Modern Day Soldiers' Aid Society

Snowball or Flagstones by the Country School Quilters

The Country School Quilters in Montpelier, Virginia, have been making quilts for veterans from my Union Blues reproduction prints.

This is NOT them but they are following in the tradition.

This photo from the Chicago History Museum

is of the Springfield Ladies' Aid Society in 1863.

 The Country School Quilters have staged a few Sew-a-thons to make small quilts in simple patterns.

The pattern is BlockBase #1001

It's two different blocks alternated - a nine patch and a square with the corners cut off.

Here's the January 2016 block

A double four patch they call Country Crosses

http://countryschoolquilters.blogspot.com/2016/01/january-block.html

Country Lanes is BlockBase #1829

Same block

See more pictures at their blog:

http://countryschoolquilters.blogspot.com/2016/01/country-lanes.html

Nine Patch with a Four Patch set.

I think they planned borders for all of these but ran out of time.

See more about the Country School Quilters at this post:
http://countryschoolquilters.blogspot.com/2015/11/quilts-for-veterans.html

Betsy pieced the HourGlass to raise funds for batting and backings.

I'm pleased to see my left-over fabrics go to such a good use.

If you had a female ancestor living in Sangamon County, Illinois in 1863 she might have belonged to the Springfield Ladies Aid Society (auxiliary to the Sangamon County Illinois Ladies' Soldiers' Aid Society). See a history and a list of the members here in the 1914 issue of the Publications of the Illinois State Historical Library (Volume 17) at Google Books.

https://books.google.com/books?id=Ij9HAQAAMAAJ