Hobo Quilts
55+ Original Blocks Based on the Secret Language of Riding the Rails
by Debra G. Henninger
Mem. Ed. $19.99
Pub. Ed. $27.99
You pay $0.25
Bonus Content
Hobo Quilts
Back in the days when hobos rode the rails, they created a unique language of symbols to communicate with each other. These secret codes, as Debra Henninger explains, “gave direction and advice to the savvy traveler including where to find food, water, a place to sleep and possibly work.” And it was these codes that inspired Henninger (whose great-grandma’s home bore the mark of a good place to get a meal) to create 58 6" quilt blocks with names like Kind-Hearted Lady and A Beating Awaits. They’re in Hobo Quilts, along with instructions for 21 quilt projects as well as reminiscences and vintage snapshots from the Great Depression. It’s a fascinating read and a fantastic companion to Laurie Aaron Hird’s The Farmer’s Wife Sampler Quilt.
Softcover : 256 pages
Publisher: Krause ( April 01, 2010 )
Item #: 12-952736
ISBN: 9781440204128
Product Dimensions: 8.0 x 8.0 inches
Product Weight: 25.0 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Hobo Heaven! 
February 02, 2012
I read every page in this book. Lovely historical and current facts and memories. Just Great!
Reviewer: Julia
An awesome must-read!!! 
March 09, 2011
I bought this book to make a train quilt for my train-fanatic nephew. However, it hasn't left my living room since it arrived as I can't stop reading and rereading the wonderful stories of an era in America that I was unaware of. I plan to make one of the wonderful quilts from this book, and make up a mini-book to go with it so my nephew will know what all the symbols mean. If a 7-year-old could be a hobo, you'd find HIM ridin' the rails!
Reviewer: Lainey
Everyone reads this book
September 12, 2010
I leave this book in the guest room or on the coffee table and everyone picks it up and reads it and then studies the blocks. Sometimes they even ask me if some block on my design wall has a meaning.
The train quilt is adorable and world work for almost amy male in the family, especially if the quilt came with the book.
Reviewer: Gasweetie
History and quilts
July 12, 2010
I am very pleased with Hobo Quilts. I am a quilter and the daughter of a mother who grew up in North Dakota across from the Great Northern tracks. She spoke of hobo signs on their fence, but I had never seen a sign. Now, I intend to ask her whether she remembers any of the signs on their fence. I would like to think that "nice woman" may have been one, based on my grandmother's willingness to give garden produce to hobos.
Reviewer: Sherry W
WONDERFUL HISTORY
June 12, 2010
As a young girl I remember playing in what was called hobo jungle. It was hidden away from the world fenced in next to the rails with a creek running through it. The individual accounts are priceless. I bought it for my boys who are always making up their own signs and language.
Reviewer: Heather M
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