Underground Railroad Quilt

In Mrs. Lydecker's 4th grade class they have been studying the Underground Railroad. It's not underground nor is it a railroad, as my son explained. The reasons why they were quilting is because they learned about quilt patterns such as "drunkard's path" which would throw the slave catchers off and "bow tie" which means dress in your best clothes so you can blend in when you escape.

It was like a secret language used through quilt designs. Moms brought in their sewing machines and guided the kids in putting together their quilting squares.

Here is a selection of the designs which included monkey wrench, bear's paw, flying geese and log cabin which when on a house, meant it was a "safehouse".

At the end Mrs. Lydecker gathered the class around her table and sewed some squares for the kids who were absent. "Go really fast!" they shouted...and she did.