Quilt No.189BHS - Benalla & District Historical Society

Benalla & District Historical Society
Owner: 
Benalla & District Historical Society
Location: 
VIC North East
Maker
Maker: 
Mary Jane Block
Made in
AUSTRALIA VIC
Date: 
1851 - 1880
Description: 
Patchwork quilt, handsewn, with centre section made from hexagons, in red solid and prints, and green, blue and black prints and checks. The centre hexagonal section has sides measuring 420mm. The rest of the quilt is of cream cotton with stars,hearts and other motifs appliqued, and finished with a wide border with 3 narrow red stripes. At a later date it was backed with white damask and machined in 25mm squares, the edges also sewn by machine. No padding.
2500 x 1780mm
History: 

Made by Mary Jane Block in 1871. Later owned by Mrs M.E. Hickson, Strathmore (VIC), Mary Jane's grand-daughter. Now owned by the Benalla & District Historical Society.

Story: 

Letter from Benalla & District Historical Society:
"I have some information for you on Mary Jane Block. She married John Kelly of Violet Town in 1872 where they ran a store and later the Kelly pub.
The donor of the English patchwork quilt, Mrs ME Hickson of Strathmore, their grand daughter was the child of their daughter Daisy. Mrs Hickson passed the quilt to Benalla as she had no children and desired to return it to the district it originated from.
No it does not appear to be dated or signed.
Method of Construction:
The large central hexagon motif which has 42cm sides, is composed of tiny coloured hexagons with 1/4cm sides. This hexagon is bordered and cornered with stars, hearts and other appliqued motifs onto a 81cm square of cream cotton. We believe this section was constructed by Mary Jane Block in 1871.
At a later date, this was machined onto a large rectangle of white damask. It was backed with white damask, the long sides being sewn, then it was turned right sides out.
The whole was machined each way (horizontally & vertically) in crude 2 1/4cm 'squares'. The two short ends are neatened with a 4cm machined hem.
At each end, 16cm from the central cream square, three shapes have been appliqued across the width by hand.
The border of 3 rows of red cotton fabric 3cms wide have been machined around the rectangle with 6cms between them & 15cms at the edge."

Related Quilts:

National Gallery of Australia
" A wide range of cotton fabrics have been used to make this quilt in the traditional log cabin style. The strips of the log cabin are joined by rows being hand sewn onto a small square backing fabric, each square of strips has then been hand sewn together to form the quilt. The work is backed with a sateen printed fabric decorated with paisley design. A strip of the lining trims the edge of the front face of the quilt. The lining is attached with machine stitching. There are numerous tacking stitches that remain in the front face of the quilt. There are approx 9000 pieces in the quilt, most being only 5mm in width.
The quilt is of three layers because the strips of the log cabin are attached to a backing piece, and then the quilt is lined; however it is not padded." [NGA]
Annette Gero
This domestic Wagga is two layers of woollen army blankets with the top layer in rectangles joined in rows. The backing is hessian bags that originally contained meat meal.
11650 x 1130mm
The Pioneer Women's Hut
Single bed quilt made up entirely of hexagons in 'Granny's Flower Garden' pattern. The rosettes are made up of 8 hexagons and a central one. Native flower prints, including wattle, on a white background. Plain hexagons in white, yellow and blue form a scalloped border. Hexagons are hand stitched and the 2 layers are quilted in running stitch. The backing is a pieced sheet.
2400 x 1500mm
Valinda Gale
Patchwork quilt made from squares of cotton prints in florals, stripes, spots and checks, joined together in rows. Colours are predominantly blues, reds, yellow and pastels. Binding is of turquoise blue fabric. Materials appear to be from the 40s or 50s. Patches caught in the middle with a woollen knot - red, yellow, blue wool. No quilting. Backed in blue fleecy flannel.
Single bed length and width.
Helen Sparkman
Hexagon quilt made from dressmaking scraps from one neice. The quilt top only is complete and a few papers are still attached.
2250 x 2000mm
Port Curtis Historical Soc.Inc.
Cotton Hexagon quilt with a wide variety of patterned and plain materials. Blue binding and a cotton backing. The padding is thought to be cotton wool.
1525 x 1220mm