Quilt No.392CC - Cressida Mary Webb Challis

Owner: 
Cressida Mary Webb Challis
Location: 
NSW Sydney
Maker
Maker: 
Isabel and Jean Portus
Made in
AUSTRALIA NSW
Patterms
Patchwork, Mosaic, Hexagon
Date: 
1941 - 1970
Description: 
Pieced hand sewn quilt of hexagons. All cotton. 4 Hexagons make up a diamond. Materials are scraps from family clothing. The background is caramel poplin and the backing is cream sheeting. The quilt is signed on the back (in satin stitch) "Isabel C.D.Portus 1974" and "Jean C.D.Portus 1976".
2580 x 1950mm
History: 

Made by Isabel and Jean Portus, twin sisters, in Sydney. Commenced in the 1960s and completed in the 1970s. It was made for the single bed in the guest room of their home. After the death of Isabel in 1974 the quilt was finished by Jean and at a later date was passed to Cressida Challis, a family member. It is still used, sometimes, in the spare bedroom of Cressida's home.

Story: 

Isabel and Jean, who made the quilt, were twin sisters. They never married. The quilt which had been commenced in the 1960s was almost complete when Isabel died in 1974. Jean then completed it in 1976. Isabel, Jean and another sister Barbara all used brass templates to make their hexagon papers. The templates were made by Barbara's husband Serge who was a fitter and turner. The papers were often cut from shareholders' annual reports and were reused a couple of times.
The sisters made many patchwork articles, made their own clothes, crocheted and knitted socks during the war.

Related Quilts:

Red Cliffs Historical Society
Quilt No.453RCH - Red Cliffs Historical Society
Crazy patchwork quilt pieced from velvets, satins, braids, taffetas, cottons with some decorative stitching. A ruffle and the backing are in ruby red satin. There is a dacron type padding.
1620 x 1200mm
Patchwork, Pieced Random, Crazy
Annette Gero
Quilt No.841AG - Annette Gero
Hand pieced frame quilt with centre frame of hexagons and radiating borders of cotton and chintz. There is a heart at each of the 4 corners on the second border. It is hand quilted. There is no padding.
1900 x 1900mm
Patchwork, Frame
Margery Creek
Quilt No.414MC - Margery Creek
Cotton quilt made in the USA. Pattern is the 'Evening Star' and each star has a frame. It is hand pieced and hand quilted and uses shirting material. It has been modified along two sides where the block extension is visible, having been turned to make a hem. The backing is calico and the padding is cotton.
1829 x 1575mm
Patchwork, Pieced Repeat Block
Roslyn Beattie
Quilt No.371RB - Roslyn Beattie
Patchwork quilt made from different sized rectangles, in new materials, including cotton, lightweight velvet, lining silk, crepe, seersucker, and satin. All fabrics are of even weight. Colours are mainly light, with pinks, greens and blues predominating. No padding or backing. Quilt was not finished.
2050 x 1250mm
Patchwork, Mosaic, Rectangle
Win Adcock
Quilt No.904WA - Win Adcock
The quilt on longer exists, just the label, but the quilt was squares of flannelette shirt material, velvets and woollen pieces. The backing was calico. The label was sewn to the backing and it reads: 'Red Cross Killarney Manitoba'. It is embroidered in red and is on a white piece of sheeting.
Patchwork, Mosaic, Square
Cressida Mary Webb Challis
Quilt No.391CC - Cressida Mary Webb Challis
Quilt of machine pieced squares and rectangles using a wide variety of materials in plain colours and patterns. It is one of a pair. There is no padding and the backing is 90cm strips of calico.
2500 x 2130mm
Patchwork, Pieced Random