Quilt No.1026JL - Joyce Lannin

Joyce Lannin
Owner: 
Joyce Lannin
Location: 
WA Country
Maker
Maker: 
Lila Myrtle Harvey
Made in
AUSTRALIA WA
Date: 
1941 - 1970
Description: 
Machine made quilt with 4 log cabin squares joined to make a larger square. Materials are all scraps from family dressmaking. There is no padding and the backing is unbleached calico. 2270 x 2030 mm
History: 

The quilt was made by Lila Myrtle Harvey in the 1960s at Lake Grace in Western Australia. It was then owned by Rita Harvey and now belongs to Lila's daughter, Joyce Lannin. It is still used.

Story: 

Lila Myrtle Harvey: "When a small child Lila spent her early years in South Australia with her Aunties who spent hours doing patch work and Lila was fascinated with the colours and results of their work. So much so that she always had a hankering to do patchwork herself. But she lived a very busy life and it was not until after her own children had grown up that she was able to indulge in her dream.
Her first quilt was made from tailors samples which were destined for the rubbish and which she saved. With these she made a very serviceable rug which has seen many years of service in her family. All her life Lila has been busy making clothes for her family and has kept the pieces left over from her sewing. As soon as she had spare time when her family had less need of her full attention she started making hexagon templates and covering them with pieces from her scrap box. These she joined into flowers which she joined together to make her first quilt. Many years later after hours of hand sewing her first quilt top was finished making a masterpiece of beauty. It stayed on her bed until she passed away when it was handed on to her daughter who has since passed away and the quilt now belongs to her first grand-daughter Debbie Rendell.
A neighbour of Lila's had a quilt made in Log Cabin design and gave Lila a square as a pattern so Lila sat at her machine for months making Log Cabin squares until she had enough squares to make her quilt. Each square is made of different materials and colours. The final result is a very lovely [quilt] which is now owned and used by her daughter Joyce Lannin in Lake Grace.
Besides these quilts Lila made quilts for her grand-daughters and many cushions for her children. After she passed away her unfinished pieces were incorporated into patchwork quilts and articles by her daughter.
Lila was born in 1892 and passed away in 1970." [Joyce Lannin]

Related Quilts:

The Pioneer Women's Hut
Patchwork top with a centre frame of a mauve cross outlined in black within a square bordered with pink. The rest of the top is rectangles and squares in a wide variety of materials. There is no padding. The backing is brown, possibly curtain material.
1910 x 1480mm
Kristine Gray
Double sided quilt. One side is frame with borders of wool rectangles mainly offcuts of men's suiting from tailors' shops. The other side is mainly flannelette in stripes and patterns similar to pyjama material. The padding is pieced patches of worn jumpers that were too matted to be unpicked. Machine construction.
1700 x 1490mm
June Brown
This quilt has been strip pieced with no regular pattern. It seems a large quilt has been made then folded in half. The materials used are woollen skirting pieces in a variety of colours. It could be used either way. There is no padding and it is very heavy.
2100 x 1950mm
National Gallery of Australia
" Reversible patchwork quilt of woollen suiting/upholstery fabrics in khaki, greys, blues and browns. Both sides have different designs. The front of the quilt has 13 rows of 12 vertical rectangles flanked on either side by a column of 22 horizontal rectangles. The reverse has a more interesting and complex design of small and very large rectangles, squares and triangles; with khaki contrasting with the duller greys and blues. The patchwork layers are joined at the edges with machine stitching and the quilt is machine quilted along 3 horizontal lines following joins in the patchwork; therefore not being totally straight. These lines are more noticeable on the reverse. The reverse face has been on display at the NGA." [NGA] There is a cotton blanket used as padding. 2054 x 1451mm
Phyllis Dowling
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
Elsie Shephard
Double sided patchwork quilt/rug constructed from squares machined together in strips and then the strips joined. It is made in one piece and then doubled over. The materials are mainly wool, worsted, part cream machine made jumper, pink and blue mohair, blue and white spotted flannelette and cream blanket and all are scraps or from worn clothing.
1690 x 1370mm