Quilt No.165NB - Nell Bell
Description:
Double sided patchwork quilt in coloured patterned cottons. Side A has frame pattern aound a central pieced rectangle containing a piece of lace curtaining. Colours are ornage, brown, yellow, green, red and black. Side B has windmill blades (4 blades) in printed cottons with solid colour centres appliqued on to a dark brown background. Hand and machine sewn. Padding is fleece wool in an old commercial eiderdown.
1829 x 915mm
1829 x 915mm
History:
Made by Nell Bell at Eltham (VIC) in the late 1950s, and owned by her.
Story:
"These were my first attempts at patchwork quilts. I had never seen patterned ones either in reality or in books. I worked them out myself. Had seen Waggas as a child. Side B attempt at windmills against dark blue sky.
"Made because old eiderdown [had] worn out & needed extra coverings because child Gordon born 1957 needed a bed not a cot so about 1960-61 I guess - Side A a crude attempt at a pattern, mainly dress materials or overall materiala. 1 band flowers on black background a tea towel. Lace panel in centre from curtains. Side B similar materials mix of hand & machine sewing."
Related Quilts:
Quilt of scrap hexagons. Hand pieced over papers with some papers still in place. Materials used include seersucker, plisse, chambray and various other textured cottons used in dressmaking. The owner has restored the quilt. The backing is a soft cotton in indigo blue and the padding is flannelettte. "I machine tied the quilt in its restoration using cream cotton at the intersections so that it doesn't impinge on the interesting fabrics and the overall scrap effects." [Marie Pye]
2590 x 2170mm
2590 x 2170mm
Dresden plate quilt with pointed pieces set around a white centre. Fabrics are checks, floral patterns and plains of the 1930s. The twenty blocks are sashed with plain mauve fabric which does not meet evenly in some places. The padding is two layers of cotton bedspreads. The backing is open weave rough quality cotton.
1860 x 1550mm.
1860 x 1550mm.
Large squares, alternate brown check and blue check, of men's dressing gown material. "Everyone's father had one in 40s and 50s". [Pam Clifford]. No padding. Backing is smaller random shapes of men's grey suiting material. Machine construction. There is no quilting.
2236 x 1550mm
2236 x 1550mm
Unfinished crazy patchwork quilt. Materials are mainly silk, velvet, woven ribbons, woven brocades. Hand embroidery using many different stitches also machine embroidery eg frog. Some individual patches have names, initials, dates probably relating to family members. There are also place names several of which may refer to Australia. Apart from the embroidery on individual patches there are overlaid a number of floral displays across parts of the quilt. Backing is flannelette with selvedges of blue and pink. 1300 x 1300mm
Double sided patchwork quilt. One side has a centre of pieced hexagons enclosed by borders of plain strips and pieced stars and squares. The other side has a printed Royal Coat of Arms (lion and unicorn) 'Honi Soit Qui Mal y Pense, Dieu Et Mon Droit', surrounded by wide borders of plain and printed materials in the style of frame quilts.
2400 x 2300mm
2400 x 2300mm
Patchwork quilt or cloth made from pieces of woollen material used for regimental uniforms in England last century. Star pattern in colours, red, pale blue, green, maroon, yellow [white] and brown. Hand pieced probably by more than one person. Red fringe machined on. Red flannelette backing in poor condition. Two layers, not quilted.
1780 x 1700mm
1780 x 1700mm