Three More Blocks

 I cut the pieces for several blocks today, and pieced three together.  That makes a total of eleven blocks done, with 41 yet to go.

The two curved pieces, one concave and one convex, that make up the units for this block are the same ones used in all the varieties of the Drunkard’s Path quilt.  This particular variation is called the ‘I Wish You Well’ block.  It is often interpreted as a meandering, healing, or ‘wish’ pattern, and is sometimes used in ‘healing’ or encouragement quilts.

Some say the design was created and made by ladies supporting Prohibition, way back when.  There’s also another story which might be more accurate, since Prohibition was only in the 1920s-1930s, and this quilt block has been found in quilts dating back far longer ago than that.  It may have been a silent signal to initiate the journey toward freedom on the Underground Railroad, giving coded direction to runaway slaves.  It may have acted as a preparatory message, often associated with gathering supplies or signaling the time to begin the escape, alongside other patterns like the Log Cabin and the Bow Tie. 

There are many quilt blocks that had special meaning, and the runaways knew how to interpret them when they’d find quilts hanging on clotheslines, lopped over garden gates, or displayed in windows.  These stories, however, have been debated for years.

One block takes me an hour and 15 minutes to piece.  I have not yet timed the cutting of the pieces for one block.

There are over 80 historically documented varieties and thousands of mathematical combinations of quilt blocks that can be made using the Drunkard’s Path unit.