Quilt No.226NTA - National Trust of Australia (SA)

Description:
Patchwork quilt made from silks in hexagon shapes with dark silk triangles in between the hexagons. The centre of the quilt has a star design with an embroidered hexagon with six star points, with diamonds and hexagons, surrounded by a border of dark coloured diamonds on a cream ground. The quilt is edged with deep single scallops in alternate dark blue and white each with an appliqued six point star with a hexagon centre.
History:
Probably made by members of the Chester family, in the second half of the 19th century. The quilt was commenced at Balmoral, Scotland, but it is not known where it was finished. Previously owned by the Chester family, now owned by the National Trust of Australia (South Australia), at Millicent.
Story:
"The quilt has the unusual feature of having been used to record the initials and dates of members of the Chester family, ie 'W.C. Died Jan 15 1838' and 'A.J.C. Born July 24 1862'.
Legend has it that the central patch, which is a deep pink shade, and shows the Prince of Wales feathers motif, came from material used in Queen Victoria's trousseau."
[Irene Bishop, Millicent National Trust Museum]
Related Quilts:
150 x 210mm pieces of bound suiting samples overlapped and machined together then herringboned with gold/yellow thread. Each piece has an embroidered motif, using single thread, mainly non Australian birds and animals. '1903' is embroidered on a centre piece. It is hand quilted. The backing is a black floral print. There is no padding.
1800 x 1940mm
1800 x 1940mm
Cotton scrap quilt with shapes of squares and diamonds and strips. There is no padding and the backing is calico.
2125 x 1440mm
2125 x 1440mm
Double sided quilt machine made from clothing scraps. Shapes are mainly rectangles in corduroy and wool blend. The padding is an old grey blanket.
1524 x 1372mm
1524 x 1372mm
" This is an unfinished section/piece of crazy quilting. Ribbons divide the piece horizontally into three sections; between these are bands of pastel fabrics and embroidery in the crazy quilt tradition. The fabrics and threads employed are very luxurious: laces, satin ribbons and silk velvets. The embroidery is very fine, employing a wide variety of stitches and threads. This patchwork piece is padded with cotton wadding and backed with tarlatan." [NGA] 1170 x 1020mm
Cotton Hexagon quilt with a wide variety of patterned and plain materials. Blue binding and a cotton backing. The padding is thought to be cotton wool.
1525 x 1220mm
1525 x 1220mm
Double sided quilt. One side is frame with borders of wool rectangles mainly offcuts of men's suiting from tailors' shops. The other side is mainly flannelette in stripes and patterns similar to pyjama material. The padding is pieced patches of worn jumpers that were too matted to be unpicked. Machine construction.
1700 x 1490mm
1700 x 1490mm