Quilt No.182RF - Ruth Flett

Ruth Flett
Owner: 
Ruth Flett
Location: 
VIC Melbourne
Maker
Maker: 
Lilian Boulton
Made in
AUSTRALIA NSW
Date: 
1921 - 1940
Description: 
Quilt is made of wool tailors' samples, each measuring 6 x 3 1/2 inches. The colours are predominantly navy and grey. Most pieces are striped but some more distinctly than others. Both sides are mad eof smaples, one side being mainly grey and the other almost exclusively navy. There doesn't seem to be another layer of material as padding. There is no added decoration. Made on a treadle sewing machine.
1703 x 1423mm
History: 

Made by Mrs Lilian Boulton, Condobolin (NSW). Owned by her daughter Ruth Fleet.

Story: 

"My mother was born on 11/12/1896 so would have been 100 years old this year. She was a keen needlewoman & enjoyed competition in local shows etc."
Letter from Ruth Fleet:
"You ask whether the quilt was in general use on beds in the house at Condobolin - I think it was used more as an optional extra, & is in very good condition. As to where my mother got the tailor's samples - as I recall it she found them in a strange old shop in Condobolin - known as Old Bill's Junk Shop to all and sundry. She was quite excited at her discovery & had plans for it at once. It was a time of 'make do'. There was always a section in the local show schedule for the best article made from a sugar bag!"

Mrs. Lilian Boulton
Mrs. Lilian Boulton
House in Condoblin
House in Condoblin

Related Quilts:

The Pioneer Women's Hut
Double sided patchwork quilt. Machined squares and rectangles joined in strips and then the strips joined. Wide variety of materials, mainly woollen from hand or machine knitted jumpers, many patched. All materials came from worn garments from family and friends of the maker. No padding.
1860 x 1410mm
E Shuttle
Wholecloth quilt made from orange cotton cretonne for back and front. Padding is made from old blankets stitched together. The quilt weighs 16 lb.
1423 x 1118mm
Yass & District Historical Society
Patchwork quilt made from diamond patches in the 'Cotton Box' pattern, in a wide variety of cotton fabrics, including plains, checks, stripes and florals. The patches have blotting paper templates. The quilt is edged with diamond shapes in a red floral cotton. The backing is of the same red floral pattern, featuring yellow, turquoise and white flowers and leaves. Hand sewn.
2135 x 2033mm
Brenda Bird
Suffolk Puff quilt made from a variety of scraps of dress materials including cottons and terylene. It is backed with white cotton sheeting and edged with a frill of white terylene. There is a matching pillow sham.
1740 x 1300 mm.
National Gallery of Australia
"This is not a true quilt, but a pieced coverlet with a lining. The entire front face of the quilt is of pieced hexagonal and part hexagonal printed cotton patches. Pieces are joined with hand sewn over casting stitches of many different coloured cotton threads. The joining of the patches forms a 'daisy' pattern in some areas and in others it is random. The edge of the front face of the quilt carries a 40mm strip of cotton Chinoiserie which is then folded to the reverse of the quilt and becomes part of the lining. The template for the hexagon patches remains in many of the patches: writing paper and news print." [NGA]
The work is not padded "The lining at the edge of the quilt (for approx.175mm) is a plain weave fabric of a Chinoiserie design. The centre field of the lining is a rectangular panel of a twill weave brushed cotton fabric with a striped floral design." [NGA] 2215 x 2070mm
The Pioneer Women's Hut
Machine constructed log cabin quilt using a wide variety of strips of used clothing including cottons, men's suitings and wools. Each square is about 250mm and arranged in the 'light and dark of the fire' variation of log cabin. There is no padding. The backing is brown twill with an orange pattern and is probably a replacement backing.
2180 x 1710mm