Quilts

Mary-O Roberts
This domestic Wagga is made from an opened out jute wool bale as the padding with a woollen blanket as the backing. The top was originally curtains (brown cotton printed with daisies and dull yellow tulips) and the material has been folded over to the back for 60mm and stitched with 'Barbour's Linen Wax Thread' using running stitches about 50mm long. The whole domestic Wagga is then stitched in a large square grid.
1980 x 1730mm
Utilitarian quilt with the top made from machine pieced different shaped patches of floral cottons. The backing is machine pieced patches of navy blue and grey serge, some darned, probably from men's/boy's pants. The padding is not visible but is very lumpy and very thick making the quilt very heavy.
1460 x 1300mm
Quilt, in 2 parts, made from samples of different coloured velvets. It has 2 layers and is machine made. It became too heavy to sew on a domestic sewing machine so was constructed in two separate pieces. There is no padding.
2370 x 1550mm and 2230 x 800mm
Embroiderers' Guild Victoria
Quilt in patchwork and applique. Patchwork is in an all over pattern based mainly on triangles in floral and plain cottons. The centre and the inner border are appliqued. It is not quilted. There is no padding and the backing is calico. It is believed to be an 1840 - 1860 design.
2800 x 1500mm
Embroiderers' Guild Victoria
Fine linen wholecloth quilt with all over cord quilting using back stitch and running stitch. The quilting is an elaborate pattern of flowers and leaves. It is a cradle or cot quilt. There is a cotton backing.
1030 x 840mm
A Durham quilt. All white mercerised cotton. The quilting is a floral design in each corner, a large floral design in the centre, edging all around of scallops and filled in with small squares on the diagonal. It is padded.
2000 x 2400mm
Migration Museum
Patchwork quilt in the Double Irish Chain pattern, made from cotton fabrics in white and a brown print (possibly green originally), with a wide border of cream fabric. The border is quilted with a four cable pattern, and the main part is cross hatch quilted , in a diamond pattern. Backing of cotton. Hand sewn and quilted. Padding unknown.
1970 x 1740mm
Patchwork quilt of hand sewn hexagons in a variety of print and plain cotton fabrics from 1950-1960. Colours are mainly pinks, blues, greens and yellow, with some red, and white. Quilt has a wide border of yellow poplin, which also forms the backing. No padding.
2280 x 1520mm
Cotton quilt of rectangles (150 x 100mm) of patterned materials in various colours and textures. Many patterns in different colourways as quilt was made from a bag of material samples. The plain off white backing has been machined to the top of the quilt and turned through then a row of zig zag sewed to the top edge. There is no padding.
2440 x 2120mm
Cot quilt. Single piece of floral cotton material top and back (cream background with coloured flowers). The padding is a single layer, twill weave, heavy bag, probably jute. The layers are fixed with a different coloured button in each corner. Machine quilting across the centre
1320 x 1140mm
Traditional Aboriginal fur cloak called a 'Buka' or 'Boka', made with three pieces of pelt. Fastened at the front with a piece of fur inserted into the other side. 1500 from back of neck to hem 1600 measuring around to just below the shoulders
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 cotton fabric, mainly in greens.
2100 x 1400mm
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']
The Adelaide Chronicle 'International Quilt'. Squares of fawn cotton with alternate squares embroidered with scenes from different countries using coloured threads in a variety of stitches. The alternate squares have a pattern of feathered circle and this is back stitched in beige embroidery thread. The backing is turquoise cotton blend attached to the quilt with pale blue herringbone stitch. The quilt is padded.
2430 x 1440mm
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
Quilt of [cotton], with geometric pattern of squares and triangles in primary colours. Tassels attached.
2320 x 1490mm
Quilt made from patchworked curtain materials, machine stitched and patched at a later date by hand.
1700 x 1600mm
Frame quilt in linen has a centre motif in broderie perse applique of a blue urn topped with a blue basket of flowers, and perched on the basket handle a parrot. This is in a blue oval, with butterflies, a ribbon at the top and several posies of roses. Either side is a panel of broderie perse flowers. There is a narrow frame of patterned fabric, then a border of triangles pieced to make squares, with octagonal printed patches at each corner. The outer border is of appliqued circles of printed fabric on a dark background. Hand sewn.
1770 x 1730mm
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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

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