"The idea that enslaved people would take the hundreds of hours to make the multiple quilts necessary to pass on some very simple instructions, when they could have done the same thing in a five minute conversation behind the barn, suggests not ingenuity but, at the very least, very odd priorities. The cartoonist Rube Goldberg made a career of designing machines that took thirty steps to do what any normal person could do in one or two." Christopher Densmore.

I wouldn't do the Underground Railroad bit for the reasons you've already heard. But I did a presentation on quilt making and quilt care for my husband's Rotary group and it was a BIG hit--they were interested in how quilts where made, the variety of ways to quilt (and I LOVE your idea of having each give it a try with hand quilting), but most especially interested in how to care for a quilt--especially antique quilts. Seems like everyone has a quilt that was grandma's or great's, etc and most are stashed in some cedar chest absorbing cedar oils or in a trash bag in the basement/attic, etc--lots were talking about retrieving and storing elsewhere.

Eleanor Burns has a book out that tells stories of the "Underground Railroad" and how to read the quilt blocks of that time.

I know the quilt story of the underground railroad is not a fact, but it was not the slaves who made the quilts, it was the people who lived in the houses along the way. The story goes that the slaves would see a house that had been reputed to be a "safe house", and there would be a quilt hanging on the porch or on the line. The colors or pattern of the quilt communicated to the slave that: "Yes, it's safe to come here now", or "No, it's not safe right now."

Even if the quilt stories are not true, there surely was a lot of communication going on between the slaves and between the safe houses. And between slaves and those in the houses.

Nothing to this....fiction makes for entertaining media.

You could still do it but just present both sides. It is interesting regardless.

The article QuiltsRfun gives the link for is a good explanation of the myth of the underground quilt. It is great folklore but thus far unsubstantiated so take care what you tell the group about this particular idea. Conversation about where civil war quilts fabric came from might be more fact-based. I often wondered, with cotton availability being compromised and most wool going to military uniforms, what the quilt-makers used. Have fun.

Quilts used for code to communicate with people using the underground railroad make for a very emotional topic. Those who want to believe it don't seem to change their minds when given the reasons why it is a myth. Tread carefully if you decide to give a program on the subject. It is bound to offend someone in the group.

The topic of Civil War quilts made on both sides is broad and very interesting. It is a program that should be well received by northerners and southerners alike.

There were a couple of books written by Jennifer Chiaverini concerning underground railroad quilts in her Elm Creek series. She must have done some research to be able to write about it. She may have a web site that entertains questions, might be a place to start.

My thought is.....Surely the slave owners and bounty hunters would have known all about the quilt codes and the home owners would have been in a heap of trouble, not to mention that the slaves would have been easy targets for capture. Sweet sentiment but hardly rational or believable. Sad thing is that people have played on emotions to make money by selling books and giving lectures.

great idea!

Oh another great point! Thank you!!

I really appreciate everyone's input. Thank you! I think I will stick to known facts which includes the possibility that quilts as code is more-than-unlikely! Definitely will be giving a brief history of quilt making....including the "modern quilt" phenomenon. There are so many incredible fabric artists out there! But I'm always equally amazed at the artistry to the truly old quilts as well...

Right now my difficulty is figuring out whether I can synchronize my new "smart tv" with my computer to show images on it... being the "toron" I am, this should be a true challenge!!! wish me luck!!!