Quilt No.538WH - Wendy Hunter
Owner:
Wendy Hunter
Location:
NSW Sydney
Maker
Maker:
Gwendoline Mary Harrison
Made in
AUSTRALIA
Patterms
Date:
1921 - 1940
Description:
Crazy quilt with one large panel. Materials include wools, velvets, silks and crepes. Each piece embroidered in herrigbone stitch to the adjoining piece. 25mm blue border chain stitched on, then 75mm border of black wool crepe with a crocheted edge. The padding is an old blanket and the backing is red/brown printed cotton.
1730 x 1040mm
1730 x 1040mm
History:
The quilt was made by Gwendoline Mary Harrison 1895-1968 who was married to Archibald Alexander Johnston. It was probably made in the 1930s. It was then owned by Nellie Bischoff and now by Wendy Hunter her niece. It is not used.
Story:
"A family story handed down for many years tells: Gwen made many crazy quilts and gave them to the Red Cross. One quilt ended up in a hospital in England on the bed of a soldier of the 1st world war.
Queen Mary on touring the hospital admired the quilt and asked to have one. When the Red Cross approached Gwen her answer was - no. I make for the poor not the rich."
[Wendy Hunter 29.8.98]
Related Quilts:
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
Hand pieced hexagon quilt in pattern known as 'Grandmother's Flower Garden". 12 hexagons, in patterned cottons, form the outer border of each flower with an inner border of 6 matching plain coloured hexagons and all flowers have a yellow hexagon centre. There is no padding, a cotton backing and it is hand quilted.
2400 x 1780mm.
2400 x 1780mm.
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
Hexagon quilt made by hand from a wide variety of cotton materials. There is no padding and the backing is calico.
2286 x 915mm
2286 x 915mm
Quilt of alternate green and fawn squares (100mm) in knitted fabric, originally swatches of sample fabrics. Padding is a piece of old blanket. Backing is fawn flannelette, and the quilt is finished with a flannelette ruffle.
1423 x 1124mm
1423 x 1124mm
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
2100 x 1950mm