Quilt No.626PWH - The Pioneer Women's Hut

The Pioneer Women's Hut
Owner: 
The Pioneer Women's Hut
Location: 
NSW Riverina
Maker
Maker: 
Dorothy McMorran
Made in
AUSTRALIA NSW
Date: 
1941 - 1970
Description: 
American quilt in 'Dresden Plate' pattern. Hand stitched, Wide variety of cotton materials used in plain and patterned materials. The backing is cream cotton. It is hand quilted. This quilt was made from an American McCalls pattern consisting of transfers for the pieces and for the quilting design.
2400 x 1700mm
History: 

This quilt was made in Sydney in the 1940s by Mrs. Dorothy McMorran and other members of the Canadian Women's Association from a McCalls pattern that was brought from Canada but not used. The quilt passed to Dorothy's daughter, Norma McMorran,who donated it to The Pioneer Women's Hut. It is displayed occasionally in the museum.

Story: 

These quilts were made in the early 1940s by my mother, Mrs. Dorothy McMorran. She was a Canadian who lived in Sydney from 1924 onwards. She came here as a young bride when her husband was sent here to be assistant to the elderly gentleman who at that time represented the Canadian Pacific Railway Company in Australia. Although the appointment was initially for a period of 3 years, it was extended many times and eventually my parents lived in Australia longer than they did in Canada. While loving Australia, they remained very Canadian and thanks to generous 'home' leave were able to maintain their Canadian connections. My mother died in 1974.
She was a very energetic woman with a great interest in handwork - the bigger the project the better. I remember her knitting dresses (she became great friends with the head of the knitting wool department at Farmer's, her favourite store), hooking rugs, crocheting afgahns and in one phase collecting worn out woollen garments to make braided rugs. About 1940 or a little later she was looking for new fields to conquer and was given a McCall pattern for a Dresden Plate quilt by one of the other Canadians living here. It had been brought from Canada and not used.
�����..By this time it was 1946 or 1947 and many members of the group [The Canadian Women's Association] were war brides - Canadian girls who had married Australian R.A.A.F. men training in Canada and many of whom at this stage were battling homesickness, the problems of adapting to a new country and postwar conditions generally. Much homesickness was talked out over the quilting frame and many problems aired. The whole project proved an excellent therapy for these girls."
[Norma McGorran, 1991]

Dorothy McMorran (centre) and members of the Canadian Women's Association. Pix photo 1945
Dorothy McMorran (centre) and members of the Canadian Women's Association. Pix photo 1945

Related Quilts:

Marie Thomas
150mm squares of old material scraps, mostly cotton, including some curtain material. There is no padding and the backing is brown lawn.
2540 x 2370mm
The Embroiderers' Guild of S.A.Inc Museum
Wholecloth quilt in white cotton voile with alternating designs of Australian wildflowers worked in multi coloured cottons and shadow work. It is backed with yellow voile. There is no padding.
2010 x 1910mm
Fred Wood
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.
2430 x 2250mm
Alicia Murdoch
Cotton quilt entirely of hesagons. Some are formed into rostttes or flowers and have a print border of 12 hexagons, an inner circle of 6 hexagons in a plain colour and a yellow hexagon centre. The padding is cotton wool and the backing plain off white cotton.
2210 x 1430mm
Annette Gero
Quilt made from furnishing materials some with mettalic flecks. It is machine sewn.
160 x 135mm
Narelle Grieve
Silk quilt in diamonds with hexagon border. "Toward the edge of the quilt, the design of diamonds made into blocks offers an optical illusion, where the diamonds can be seen to form stars. The border is made up of these stars and half-diamonds, and the entire quilt is trimmed with lace and triangular flaps made of tiny hexagons." [extract unidentified magazine article supplied by quilt owner.]
The backing is maroon cotton. 1600 x 1600 mm.