Quilt No.385MC - Marie Colbron Conroy

Marie Colbron Conroy
Owner: 
Marie Colbron Conroy
Location: 
NSW Sydney
Maker
Maker: 
Phyllis ggow
Made in
PAPUA NEW GUINEA
Date: 
1941 - 1970
Description: 
Quilt of 70mm hexagons forming rosettes. Satin material in plain colours. Background is several shades of grey. There is a 135mm silver grey border that is mitred and returns to the back. There is no padding. The backing is a darker grey. The quilt is signed by the maker and dated.
1870 x 1350mm
History: 

The quilt was made by Phyllis Gow in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, in 1964 for her Mother, Imelda Johnson. On her Mother's death the quilt passed to Phyllis and on her death to her husband. On his death the present owner bought the quilt.

Story: 

The maker went from Sydney to Port Moresby following her marriage in 1938 to Eric Mitchell on the 'Bulolo'. She was repatriated to Sydney during the war. Her husband died as a POW. Phyllis remarried in Sydney about 1954 and returned to PNG with her husband Allan Gow. They retired to Sydney in the early 1970s. The quilt was made for her Mother who lived with her during her latter years. The present owner, Marie Colbron Conroy, attended the same church as Phyllis and Allan Gow and on Allan's death purchased the quilt.

Related Quilts:

Marie Pye
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
Western Australian Quilters' Association
Quilt made from furnishing materials, mostly velour type or uncut moquette. The colours are dusty pinks and beige/camel/blue. It has been put together by making wide strips of various sized rectangles sewn together and any missing piece in a rectangle added by using another piece of material to complete the shape. There is no padding and the backing is winter cotton.
2000 x 1650mm
Rozanne Andrew
Quilt, single bed size, made from reused clothing roughly handstitched on to a backing of a wool/linen blanket type fabric in green, cream and brown stripes. Clothing is fronts and backs of old jumpers, vests etc as well as opened out sleeves in red, brown and grey. They are stitched together in several layers with long stitches. Another top may have been intended to cover the stitched down layers of clothing.
1500 x 1040mm
N.S.W. Parks and Wildlife Service
Double sided quilt. Side 1 has a central patch of small rectangles and borders of half square triangles. Seamed construction. Side 2 is crazy patch in wools and cottons on to a backing material. There is one round segmented circle in the centre. Machine pieced and quilted.
2050 x 1610mm
Colleen Whitaker
Quilt top, all cotton. Center frame is 600mm square of calico on to which is appliqued red material in an elaborate cut out design. Radiating rows of mainly red and blue triangles. Other materials include, white with abstract plants scattered across it, pink with pin print white dots, white and maroon herringbone with small white flowers with maroon leaf sprays spread 25mm apart. The border is a strip of red not hemmed but with selvedges on the long sides. The quilt is all hand sewn with small back stitch, running stitch and hemming.
Margery Creek
This utility quilt is mainly constructed from long strips of cotton seed sack material. It is machine pieced and quilted by hand in a diagonal pattern. There is a red border. The backing is cotton flannelette and the padding is cotton.
1601 x 1525mm