Girl Scout Quilts

 

Happy Monday!

Were you a Girl Scout?

I was.  I started in Brownies and grew up in the organization even becoming a senior.  After I got married, I was even a G.S. leader for a short time until my husband and I moved out of state.

This Baxter/McDonnell motif made me wonder if there were Girl Scout quilt patterns.  There was no explanation with the design in the feature of the above design.

Although I didn't find quilt patterns, there were tons of Girl Scout quilts, mostly done for charity or service:

(1942)

**A 1939 quilt provided funds for children-sized tables and chairs for the story-telling part of the local library.

**A quilt with tulip flower designs was given to a Children's Home in Fort Worth in 1947.

Some quilts were entered into local fairs:

Above:  These Girl Scouts in Oklahoma won first place in their state fair in 1954.

Some troops made autograph quilts.  The 1945 one below included the autograph of Harry Truman.  The actress Mary Martin not only sent an autograph but embroidered the quilt block for the Girl Scouts in Connecticut.

In 1930, another autograph quilt included the autograph of President Hoover for a troop in Dexter, NY.  The quilt was auctioned off and the proceeds went to help the local GS district. 

The reason that the quilts may have aided as a fundraiser for  the Girl Scouts in 1930 was that the cookies were not yet being sold on a national level.  And then when World War 2 broke out, often the cookies could not be made/sold because of war rationing:

During the war, the scouts switched to selling GS calendars which continued after the war.

1951:

My mother said when she moved to Bethlehem, PA, she joined the girl scouts (around 1950) and the sold not only cookies but candy (malted milk balls).

***

Strange things or the lack thereof:

I've never seen a Sunbonnet Sue in a G.S. uniform.  Wouldn't it be fun to see a Girl Scout Sunbonnet fulfilling different badges?

Have you seen a Girl Scout quilt?

I was never taught to quilt in G.S.  I don't think we did any kind of sewing at all which seems odd.  We could have at least learned to sew our badges on our sash.  Do you have experience in the Girl Scouts that included quilting or sewing?

Some vintage sewing badges:

Have a safe and happy day!