Quilt No.44JP - Julie Pearce

Julie Pearce
Owner: 
Julie Pearce
Location: 
NSW South East
Maker
Maker: 
Elizabeth Louise Williams
Made in
AUSTRALIA NSW
Date: 
1941 - 1970
Description: 
Rectangular quilt of print and plain cottons pieced in squares and rectangles, the centre group of pieces surround a larger piece of pale blue fabric, within a frame or border, of bright pink material, then 3 rows of squares and rectangles. Backing of plain fabric. Machine stitched on a treadle machine.
History: 

Made by Elizabeth Louise Williams (nana), great-grandmother of Julie Pearce, in the 1960s, for Julie and her sister. Owned by Julie Pearce and used on her children's beds in Thirroul, NSW.

Story: 

"My paternal great-Grandmother � was a keen sewer in her time and over 30 years ago made my sister and myself a functional quilt for our beds. She made them on her treadle machine and used fabric scraps that my mother had left over from clothing that she herself had made for us. As a child I clearly remember lying on my bed reminiscing over favourite fabrics and special dresses and reliving memories of times and places the dresses were worn. The time spent on those quilts was well appreciated and is still admired as my children now learn the stories behind the quilts I treasured when I was much younger than they both are now. I am so thrilled they are wiling and happy to share these quilts which mean so much to me.
My Great-Grandmother, Elizabeth (Nana) Williams of Canterbury, Sydney throughout her many productive years, kept herself busy with her sewing. No doubt having eight boys, she had little need to sew pretty dresses so put her skills and time to an equally practical use. She regularly made quilts, at times using fabric supplied to her by The Smith Family, which upon completion she donated to the Aboriginal Missions. Some quilts were used by other family members � I can clearly remember several other quilts of hers that I have seen, one using black imitation fur strategically cut and placed to use the play of light as its feature, another, crazy patchwork squares adorned with feather stitch. �Nana Williams made perhaps hundreds of quilts in her time, which she mostly gave away. She lived a very frugal lifestyle herself and lived to be well into her eighties when she was still actively sewing."
"I estimate the quilts I have were made very early in the 60s although these particular 2 would have been nana's most recent."
[Julie Pearce 20.2.98]

Related Quilts:

Betty Johnson
Pieced wool quilt, machined. Rectangles and squares, from a wide variety of materials including tartans, checks, tweeds, herringbones, joined in strips and then the strips joined. The backing is scraps of woollen material with a seal motif aookiqued on. There is no padding.
1350 x 800mm
Cobram Shire Historical Society
Patchwork quilt in Log Cabin pattern, arranged in 'furrows', and made from cottons, wool and suiting fabrics. Centres of blocks are pastel or dark; dark colours are black, brown, purple blue and red. Pastel side of blocks includes a bright pink. Quilt backing is pieced, with a centre rectangle of cotton surrounded by 5 borders of plain and alternate rectangular pieced strips, in wool and suiting fabrics. Colours are black, dark blue, brown, green, grey and pastels. Inner lining is of cotton pieces, to which the Log Cabin blocks have been machined.
1620 x 1360mm
Tongarra Bicentennial Museum
Patchwork cot quilt top made from cotton hexagon patches, featuring a centre rosette with 7 rows of patches around it forming an elongated shape, with rosettes and patches randomly placed on the sides. Quilt has a border of triangles pieced to form squares. Cotton prints with over 50 different patterns. Colours are faded, with red and brown (may be faded green) and mostly pastels. Hand sewn using whip stitch. No padding or backing.
990 x 825mm
Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery
Frame quilt, hand and machine sewn, centre square of squares (7 rows by 7 rows) of 2 triangles, with red border. Alternate rows of triangles, rectangles, 'flying geese' border, squares, squares set on point with triangles, wide red border. Hand quilted throughout in chevrons, single cables and single scallops. The padding is a hand woven cream wool blanket and the backing is cream cotton twill.
2330 x 2030mm
Kaniva District Historical Society
Patchwork quilt of hexagons in 'Grandmother's Flower Garden' pattern, consisting of a dark centre hexagon, a row of light patches, then a second row of dark patches in the same colour as the centre. Each group of patches or 'flower' is joined by white paths. Colours are predominantly red, blue, brown and pale or faded colours. Some fading; some dark colour fabrics have deteriorated. Backing. Hand sewn. Border of quilt and backing sewn edge to edge.
2236 x 1829mm
Jillian Towers
Hand pieced patchwork quilt with blue and black checkerboard central frame surrounded by 4 borders of irregular sized rectangles. Mainly dress materials with possibly some furnishing material. It is not quilted or tied. The backing is a large rectangular red check table cloth with 3 borders of irregular shaped pieces down 2 sides and 1 border down 2 sides. There is no padding.
1860 x 1730mm