Quilt No.372FK - Fred Keen

Fred Keen
Owner: 
Fred Keen
Location: 
NSW Riverina
Maker
Maker: 
Rebecca Keen
Made in
AUSTRALIA NSW
Date: 
1921 - 1940
Description: 
Patchwork quilt with front and back made from different sized patches of used woollen clothes, stitched in a random manner. Fabrics include men's trousers, and tweeds, checks and plains, in navy, grey, browns and fawn, and some red and white check. Backing is from larger pieces, including large patches of a dark pink, some green and some navy rectangles. Filling of wheat bags and part of a travelling rug was removed because it was too heavy.
1600 x 1000mm
History: 

Made about 1940 by Rebecca Keen (1889-1965) of Temora (NSW). Previously owned by Reg Keen, Rebecca's grandson, now owned by Fred Keen, Rebecca's son, and his wife Ena.

Story: 

"The maker of the Wagga Rug was Rebecca Keen (1889 - 1965) who was the Mother of the present owner, Fred Keen. The rug was made in about 1940. Rebecca was married to Alfred (1909) who broke his hip loading wheat and later managed pubs and grocery stores in country N.S.W. Rebecca was a Temora girl. They had 8 children and it was a tough life. Rebecca often did the cooking in the hotels they managed as well as rearing the children.
Rebecca made 6 Wagga Rugs. One was for Fred and Ena when they were 'keeping company' in the 1930s. It was a double bed size and was too heavy to use as it had wheat bags in the middle. It no longer exists. The others Rebecca made were for Fred and Ena's children i.e. her grandchildren.
This Wagga Rug was made for Reg (one of the children) about the time he was born in 1940. Reg was a bachelor and thought the world of his Wagga Rug. It used to have wheat bags and part of a travelling rug in it but these have been taken out.
Ena recalled that her Mother in law, Rebecca, would come over from Temora and do the mending and patching and make pants for her grandchildren from legs of trousers."
[Additional information from informal interview Fred Keen and Wendy Hucker for NQR, Wagga Wagga, 1999.]

Rebecca Keen with grand son Allan, 1956
Rebecca Keen with grand son Allan, 1956

Related Quilts:

Margery Creek
Snow Ball' cotton quilt made in the USA. Feed bag materials and dress materials. Hand pieced and hand quilted. Calico border and backing.
2058 x 2007mm
Army Museum Victoria Barracks
Almost square top made of military colour patches of woollen material machine sewn on to blanket pieces, then each piece hand stitched together. The top is a frame style with central group of patches in a star motif with colour patches set in borders around the centre. There is no padding and the backing is the blanket pieces.
2143 x 2090mm
National Trust of Australia (WA)
Frame quilt in cottons with a centre motif of pieced 8 point star surrounded by borders, 2 from red/white material printed to represent Tumbling Block patchwork. The remaining borders are, one plain, one of pieced squares, one of pieced large triangles with squares in the corner. The outer border is plain. The padding is wool and the backing is cream cotton. It is elaborately quilted.
2400 x 2260mm
Ruth Collins
Patchwork quilt of rectangular wool and cotton tailors' samples, in browns, greys, navy, black and beige, in plains and patterned weaves. Padding is a woollen blanket, and the backing is a patterned cotton.
1956 x 1702mm
West Australian Quilters' Association
The quilt is a repeat block in the Ohio Star pattern in turkey red and cream. Quilted in squares in the cream block and diagonal lines in the star block. The fabric border is disintegrating. The backing is cream calico and the padding is cotton, badly degraded. 1940 x 1760mm.
Heather Leonard
This 'Quilt' is made from an army great coat from the second world war. The seams have been unpicked and pieced together by machine zig-zagging the flat edges (with Singer treadle sewing machine). The pocket slits are turned back and seamed rather than being pared off. The outside edges are turned over and blanket stitched in red. It does not have a backing.
1620 x 1180mm