North Star by Barb Fife
Northern women opposed to slavery raised money for the cause through Anti-Slavery Fairs, much like our Christmas Crafts Bazaars. The antislavery newspaper, The Liberator, described the 1836 Boston fair:
See a digital version of the 1846 book The Anti-slavery Alphabet
by clicking here:
and browsing through the book.
“The Hall was filled with visitors at an early hour, and continued full until late in the evening. Very many of these were not abolitionists, but belonged to a large and increasing class of the community, who have been strongly abolitionized by Anti-Slavery efforts … The cake table was loaded with varieties of cake, made of sugar not manufactured by slaves, and near it was placed the motto, “Free Labor.” … There was a great variety in the articles, and many of them were very handsome and tasteful.”
Handmade items included pen wipers inscribed with “Wipe Out the Blot of Slavery” or “Plead the Cause With Thy Pen.” Needle holders proclaimed, “May the use of our needles stick the consciences of slaveholders.” Needle books shaped like shoes had written on the bottom, “Trample Not on the Oppressed.” Watch cases were inscribed with “The political economist counts time by years, the suffering slave reckons it by minutes.” Bunches of quill pens were bound with a label that read, “Twenty-five weapons for abolitionists.” Candy was wrapped in papers printed with poetry: “Come little ones! For the sweets you see, Were made by the labor of the FREE.”
Abolition Crib Quilt (Reproduction)
by Barbara Brackman & Terry Thompson
1996
Our inspiration was the quilt
in the collection of Historic New England.
A cradle quilt was made of patchwork in small stars. On the central star was written with indelible ink:
“Mother! When around your child
You clasp your arms in love,
And when with grateful joy you raise
Your eyes to God above—
Think of the negro mother,
When her child is torn away—
Sold for a little slave—Oh, then,
For that poor mother pray.”
Detail of our reproduction with the central inscription
Lydia Maria Child, one of the Boston Fair’s organizers, wrote in a letter: “You have doubtless learned the success of our Fair … My cradle-quilt sold for $5.” Her quilt has, amazingly enough, survived. The Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities, now Historic New England, owns a small star quilt with the exact poem inscribed.
Lydia Maria Child 1856
Quilts remained important to the era’s fairs. In 1846, The Liberator described a “North Star bed cover,” named, undoubtedly, for the escaping slave’s heavenly guidepost. The simple star here, one of the oldest patchwork patterns, represents the abolitionist’s needlework in our sampler. It’s been published by many pattern companies under many names, including Aunt Eliza’s Star or Variable Star, over the past 120 years or so. Today’s quilters often call it Sawtooth Star.
CUTTING INSTRUCTIONS
For a finished 8-inch block cut the following pieces:
A - 4 light squares 2-1/2" x 2-1/2"
B - 1 light square 5-1/4". Cut into 4 triangles with 2 cuts. You need 4.
C - 4 print squares 2-7/8" x 2-7/8". Cut each into 2 triangles with one cut. You need 8.
D - 1 print square 4-1/2" x 4-1/2"
This story is taken from my 2006 book Facts and Fabrications: Unraveling the History of Quilts and Slavery. See page 84 for a 15" pattern. Click here for more information about the book:
