Quilt No.194FW - Fred Wood

Fred Wood
Owner: 
Fred Wood
Location: 
VIC North East
Maker
Maker: 
Charlotte Gambold
Made in
AUSTRALIA VIC
Date: 
1901 - 1920
Description: 
Patchwork quilt made from a variety of printed cottons over 70 prints, using shirting and dress fabrics, fabrics also from pyjamas, curtains, aprons, tablecloths. The centre medallion is a square within a square with white borders, the inner frame made of sawtooth triangles. This is surrounded by pieced triangles, square within a square and crosses. Outer frame of sawtooth triangles, and outer border pieced of squares and triangles. Colours are pinks, blues, burgundy and pastels, with floral, stripe and check prints. Lining of cotton. Backed with a printed cotton. Quilt is bound on all edges.
...
History: 

Made by Charlotte Gambold, c.1900. Previously owned by Mrs Vera Banning, daughter of Charlotte Gambold's sister Elizabeth Bennett. Owned by Charlotte's grand nephew, nephew of Vera Banning.

Story: 

"Charlotte Gambold arrived in the Wangaratta district at about 6 years of age, the eldest of three children, with her parents, Thorres and Mary Gambold, in 1866. Later, her father was a molybdenite miner (this mineral was, and still is, used in the hardening of steel).
When her sister Elizabeth married Mr AH Bennett of 'Highfield', Evarton Upper, Victoria, in 1893 we can only surmise that Charlotte planned a medallion quilt for the happy couple. When it was actually commenced, and when it was finally completed is lost in history, but the quilt has remained in the family throughout its existence. Whether Charlotte designed it from scratch or had seen one of this type of quilt is also lost to us unfortunately. ...
This marvellous Australian quilt is in the possession of a grand nephew of Milawa Victoria, and is in very good condition. He inherited it from his aunt, Mrs Vera Banning, who died in 1994, aged 94. Vera inherited it from her mother, Elizabeth, the 1893 bride, about 1954, when she lived in Cusack Street, Wangaratta. Charlotte died in t he 1950s, and is buried in the Bowman's Forest cemetery, on the Wangaratta/Myrtleford Road.
Charlotte's grand nephew and his brother, both had quilts made for them by their Aunt Charlotte and they remembered seeing this quilt when they were young boys and then forgetting all about it. Their own quilts have long worn out and no longer exist� Their cousin, George Bennett, had one given to him by his mother when he was eight or nine. These quilts were made out of ties and bits of men's materials, and were warm and practical for the boys' sleepout.
Mrs Joan Wood, Milawa, thinks Charlotte made many quilts and had a little business of quiltmaking, as she was a maiden lady, and liked to keep herself occupied."
[From article by Brenda Leitch, 1995, in 'Down Under Quilts', Spring 1995, p.20]

Related Quilts:

Glenda Wilkinson
Small quilt made from pieces of heavy weight wooollen coat material cut into strips and machined together. It is reversible. Each side is made from different materials but in similar colours of aqua, blue, green and beige. The 2 layers are quilted together with a few machined lines of straight stitching. It has a folded and machine stitched edge. There is no padding.
950 x 790mm
National Trust of Australia (QLD)
Crazy patchwork quilt with mainly patterned pieces in a wide variety of designs and colours. Backing is wholecloth patterned cotton. The quilt is edged with a checked bias binding. Machine construction.
2299 x 1449mm
Mare Carter
Patchwork quilt, all cotton including cotton padding filler. The design is 'Dresden Plate' or 'Friendship Circle'. Background is white with multicoloured and patterned triangular pieces forming circles. Hand stitched and heavily quilted.
2235 x 1778mm
Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery
Quilt with alternate red and white diamonds in cotton, with wide border of white cotton and a white cotton crochet edging. All diamond patches and edging were joined to white border decorated with feather stitch. White border edged with zig-zag white feather stitch. Centre rectangle of white has 4 red petals edged with white feather stitch and 4 red diamonds each embroidered in white clockwise: '1898', 'R', 'L', 'K'. Diamonds edged with feather stitch. There is no padding and the backing is white cotton.
2420 x 1740mm
Alice Lemon
Patchwork quilt made from hexagon patches on one side, and squares and rectangles on the reverse. Cottons are used, mostly from dressmaking, in bright and light colours. The hexagons form an indented edge on all sides; on the back the rectangles have been cut at the edge to match the hexagon shapes. Hand sewn, the edge machine sewn.
No padding.
1551 x 1373mm
National Trust of Australia (VIC))
Patchwork quilt, log cabin pattern. Made of strips of dark and light material arranged to produce strongly contrasting bands running diagonally across the quilt. Colours are mainly pinks and blues in small floral and paisley cotton prints. There is no padding.
1310 x 1140mm