Thirty-six Ladders

In Genesis 28 Jacob dreamed of a stairway between heaven and earth with angels traveling up and down. That scripture is the source for the most common name of this quilt block: Jacob’s Ladder. Like most traditional blocks, it has many other names, including  Underground Railroad, Road to California, Off to San Francisco, Gone to Chicago, Stepping Stones and Trail of the Covered Wagon. The thing they seem to have in common is the idea of travel; no doubt because of the path of two-patches running diagonally through the block. If you look closely at my photo, you’ll see I haven’t used 36 identical blocks. Eighteen have cream-colored “steps” between darker triangles leading southeast. The other eighteen have dark steps between light triangles heading northeast. I love the way this top is turning out, though it hasn’t accomplished its primary goal of using up leftover scraps. Like Hydra’s heads, somehow the more I cut the more there are.