Quilt No.458RCH - Red Cliffs Historical Society

Red Cliffs Historical Society
Owner: 
Red Cliffs Historical Society
Location: 
VIC Northern
Maker
Maker: 
Florence Beaton
Made in
AUSTRALIA VIC
Date: 
1941 - 1970
Description: 
Hexagonal log cabin quilt. Hexagons constructed of strips with half hexagon dark and half light. These hexagons are then joined to form diagonal light and dark stripes. Machine and hand sewn. Materials are wools, printed cottons, velvets, corduroys, rayons, flannelettes, brocades, pique and taffetas. The backing is a single piece of brocatelle (rayon brocade). There is probably a thin layer of padding.
1400 x 1200mm
History: 

The quilt was made by Florence Beaton of Sunshine Farm in the 1950s or 1960s. It is now owned by the Red Cliffs Historical Society at Red Cliffs, Victoria. The society also has a fine collection of Florence and Clara's needlework.

Story: 

Florence (Flo) Beaton (born McNabb) 1920-1996 was the daughter of Clara and Frank McNabb who selected block 46 at Carwarp in the harsh mallee country of north western Victoria in 1913. They called it "Sunshine Farm". Florence was one of 4 childrten (3 boys). She recalled* that her Mother Clara once won a nail driving competition, was an expert with a shotgun, worked on the farm driving a team of horses, had a wonderful garden and was a fine needlewoman as was her mother Ellen before her. Flo carried on the needlework tradition of her mother and grandmother and was accomplished in many types of needlework including making quilts. Flo did not have any children.
[*Ref: "A Woman's Work" By Florence Beaton. The story of a Mallee farmer's wife from 1913. Published by The Sunnyland Press, Red Cliffs 1985.]

Related Quilts:

Dorothy Taylor
Patchwork quilt made of hexagons in printed cottons, colours predominantly red, blue pink, brown and yellow. Handsewn. Attached to a white cotton backing. Cotton padding.
1829 x 1829mm
Annette Gero
Quilt made from furnishing materials some with mettalic flecks. It is machine sewn.
160 x 135mm
Greg Davies
Patchwork quilt, log cabin with central patch plus 2 logs. Many different materials from 1950s and 1960s. Machine pieced. The padding is a woollen blanket and the backing is a flannelette sheet. The quilt is tied with yellow cotton at each corner.
2170 x 1880mm
Rozanne Andrew
Patchwork crazy quilt of late 40s and early 50s. Pieces are from curtains, tablecloth,other kitchen type fabrics in cotton, seersucker and linen. Colours are mainly reds, greens, blues, and pastels, in prints and plain. Herringbone stitch is worked around the edge of each patch. No filling. The backing is calico with one edge in a piece of coloured cotton from the front; the calico was a little small for the top.
2020 x 1400mm
N.S.W. Parks and Wildlife Service
Crazy patchwork on to foundation material with the edges of the pieces turned under and machined. It is not quilted. A 25mm red binding has been machined on. There is no padding. The backing is red wholecloth cotton.
1940 x 1540mm
Powerhouse Museum
Reversible cot quilt, hand pieced, in the log cabin pattern; the blocks measure 150mm square. The patches have been cut from plain and patterned dress, pyjama and men's shirt fabrics. Strong diagonals were created in the overall design through using light and dark colours, often a strong red, to divide the log cabin blocks in half diagonally. The back is made from rectangles of striped men's shirt fabrics in pastel blues, pinks and browns with a large 'flowe' in each corner, each pieced from six hexagon patches around a central seventh hexagon. There is no padding.
[PHM] 1720 x 1150mm