New Jersey earned its nickname “The Crossroads of the Revolution” because it sat right between the British stronghold in New York City and the colonial capital in Philadelphia. That geography meant nearly 300 battles and skirmishes were fought on New Jersey soil—more than any other state.
The winter of 1776-77 changed everything. Remember learning about Washington crossing the Delaware? That happened on Christmas night 1776, and Washington’s troops landed in New Jersey. The surprise attack on Trenton and the follow-up victory at Princeton completely turned the tide of the war.
New Jersey’s colonial history goes back even further. The area was originally settled by the Dutch and Swedes in the early 1600s, then came under English control. It was actually divided into East Jersey and West Jersey for a while and didn’t reunite as one royal colony until 1702.
Now New Jersey is known for it’s farmland, beaches, casinos and getting the other view of the Statue of Liberty.
Quilt Block
New Jersey is known as the Crossroads of the Revolutionary War, so I wanted to commemorate that in the shape of the block. I created this X shaped block with just two strips of fabric and some careful placement. It’s quick and easier than you might expect!
For the New Jersey block, I chose to use a red strip and a blue strip to represent the two sides, but you can make both strips from the same fabric or even switch it around to make the background a color and the strips white.
Quilt Shops
Pennington Quilt Works (Pennington, NJ) website
Urban Sewciety (Westfield, NJ) website
Hangin’ by a Thread (Lafayette, NJ) website
Old Spool Sewing (Brielle, NJ) website
Do you know of great quilt shops or must-see spots in New Jersey? Share it with me in the comments below!
Happy sewing!
I only received the first block in todays email. Did you send all 3?
Yes! There was an issue with the images hiding the download link. Give it a second try. 🙂
Washington’s Crossing in New Jersey is a great park to visit. When I was young, the fire department would water the hill down after a snow to make it slick and the sledding was the best.
I printed out all three, can’t wait to sew this weekend.