Quilt No.401AH - Anne Howard

Anne Howard
Owner: 
Anne Howard
Location: 
NSW Sydney
Maker
Maker: 
Agnes Maxwell
Made in
AUSTRALIA NSW
Date: 
1941 - 1970
Description: 
Cotton patchwork quilt 'Trip Around the World'. Various patterns and colours and a wide variety of cottons eg homespun and waffle weave. Hand pieced and hand quilted. The backing is yellow cotton and the padding is thought to be a beige coloured curtain.
1830 x 1260mm
History: 

This quilt was made by Agnes Maxwell for her grand-daughter Anne Howard in the late 40s or early 50s in Sydney. It is still owned by Anne.
It is now stored in a camphorwood box.

Story: 

"Agnes McEwan Brown Maxwell - 1876-1970
Born in the port town of Helensborough Scotland which is not far from Glasgow and Loch Lomond. Died in Sydney At the age of 94.
Came to Australia from Vancouver, Canada in 1935. Lived in Leeton for many years but after the death of her husband in 1949 she moved to Pennant Hills, a new suburb of Sydney in the north.
When she lived in Pennant Hills she was always working with her hands. Exquisite fine lace tablecloths crocheted with the tiniest crochet hook, beautifully knitted baby clothes and there always seemed to be a quilt in the making. Quilt making had always been in the family. Grandma Maxwell and her sisters (Sally, Polly and Jean) had all made quilts for their daughters and the tradition continued with the arrival of grandchildren. The quilt made for her first born Kathryn, which was made out of dressmaking scraps from Kathryn's own clothes was unfortunately lost in the Ash Wednesday fires of 1983, having been brought out from Canada in 1934. However those made for the granddaughters have met a kinder fate.
Grandma Maxwell continued to sew and make quilts until well into her nineties. She was well loved by many and had a lovely group of friends who brought her their fabric offcuts to help with the quilt making. One of her favourite charities was the Spastic Children's Association for whom she made several quilts which were then raffled and always resulted in a most successful fund raising activity for the Association. In the 1960s when she was already in her eighties several ladies from the Pennant Hills area used to come and help to do the final quilting on these quilts when she couldn't manage the whole thing on her own."
[Irene Garran and Anne Howard 29.8.2000]
There are 4 grand-daughters and each has a quilt.

Related Quilts:

National Gallery of Australia
"This quilt follows the traditional hexagon patchwork pieced pattern, which are then joined and sometimes edged with a contrasting border. The edges of the quilt have been turned and then scalloped edges made of identical patches to the main body of the quilt have been attached to the edge. The quilt is fully lined, and the lining is visible front the front face through the gaps between the scalloped edge. The lining is attached to the patchwork with a row of stitches along the edges; there are no stitches in the centre field. The fabrics of the quilt are plain weave cotton in simple floral and geometric designs. Most of the fabrics are monochromatic. Several different colour ways of the same fabric are evident which could suggest some fabrics were from manufacturer samples. The lining is a William Morris print.
Each of the patchwork pieces (there are several thousand present) are sewn together with very fine overcasting stitches. The quilt is entirely hand sewn. There is some evidence that templates from the hexagon pieces possibly blotting paper, remain in situ���The quilt is not padded or quilted. The lining is fine twill weave cotton printed in pink and pale purple. The design follows William Morris's 'Strawberry Thief design'." [NGA] 2075 x 1911mm
Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery
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Gabrielle Carter
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Jindera Pioneer Museum
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