Underground Railroad Quilts Just Published Underground Railroad Quilts by Eleanor Burns and Sue Bourchard. Published April 2003, this 168 all-color page book features 15 block patterns. I have not seen this Quilt-in-A-Day book personally to know if the authors have uncovered actual instances of the block patterns used to provide directions for escaping slaves. The subject of Underground Railroad quilts have been in the news: "Quilter explains role of handiwork in Underground Railroad" Munster Times, Northwest Indiana – April 10, 2003 African American quilting during the 1800s is examined in Dr. Gladys-Marie Fry’s revised "Stitched From the Soul: Slave Quilts from the Ante-Bellum South," first published in 1990. Chapters include The Slave Seamstress, Quilting in the Quarters, and The Quilting Party. Original Edition Click here for a listing of other books about the Underground Railroad.