Quilt No.320BVS - Brisbane Valley Historical Society

1880 x 1067mm
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.
"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.]

Related Quilts:
The coverlet is decorated with rows of pieced work surrounding appliquéd and embroidered scenes. A panel down the LHS of the quilt and a smaller panel lower RHS depict animals and floral images. In the centre RHS an elderly couple sit beneath a tree. In the upper left a bride and groom accompanied by three flower girls are showered with petals from a wicker basket carried by a very large angel. Glass beads, sequins and a button have been used to highlight the appliqué and embroidery.
As with all of Mary Jane Hannaford's quilts, the work is stitched by hand and quite crudely, but the naivety of the images is overwhelming with their charm." [NGA] The quilt is not padded or lined. 1950 x 1690mm
815 x 570mm
2113 x 1995mm