Quilts

The padding is heavy chaff bags hand sewn to fit a 3/4 or single bed. The top is fawn cotton with a 100mm border of brown twill cotton. The backing is brown twill cotton the same as the border on the top.
2100 x 1400mm (approx)

Kangaroo skin cloak of seven gores is made from the skins of eight grey kangaroos (Macropus fuliginosus). The skins vary in size and shape, the inner five are roughly triangular. The extra skin has been used to make a collar.The two skins on the edge of the cloak are roughly rectangular. The cloak edges are untrimmed. The skins are sewn together by means of a small hem which was turned back on to the fur, so stitches went through two layers of skin on each gore. The skins have been sewn together with thread, the older thread is natural coloured linen, then the resewn areas have been stitched with black thread. The skins are a creamy yellow in colour. Longest part: 750mm approx. [From S. Meagher MA Thesis 1973 'A Reconstruction of the Traditional Life of the Aborigines in the SW of Western Australia']

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

"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 cot quilt, the top made from patterned and plain hexagons (110mm diam.) mainly in cottons, approx. 99 hexagons in total. Handsewn and stitched to a centre piece of material. Back is made of irregular pieces of cotton fabric, checks, florals, in squares or rectangles. Total of 3 layers in the quilt.
1310 x 1000mm

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

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)

Patchwork Quilt, silk patchwork on one side with dark ground, constructed of five pieces joined to form a floral motif. The reverse is quilted pink silk. The padding is cotton.
2700 x 2400mm

Patchwork quilt in the Tumbling Blocks pattern, made of silk fabrics in brocades, stripes, checks and plains, including some woven ribbons. Colours are mixed, each alternate row of diamonds being black. Backing is of fawn coloured cotton twill. Handsewn and hand quilted in an all over square grid. Half sized blocks form the binding edge. Padding not known.
2000 x 1940mm