Hidden in Plain View: A Secret Story of Quilts and the Underground Railroad was written by Jacqueline Tobin and Raymond Dobard, Jr. It is a controversial book that promotes the theory that quilts were used as codes for the Underground Railroad. The whole book is based on a single oral testimony. In Africa, everyday objects were used for communication. Quilts were everyday objects seen on southern plantations in the 1800s. It is estimated that 4 million slaves escaped but only 1 percent of them headed north. Slaves fleeing for freedom would watch for a sign that it was time to start their journey. According to the book, each quilt block was assigned a different meaning. It is said that the quilts contained road maps and secret messages. The Monkey Wrench , The Star, and the Wagon Wheel were common patterns in slave quilts. The Monkey Wrench was a signal for the slave to gather everything he would need for the journey. The Star signaled to follow the north star to Canada and freedom. The Wagon Wheel was a signal for the slave to pack provisions for a trip by wagon. An article by Kris Driessen, Putting it in Perspective: The Symbolism of Underground Railroad Quilts, discusses quilts as they are related to history. Many quilt blocks were renamed in the late 1800s to correspond to historical events. There actually are Underground Railroad quilts composed of Jacob's Ladder blocks. Most believe that they are just that. The consensus is that the Underground Railroad quilt codes are a romanticized myth. Either way, they are a gentle reminder to all of us that quilts are interwoven in literature and history.

The Log Cabin Quilt is a children's book with a focus on quilt scraps. The children's mother has just passed away and their father has decided that the family will travel by wagon to Michigan. Grandma takes a bag of quilt scraps with her on the journey. By the time they arrive and build the log cabin, it is winter in Michigan. While the father is away hunting it becomes very cold. Grandma works on her quilting and the children wait for their father to return. The mud between the logs freezes and falls out. Elvirey comes up with a great idea involving the quilt scraps. They use the quilt scraps to fill the holes between the logs. The cabin now becomes a colorful scrap quilt for all to enjoy. Many children's books center around quilts: The Quilter's Gift, Sweet Sara and the Freedom Quilt, Selena and the Bear Paw Quilt, The Keeping Quilt, and Bess' Log Cabin Quilt. The quilt theme is a great teaching tool. It allows teachers to combine many disciplines in the process: reading, history, art and math.

This is week 2 of my summer Advanced Composition class. This posting discusses a play that uses quilting as part of a woman's character. Trifles is a one act play by Susan Glaspell. The play is actually based on a true story that the writer covered when she was a journalist in Des Moines, Iowa. The storyline revolves around the murder of a woman's husband. The woman is in jail for the murder. Several people enter the farmhouse to look for evidence. They include the sheriff and his wife, a neighbor and his wife, and the county attorney. The women notice the untidy kitchen and the jars of preserves that are cracked and frozen. However, the men pass this area off as insignificant, mere trifles. The women also find unfinished quilting. While looking for sewing materials to take to the woman in jail, they find a box containing important evidence. The men have already dismissed this area of the house that is so blatantly a woman's world. Because the women are concerned about these trifles of another woman's life, they found evidence that the men never would have found. When the men return to see what the women are up to, they notice the quilt pieces but again overlook the evidence. The jailed woman's life is now in pieces just as her quilt project is in pieces that may never be put together.

I am enrolled in an Advanced Composition course for the summer. One of the requirements is to have a blog. I've decided to use my existing blog. However, instead of discussing my latest quilt project, I would like to share stories about fabrics and quilts found in literature. Homer's Odyssey is a great first example. Homer wrote The Odyssey around 8 B.C. It was a sequel to his Epic poem The Iliad. You may have read about the adventures of Odysseus, also know as Ulysses, during your middle school or high school years. In The Odyssey, Odysseus is the main character. Odysseus was the king of Ithaca. According to legend, his parents were Laertes and Anticlea. Odysseus married Penelope and had a son. Then,when his son is 1 month old, he leaves to participate in the Trojan War. The Odyssey is about Odysseus' adventures after the Fall of Troy. His wife, Penelope, is left at home. Because Odysseus has been gone many years, Penelope is bombarded with more than 100 suitors for her hand in marriage. She devised a plan to hold them at bay and give her husband time to return home. She told everyone that she was weaving a burial shroud for her father-in-law. Once the shroud is completed, she will pick one of the suitors. However, she undid her weaving every night. She wove her fabric during the day and undid it each evening. This went on for years. Finally, Penelope is betrayed by a chamber maid who gives away her secret. Unfortunately, the suitors return but Penolope still waits for Odysseus to return. In Homer's Odyssey, Penelope is known for her loyalty, fidelity and steadfastness. She worked tirelessly on her fabric for years. Most of us who quilt work on our ideas and fabric for years as well. Although our fabrics and projects are not usually saving a kingdom, we, like Penelope, are loyal and steadfast, seeing our project through to the end.