When I was little, my father bought me one of those Jacob's Ladder toys. You know the ones, with the wooden blocks that seem to fall down the side. I loved that toy and played with it for hours. That simple little toy was like magic to me. It took me the longest time to figure out how it worked and even then, it was still magic. I even took my crayons and colored each side of the blocks different colors so that the colors would also change as the blocks fell.

What does all this have to do with the ATC I made? Well, the block is called Jacob's Ladder. The block was named after the Biblical tale in which Jacob dreams of the angels climbing up and down a ladder (or stairs) that reached from Earth to Heaven. See, I did pay attention in Sunday School when I was a child. To some quilters this block is also known as "Road to California". i haven't been able to find much detail on the history of this block other than it is reputed to be a Underground Railroad block. It is said that the layout of the colors on the block showed the way to freedon.

If anyone knows any history on this block, please feel free to share it with me.