Quilt No.320BVS - Brisbane Valley Historical Society

Brisbane Valley Historical Society
Owner: 
Brisbane Valley Historical Society
Location: 
QLD South West
Maker
Maker: 
Anna Bishop
Made in
AUSTRALIA QLD
Patterms
Wholecloth, Re-used clothing or blanket, Utilitarian, Typically Australian
Date: 
1901 - 1920
Description: 
Quilt is made from layers of complete clothing covered with calico and stitched through all layers by machine. Clothing used includes a full skirt, a shirt, and a nightgown. All fabrics are cream. Cover has been replaced by others as the calico wore. White ants have eaten part of the quilt, exposing some of the clothing used as padding.
1880 x 1067mm
History: 

Made by Mrs Anna Bishop, of 'Swansdown', Linville Qld, c.1910. Previously owned by her son, Eric Bishop, who gave it to Hetty Van Boven in 1986. Owned by the Brisbane Valley Historical Society, at Caboonbah Homestead, Toogoolawah Qld.

Story: 

"The wagga was constructed by layering whole garments in a rectangle, covering with unbleached calico and machine stitching through all layers.
Son Eric recalls: 'After the girls left home, I had to help pull the wagga through the sewing machine. Too fast and Mum's needle would break, too slow and the wagga wouldn't go through the machine. Either way, I was in trouble.'
Now the white ants got to the edges, several garments can be identified: a lace trimmed, flanelette nightie, a wide skirt trimmed with braid and a fine cotton shirt with black and white trim. As the calico wore, another layer was simply added."
[Note from museum.]

Anna Bishop, maker
Anna Bishop, maker

Related Quilts:

Yvonne Hamdorf
Quilt No.1016YH - Yvonne Hamdorf
Wholecloth pram quilt with a top of pink cotton sateen, and the reverse is a more finely woven, ivory, fabric. All over quilting design as main feature, with stylised hearts, leaves and cross hatching. The padding is cotton batting. 870 x 660 mm.
Wholecloth, Quilting as major design element
John Tomkin
Quilt No.1005JT - John Tomkin
Hand stitched, cotton, appliquéd, quilt in a flower pattern on a plain background. Colours are shades of green, apricot and browns. This quilt was known as a 'Bride's Quilt'. Padding is thought to be layers of white fabric raised almost like a wadding. The backing is cotton material. 2470 x 2020 mm.
Wholecloth, Embroidered and/or Appliqued
Val Ireland
Quilt No.418VI - Val Ireland
Utilitarian quilt. The top and backing are machine pieced scraps of curtain material and clothing pieces. The centre is an old blanket and possibly clothing pieces.
2033 x 1525mm
Patchwork, Pieced Random, Typically Australian, Re-used clothing or blanket
Julie Atkinson
Quilt No.669JA - Julie Atkinson
Reversible wholecloth cotton quilt with elaborate hand quilting. One side is cream patterned material and the other plain pale yellow. It is padded but the type of padding is unknown.
2450 x 2000mm
Wholecloth, Quilting as major design element
Maria Alexakis
Quilt No.1010MA - Maria Alexakis
Wholecloth quilt. Quilting pattern is a large 'feathered thistle' with thick stem, as the main design feature. The border is a combination of straight and curved parallel lines. Burgundy sateen with damask weave. All quilting is handstitched. Padding is cotton wadding and backing is tomato red cotton. 2150 x 1820 mm.
Wholecloth, Quilting as major design element
Ida Blenkiron
Quilt No.269IB - Ida Blenkiron
Rectangular quilt with front and back made of rectangles of cotton samples of shirt materials, in checks, stripes and plains. Colours are soft muted reds, greens, blues, yellows and browns, and pastels. Construction is 3 to 4 rows of rectangles joined across the quilt. Padding is probably an old blanket. There is a row of hand quilting approximately the width of one patch in from the edge, holding the layers together.
1870 x 950mm
Patchwork, Mosaic, Rectangle, Typically Australian, Tailors' samples