ngabrielle

I just read a book on this topic (sorry can't remember the title, I borrowed it from the local Library). One thing they say is true is that the slaves did sew quilts. I was touched by the stories, the blocks are so representative of the tales. Have fun!

P.S. Would love to see pics.

gollytwo

There's a very famous, absolutely magnificent, slave quilt. If I can find a picture on line I'll post it. I have the magazine article w/picture but cannot figure out how to scan into computer.
Many of the quilts made by Southern slaves were made for the plantation mistresses .

gollytwo

raptureready

And there's a marked difference between what was made for the mistress and what was made for use by the slaves. Slave quilts were (usually) far less complicated and sometimes just large pieces of fabric sewn together--not as squared up. Perhaps because if they's been considered pretty at the time the slave wouldn't have been allowed to keep them. Or perhaps they weren't allowed to used "fancy" patterns. Or maybe it was just a matter of not having much time of their own. But these quilts, in their own way, are beautiful even with uneven borders, plainer fabrics, strange color combinations, etc.

hobo2000

I have been told by a man who has sued Wikipedia and won, that it is a husband & wife who do their own research but because no one ever challenged them they were thought to be the last word. He won his case hands down. So I really believe very little of what they say. Smithsonian had an interview with a black woman around 100 years old and she showed how her mother would fold the quilt and lay it over the railings at a certain time of day. It was very interesting how they were told what food they could eat in the woods, where to find water. She had no reason to lie about these thing at her age.

AbbyQuilts

Snoops is the one that is only a husband and wife team. Wiki is edited by the community at large. That also means that if someone has a bias then they can put it in an article as fact

Rosyhf

There are two quilts made by Harriet Powers that exist today. One is the picture quilt and the other is the bible quilt.

Rosyhf

Slaves did all sorts of imginative things to survive. I know all about signs, hidden in plain view etc. I was born in Germany.

Not to go into any great detail...but signs were used then too.

redkimba

Just came across this on another message board:

UGRR myth buster Giles Wright's excellent article is at http://historiccamdencounty.com/ccnews11_doc_01a.shtml

This is another excellent site on debunking the myth http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.co...-03/1017087442

gollytwo

thanks
the Wright article was fascinating