Quilt No.289TH - Thelma Harris
1271 x 1067mm
Made in the 1930s by Alice McLean for her son Doug when he was working out on sheep stations in the Olary area. It was called a 'wagga'. Owned by Mrs McLean's daughter, Mrs Thelma Harris. Previously it had been kept in her father's house.
"I have a Wagga made by Mother during her time on the North East Railway early in the 1930s. It is very heavy the inner looks like an old grey blanket & both sides are covered with a woven cotton material which has a few signs of wear. We still have the hand machine (Singer) which sews perfectly. I also have a velvet (crazy patchwork) cushion which she made when she was a young woman."
"Our Mother died in 1934 when I was 10 years and the youngest of four children. I am 75 years now. I have the block in the Jamestown cemetery made over to myself and my two daughters know I want to be buried there beside my Mother."
[Thelma Harris 21.3.1999]
Related Quilts:
1827 x 1423mm
2010 x 1920mm
The coverlet is decorated with rows of pieced work surrounding appliquéd and embroidered scenes. A panel down the LHS of the quilt and a smaller panel lower RHS depict animals and floral images. In the centre RHS an elderly couple sit beneath a tree. In the upper left a bride and groom accompanied by three flower girls are showered with petals from a wicker basket carried by a very large angel. Glass beads, sequins and a button have been used to highlight the appliqué and embroidery.
As with all of Mary Jane Hannaford's quilts, the work is stitched by hand and quite crudely, but the naivety of the images is overwhelming with their charm." [NGA] The quilt is not padded or lined. 1950 x 1690mm