Hobo Quilts - Based on the Secret Language of Riding the Rails

Debra Henniger; Krause Publications; Cincinnati; 2010.

A QUILT book!

I’d been dragged into the fabric shop fabric shop where, on the closeout table rested a copy of Hobo Quilts.  “Hmmmm…” thinks I.

In it, the author describes symbols used by the Knights of the Road, early in the last century to indicate where food was available, where it was safe or unsafe to bed down and where the railroad bulls might confront one.  She explains how to construct themed squares of the symbols and put together some pretty cool quilts.  But beyond that, the book includes historic photographs (think Dorothea Lange) as well as excerpts from memoirs and tales from those Depression Era folks who, out of necessity, hopped trains in search of the next job/meal.

This is really an interesting collection. See your local book or quilt store.

© 2013

Church of the Open Road Press