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New blocks coming soon! New blocks are dropped weekly until September 18, so stay tuned for more blocks! You can use the table of contents or simply scroll to explore each pattern. If you're joining the Fabric of Appalachia Quilt-Along for the first time, we're glad you're here! You’ll find the introduction and all the starting materials on this page. Looking for blocks 1-6? Visit this page. The Road to Tennessee: Block 7Welcome to Fabric of Appalachia, where American history is stitched together one quilt block at a time. This week’s block is Road to Tennessee. 
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NPS If you’ve hiked a trail or driven a road in the Smokies, you know the best routes twist and turn, but the view is worth the effort. The Road to Tennessee block reminds us that sometimes the destination makes even a difficult journey worthwhile. The journey to women’s suffrage began in 1848 with the first Women’s Rights Convention in Seneca Falls, NY and ended 72 years later in Nashville, TN, when the Tennessee legislature voted to ratify the 19th Amendment. The decision came down to a single vote in the House—cast by Harry T. Burn, whose red lapel rose indicated that he was an “anti,” but whose pocket held a note from his mother urging him to support the “suffs”. When his name was called, Burn voted to ratify, making Tennessee the 36th and final state needed to add the 19th Amendment to the Constitution and secure women's right to vote. Burn’s “aye” mattered only because it was uncertain—it counted no more and no less than any other vote cast that day. East Tennessee was solidly pro-women’s suffrage, with Representatives WB Dunlap (Blount County), AJ Hickman (Sevier County), and Joe E Wade, Joe Harris, and WK Anderson (Knox County) all voting in favor. They could not have known how their actions would one day help shape the Smokies. One of those impacts came through Anne Davis. After she and her husband, Willis—manager of the Knoxville Iron Co—travelled to Yellowstone National Park in 1923. Anne mused that while the western park was beautiful, the Smoky Mountains were no less majestic. She questioned why the West should have parks while the east had few. The Davises helped found the Great Smoky Mountain Conservation Association and used their connections to lobby for the creation of the park. When the effort stalled in 1924, when the Tennessee Legislature failed to approve land purchases. Anne stepped forward. Using the political efficacy newly afforded to women, she ran for a seat in the Tennessee House of Representatives. Once seated, she introduced and advocated for a bill to purchase land for Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Her goal accomplished by the end of her first term, Anne stepped back from politics and turned her attention to shepherding the park's development. If you’d like to know more about Women’s history in the United States, consider visiting these National Park Service units: Women’s Rights National Historical Park, Belmont-Paul Women’s Equality National Monument, Rosie Riveter WWII Homefront National Historical Park, First Ladies National Historic Site or explore the National Park Service’s Women's History subject site. 
NPS The Road to Tennessee InstructionsDesign NotesWe made our block scrappy and arranged the individual units to form a grid, but the look can change depending on how you turn the units. You can make “X”s and “O”s, rows of zig-zags, concentric circles, and even a small x in a larger x. And you can change the look by reversing the colors on half of the pieces. Play a bit with arrangement possibilities before you stitch your block together. Cutting and MarkingUsing your preferred cutting method:
Mark each of the 2” squares with a diagonal line from corner to corner If you aren’t sure how to cut and mark pieces, you can rewatch the video about cutting and marking squares see this video. Assembly/PiecingRemember, our directions are for hand-piecing. You can also assemble your quilt by machine if you prefer. These directions will show you how to make one of the individual square units within the larger block. We are using a different stitching technique, if you’d like instructions, see this video. Step-by-stepStep 1: Place one of the marked 2” squares right side together with one of the 3.5” squares, orienting it so the diagonal stitching line cuts across the corner and lining up two sides of the square. Step 2: Stitch across the diagonal line you marked on the smaller square, then trim away the excess leaving ¼” of fabric beyond your stitching line. Hold off on pressing until you’ve determined your layout in Step 6. Step 3: Repeat with a second 2” square on the opposite corner, placing fabrics right sides together and lining up two sides of the corner. 
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NPS Step 4: Again, stitch across the diagonal line marked on the smaller square, trim away the excess leaving ¼” seam allowance. Hold off on pressing until you’ve determined your layout in Step 6. Step 5: Repeat this sequence until you have 16 completed square units. Step 6: Lay out the square units in four rows of four squares. Play with the arrangement until you are happy with the design they create and the distribution of color in your block. Once you’ve determined your layout, you can press your square units. The best way to press your units will depend on the layout that you choose. Look at the intersections where four pieces will come together, you want to make sure the seam allowances of adjacent units go opposite directions at this point. If you choose a layout where all the units angle the same direction, it will work to press all the seam allowances in towards the center color of each unit. If you are placing the units so they form a V or an inverted V, you will want one unit to be pressed with the seam allowances towards the center color and the adjacent unit to be pressed with the seam allowance towards the corner triangles. That sounds complicated but just take it one step at a time… start in one corner, press that unit, then look at the one next to it in the row and think about which way it should go in order to avoid overlapping seam allowances, press accordingly, then move on to the next adjacent unit. Once your units are pressed, mark a 3” square inside each unit; this will be your stitching line. Assemble like you did the Nine Patch block, stitching the squares into rows, then stitching the rows to one another. 
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Last updated: August 20, 2026