Along with just a fun quilt, it is a great way to learn different and basic techniques. Somethings I just could not get (and Still can't) until my daughter and I made it for her history teacher.

People who don't believe in the underground railroad and how they communicated don't know what they are talking about.

I am best friends with the great granddaughter of a slave family. And for those of you who are familar of Blind Tom who was a slave and also a famous piano player (debuted on PBS) few years ago was a relative of hers.

I have been bless these last 26 years to have been a part of her history and family, many of whom were slaves, and sharecroppers back in the 18th and 19th century and the things even her mother, herself and families have endured into the 20th century until the 1960's.

Despite what some may think of the underground, or not, just like the holocust some still today will say it never happened and it did.

Slaves in this country communicated messages to each other in manners we would never have thought of to do. Besides some documentation as you find in quilts, and other means they have a wonderful oral history passed down from generation to generation. Todays generation however with all the technology are able to put it all down and have electronic documentation of the history centuries pass to even this day.

It is not the Underground Railroad and its existance but the use of quilts to guide that is under discussion. I visited the Uderground Railroad museum in Atlanta a few years ago and the curator was describing the quilt and the signifiance of the blocks.
One block that was of some interest to me was her explanation of the Sun Bonnet Sue block......that block didn't come into existance until the 1930's. Even respected African Amerian quilt historians have disputed the story of the use of quilts in this way.

I wonder how many fans of the myth descend from slaves. I do. Do you? I wouldn't knowingly exploit other people's ancestors with these fairy tales. We're not talking about mythological creatures here. They were real people who struggled and deserve respect. Please do not treat them with a cavalier "George Washington slept here" attitude.

It would be wiser, and kinder, to make an homage to the movement and cease proseltyzing the myth. There are wonderful quilts, real quilts, to be reproduced. Make an abolitionist quilt. Remake this wonderful 1980 folkart blanket:
http://www.quiltindex.org/basicdispl...?kid=1A-39-2A0

http://www.ugrrquilt.hartcottagequilts.com/
Scroll down to the index and then read it all.

http://www.antiquequiltdating.com/Qu...R._Wright.html
Read every word Giles speaks here. Fleeing Carolina slaves were not idiots to be demeaned by blankets. Imagine the courage and determination required.

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/200...owned_sch.html

From Barbara Brackman:
What harm can a charming yet false story do? You be the judge. But do realize that we are teaching a generation of children false history. And by focusing on this connection we ignore our national obligation to learn about the true and less charming stories of slavery.
http://www.marilynquilts.com/id26.html

No one should profit from this and yet that is how it started. From Ozella to Eleanor. When will it end?

I love the look of Underground Quilt blocks, the tone of fabric used are. Keepsake Quilting has several quilts with reproduction fabric being used.