Week Five - Geese Tracks

Sew A Long 2020

Jun 5

Hi there,

Apologies for the days delay in getting this block up on our website. We had some technical / computer issues so it all came to a grinding halt yesterday. So incredibly frustrating but here we are today.

How did you go with your New England Block last week? I’ve seen some stunning blocks made. Don’t worry if you haven’t got there yet or it’s a mission to keep up each week. The blocks and pattern will be up on our Blog all year - take a deep breath and get done what you can, when you can. You can also print off the PDF pattern for each week and pop them in a folder so it’s one less job to do when you are ready to make your blocks.

Okay, this week we are making a Geese Tracks block. Now, I did tell you that I love half square triangles and points so there are a few this week as well.

We’ve also added in flying geese blocks this week. Once again, sometimes people get a bit nervous about making these blocks. No problem at all, once you know the basics then these blocks are great to make. In the PDF instructions, I will walk you through how to make flying geese and all will be great.

For this block, there are different cutting instructions for the 6” block and the 12” block. In the 12” block there is a sashing through the middle of the block but I haven’t put this in the 6” block.

Click here for the PDF pattern

History

There is a variety of opinions on the Underground Railroad quilt blocks and the history of how these blocks were used as symbols for people to make a safe escape from slavery to freedom.

The chart below shows an explanation of each of the blocks reported to be used - flying geese being one of them.

There has been quilt a lot written on the Underground Railroad quilt codes and you can read about it here and here for some of the views. Personally, I am drawn to the idea that the blocks help people who had been enslaved escape to freedom. What do you think?

Some inspiration