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 The Drunkard's Path A Little bit of History

In the late 1890's the trend was for blue and white quilts, particularly indigo blue and white. There was scarcely a quilter to be found who did not have at least one in her collection and many "best" quilts were indigo and white. This accounts for the fact that so many of these spectacular quilts survive. Many incorporated appliqué but the overwhelming majority were pieced. Trapunto and elaborate feather quilting was often used on these quilts. Blue and White were the colors of the WTCU (Women's Christian Temperance Union), a very powerful and popular group. As many surviving blue and white quilts are in the Drunkard's Path pattern there is speculation that many of these quilts were made for The Cause. This is not likely to be the case in fact, however, it is far more likely that this was simply a very popular combination due to it's striking beauty. Another reason this combination was so popular for "best" quilts was that indigo was a superior dye, the color was true and fast. Demand for indigo dyed fabrics was high and companies responded by printing large quantities of them. Blue and white remains popular to this day but has never been so popular as it was at the end of the 19th century.

The Drunkards Path is an interesting one. I believe it is also known as Rocky Road To Kansas among other things and belongs to the "Robbing Peter To Pay Paul" group of designs. These designs depend on a combination of blocks to achieve the full design. Drunkards Path (Usually done in blue and white) was a symbol of support for the temperance movement and drunkards path quilts were used to raise funds for the temperance society and often hung at society meetings. I will see if I can find out anything else about this block.