Patchwork Quilts

Charlotte Nattey
Quilt in cottons and linens with the centre frame featuring an eight pointed star surrounded by borders of pieced diamonds, squares, stars and long sashing pieces. The entire quilt has been overstitched in a chevron running stitch 15mm apart. If there is padding it has flattened completely. The backing is heavy twill weave linen.
2020 x 1830mm
Diane Kern Hamilton
Grandmother's Flower Garden pattern constructed from hexagons with sides approx 2cms. Repeats of three concentric circles of hexagons outside a centre yellow hexagon. Each of the first two circles is made from the same fabric and the outer circle is always pale yellow. The 'pathway' is solid green. It is quilted in concentric circles 5mm in on all hexagons. There is a fine padding and the backing is yellow polished cotton. It is known as Great Aunt Elva's quilt.
2480 x 1980mm.
Travelling rug. Wool, cotton and velvet. Handsewn, partly filled with wool blanket and hessian. The top of this rug was originally a green crushed velvet overcoat. Various parts of the garment have been unstitched and spread out to form a flat surface.
2100 x 1050mm
Crazy patchwork quilt in silks and velvets. Some patches with embroidered flowers, including wattle, worked in chenille thread. Machine quilting. There is a border of velvet. The backing is silk and has an envelope opening edged with silk cord. There is no padding. There is a matching nightgown sachet.
Norma Gilchrist
Cotton quilt with overall pattern of hexagons joined to make 'flowers'. Brown paper templates were used. All hexagons are hand stitched including on to the blue border which was then machined on to the same blue headcloth backing. The materials used were mainly scraps, including some from an aunt of the present owner, and are in a wide variety of patterns and colours. There is no quilting.
2110 x 1700mm
Helen Sparkman
Suffolk Puff quilt in a wide variety of cotton materials patterned and plain. There is no backing.
11900 x 1350mm
Canadian Log' design (log cabin?). It is a hand stitched quilt constructed from 6,240 pieces of silk, satin, velvet, cotton, brocade and corduroy. The type of padding is unknown and the backing is cotton with a floral design. 1920 x 1900 mm
"The quilt is made entirely from over 7300 hexagons cut from scrap materials, and is hand stitched throughout using the 'English' method of quilting. Scraps of plain unbleached calico were used for the background with the pattern pieces cut from plain and floral fabrics in shades of blue. The design is medallion style, with a large central diamond surrounded by two concentric diamond borders beyond which are scattered different sized hexagonal rosettes, all made from hexagon patches in the same size. The pattern patches were cut from the offcuts of dresses and dressing gowns made at a friend's factory and from another friend's dress material scraps." [PHM] There is no padding. The backing is 'Actil' unbleached sheeting dyed pale blue and attached with a blind stitch to the quilt top. A central rosette set within a large diamond of hexagons decorates the back and is stitched through to hold the 2 layers together.
2720 x 1880mm
Patchwork quilt made of hexagon patches in a variety of materials, including velvets, corduroy, cotton, underwearmaterial. No padding. The backing is made from scraps in squares and rectangles, including voile, cotton and probably old curtain material.
2134 x 1777mm
National Trust of Australia (SA)
Patchwork quilt of hexagons in silks and velvet, the velvet in plain colours, the silk in plains, stripes, checks and brocades. Centre is made from red brocade hexagons with black silk patches embroided with a variety of flowers and leaves. Stitched to a red velvet border, then top and bottom have Australian motif of crossed wattle branches embroidered in bobble stitch, and on the sides embroidered red flowers. The rest of the quilt is made of hexagons, the edge stitched to a brown silk border, then a border of triangles and a striped edging. Surface embroidery. Crepe backing. Some newspaper templates remain.
2260 x 1720mm
Patchwork quilt made from tailors' samples, constructed of 144 rectangles each approx. 100 x 160mm. Colours are greys, blues, browns, fawns, plains and patterned. At the top and bottom edges 16 same size rectangles have been folded in half. No filling. Backing is a cream and brown patterned flannelette.
1880 x 1260mm
This quilt is constructed from 40mm hexagons in different colours and patterns formed into rosettes. It is hand stitched and there is a deep border of green-blue material. The backing is white cotton.
1120 x ?mm
"A wagga quilt machine-pieced from old woollen suiting fabrics; some hand stitching is visible along a few of the joins. The quilt has 3 layers: the top layer has a rectangular centre composed of randomly-pieced woollen patches in grey tonings with a border composed of irregular navy rectangles; the lining is made from corn bags, and the backing is a striped cotton fabric. The three layers are machined together at the edges, thus holding the filling in place. There is no quilting."
1660 x 1610mm
Margaret-Anne M Thomas
Multi coloured square cotton pieces used to form a 'postage stamp' pattern. The squares are 25mm and the quilt is hand pieced and hand quilted. There is a thin edge of brown on all sides. There is no padding and the backing is joined pieces of floral cotton.
2330 x 2130mm
Machine sewn quilt made from 125mm squares of scraps left over from dressmaking joined in strips and then the strips joined. There is a border of fawn cotton and the backing is the same material. The padding is an old blanket and the border is padded with sheep's wool.
1400 x 925mm
Quilt of brown woollen patchwork on both sides.
1770 x 1750mm
Double bed sized quilt with a top of random shapes in a random design, bordered with plain brown cotton. The padding is two quilts.
2100 x 180omm (approx)
Pauline Rogers
Machine constructed patchwork quilt of mainly cotton materials in squares. There is feather stitching as decoration along the seams. There is no padding and the backing is a wholecloth of gold damask like material.
2515 x 2312mm
"This unusual quilt is comprised of bands of horticultural show ribbons machined onto a blue lining. The ribbons are royal blue in colour and printed in gold/bronze with two inscriptions.
KYOGLE P.A & H SOCIETY and TWEED RIVER AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY
The quilt has been formed so the two inscriptions alternate down the face of the quilt. The ribbons appear to be of rayon. White cotton machine thread was used in the construction. Accompanying the quilt is a carry bag; a rectangular bag made of the same show ribbons as the quilt with a single drawstring at the top." [NGA] The quilt is not padded. 1833 x 1410mm
Pieced quilt, the top made of fine wool fabric sewn using a treadle sewing machine, to form a distinctive Amish geometric pattern, 'Diamond in a Square'. A large red diamond is in a large blue square, contained by a narrow red border with small blue corner blocks, finished with a binding of deep red. The open areas are intricately hand quilted with patterns of feathers, flowers and leaves. Filling of wool, backing of plain blue cotton.
1770 x 1770mm

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