Quilt No.429HH - Helen Hancock

Owner:
Helen Hancock
Location:
QLD South West
Maker
Maker:
Marion Best
Made in
AUSTRALIA QLD
Patterms
Date:
1881 - 1900
Description:
Fragment of a crazy patchwork quilt hand stitched in cottons, silks, silk velvets and silk brocades. Variety of fancy stitches including blanket, feather, herringbone worked in various kinds of cottons and some chenille thread. There is also some beading. The backing is red cotton. The fragment is now framed.
484mm x 484mm
484mm x 484mm
History:
The quilt, of which this is a fragment, was made c1890 by Marion Best (Fairlie) 1862-1954 in Maryborough Queensland. It then passed to her grand-daughter Marion Ham and is now owned by her great grand-daughter. Helen Hancock. It is framed.
Story:
Marion Fairlie came to Australia from England in 1862 as a baby. Her parents came to explore the possibility of growing cotton for their muslin factory in Glasgow, Scotland. This was prompted by the failure of the American cotton crop. Maryborough proved unsuitable for cotton growing so James Fairlie started a joinery business making window frames from Queensland red cedar. He is said to have made a fortune.

Helen Hancock
Related Quilts:
Hexagon quilt constructed over papers; all seams oversewn with featherstitch embroidery. Materials are vyella and clydella scraps from childhood dresses of the maker's first four children, augmented with scraps from a dressmaker and a book of samples. There is no padding; backing is plain, pale blue, brushed cotton.
2200 x 1720 mm.
2200 x 1720 mm.
Hand pieced cot quilt made from small rectangular shapes of a great variety of materials including cottons, silks, wools and velvets. The backing is cotton sateen in 3 colours and is brought to the front to form a border of pink, cream and yellow.
1170 x 920mm
1170 x 920mm
Hand sewn quilt (possibly child's or table top) of crazy patchwork in silk, silk ribbon and cotton velvet. The top has surface decoration of embroidery on all seams, feather stitch and blanket stitch variations. Many of the crazy patches are also embroidered. The centre patch has a rooster embroidered in lame thread. Embroidered motifs are hearts, butterflies, guitar, cow, Little Red Riding Hood, horseshoes, crown, clover leaf. Stitches are feather, stem, satin and blanket. Embroidered initials are 'B', 'R', and 'S'. The backing is dark grey silk.
840 x 840mm
840 x 840mm
Quilt made of 9120 very small Suffolk Puffs, each one about the size of a 20 cent piece. "Each piece backed and the front of it drawn up like a reticule. It was not backed and was rather fragile, so I backed it on to a sheet, as it was heavy and in danger of tearing when lifted." [Gillian Sullivan]
2360 x 2230 mm
2360 x 2230 mm
Cotton patchwork quilt in an all over pattern of diamonds in a wide variety of patterned and plain materials. Many seams are oversewn in feather stitch which goes through to the backing of calico.
1625 x 925mm
1625 x 925mm
This unfinished cover has a centre frame of a simple block. There are alternating plain and patterned borders including sword tooth, flying geese and squares on point. It is hand pieced with plain and twill weave cottons, variety of stripes, checks, florals and plains. There is no backing.
1800 x 1800mm
1800 x 1800mm