The Underground Railroad Sampler

The Underground Railroad story is one of the most dramatic chapters in America's history. It's a story about how countless slaves made their way out of bondage, risking death for freedom. Runaways met up with a 'conductor' in the dark who whispered "follow me". They were guided on an arduous 250 mile journey from the South, intertwined throughout the North, and eventually ended in Canada. The most intriguing feature was its lack of formal organisation. Accounts are scarce because of the movement's secrecy. Ozella McDaniel Williams recently shared oral history of the Underground Railroad, past down through her family for the last hundred and fifty years. Could her recount possibly be true? Were slaves really taught how to achieve safe passage just by following messages in certain quilt patterns? This book features fifteen traditional quilt blocks believed to have had secret meanings to escaping slaves.

Twenty nine years ago Eleanor Burns introduced her first Quilt in a Day book, cultivating a quiltmaking revolution. She presented her unique style, a diverse combination of cutting and sewing applications, creating new techniques altogether. Her concise step by step directions are easy to grasp, allowing the possibility for anyone to be successful at making a quilt. Eleanor Burns gave quiltmakers techniques that compacted months into merely a day, a quilt in a day, spreading her vibrant enthusiasm within everyone. She has motivated thousands of want-to-be quilters with needed confidence and assurance. Altogether, the impact of her influences opened the door to a renewal. Her efforts sowed the seeds that have grown into many techniques that are commonly used today. Since 1978 when she self-published her first book "Make a Quilt in a Day: Log Cabin Pattern," she has authored over seventy five additional books. Throughout the world today, there are thousands of inst!ructors teaching her quiltmaking methods. Her first Quilt in a Day TV series began airing on PBS in 1990 and is still broadcast nationwide and abroad and now her shows can be seen on the world wide web on QNN and Quilters TV.