tantly in the minds of the early American quilters
and inspired many names. "Pilgrim's Pride," "Bear's Paws," "Rocky Road
to Kansas," "Texas Tears," and "Rocky Road to California" have great
interest as they reveal to us the thoughts of our great-grandmothers
over their quilting frames.

The names having political significance, which were attached to
quilts, show that the women as well as the men had a keen interest in
the affairs of our country in its earlier days. "Old Tippecanoe,"
"Lincoln's Platform," "Harrison Rose," "Democrat Rose," "Whig Rose,"
and "Radical Rose" are all suggestive of the great discussion over
slavery. Of the last name, an old lady, famous for her quilt making,
said: "Here's my 'Radical Rose.' I reckon you've heard I was the first
human that ever put black in a Radical Rose. Thar hit is, right plumb
in the middle. Well, whenever you see black in a Radical Rose you can
know hit war made atter the second year of the war (Civil War). Hit
was this way, ever' man war a-talkin' about the Radicals and all the
women tuk to makin' Radical Roses. One day I got to studying that thar
ought to be some black in that thar pattern, sence half the trouble
was to free the niggers, and hit didn't look fair to leave them out.
And from that day to this thar's been black in ever' Radical Rose."

Other names having patriotic, political, or historical significance
are:

Union
Yankee Puzzle
Continental
Union Calico Quilt
Star-Spangled Banner
Confederate Rose
Boston Puzzle

There is also the "Centennial" in commemoration of the Centennial
Exposition held at Philadelphia in 1876, and "The World's Fair,"
"World's Fair Puzzle," and "World's Fair Blocks" to perpetuate the
grandeurs of the great exposition held at Chicago in 1893.

Religion is closely associated with the life of the industrious,
sober-minded dwellers of our villages and farms, and it is the most
natural thing in the world for the Biblical teachings to crop out in
the names of their quilts, as the following names indicate:

Garden of Eden
Golden Gates
Jacob's Ladder
Joseph's Coat
Solomon's Temple
Solomon's Crown
Star of Bethlehem
Tree of Paradise
Forbidden Fruit Tree

The glories of the sky enjoy ample prominence among quilt names.
Beginning with the "Rising Sun," of which there are several different
designs, there follow "Sunshine" and "Sunburst," then "Rainbow," and
finally a w