My display table at a recent guest appearance

My PowerPoint presentation on the wall

A number of years ago I was attending the international quilt show in Houston Texas and saw a display that really touched my heart.  I did some research, one thing led to another, and I put the story in my own (quilting) words.  My husband took my ideas and made a PowerPoint presentation out of them.  From there I took a PC notebook and projector and have made around 20 personal appearances in the area telling the wonderful quilting story of the Underground Railroad and it's most famous conductor, Harriet Tubman (shown below).  This amazing journey for hundreds of black slaves took place in the mid to late 1800's and is one of the most fascinating stories in American history.

Map of the many routes of the Underground Railroad

The roads from many places in the South to freedom in Canada were dangerous all of the way, and supporters of the underground railroad used quilting pieces to signal the travelers.  Each piece had a different meaning and alerted the travelers of danger or told them that the path was clear.  They also marked safe locations where they could rest and get food.  

After several weeks of research in 2005, I crafted 16 of the key railroad quilt pieces and put them together in the finished quilted product you see below.

My husband took digital photo's of each of the pieces and, along with other graphics depicting the actual journey, he created the PowerPoint slideshow.

Two of my favorite blocks are the Log Cabin (above) telling the travelers there was a safe place to rest nearby and the flying Canadian Geese (below) telling then they had reached freedom.

If you haven't seen the story yet, I hope you get the opportunity!