Quilt No.469NI - Norma Irvin

Description:
Cotton quilt made of octagons with sides measuring 30mm. Material is in various colours and textures in plain, print, stripe and spots. The solid colour blocks are placed in diagonal lines and the patterned ones at random. Hand stitched at 20 stitches to the inch. There is no padding. The backing is cotton headcloth folded to the front, corners mitred then stitched to quilt following outline of octagons.
1150 x 720mm
1150 x 720mm
History:
Made by Miss Joyce Cook in Swan Hill before 1961. It was given to Norma Irvin by Joyce Cook just after Norma's baby was born in 1960. It is not used and is stored in Norma's house in Swan Hill.
Story:
Miss Joyce Cook, deceased, was a teacher at the High School in Swan Hill. She taught typing and shorthand and, when needed, also needlework. Around 1947 she was appointed senior mistress at the high school.
The quilt was put on a trunk that stood under a window in the house in which Joyce Cook boarded. The house was sold in about 1960 and Joyce moved into a unit. She disposed of many things and gave the quilt to Norma Irvin to use on the cot for her new born daughter.
Related Quilts:
This unfinished cover has a centre frame of a simple block. There are alternating plain and patterned borders including sword tooth, flying geese and squares on point. It is hand pieced with plain and twill weave cottons, variety of stripes, checks, florals and plains. There is no backing.
1800 x 1800mm
1800 x 1800mm
Hexagon quilt made from dressmaking scraps, nearly all woollen. The hexagons measure 150mm. It is hand stitched.
1170 x 1100mm
1170 x 1100mm
" A wide range of cotton fabrics have been used to make this quilt in the traditional log cabin style. The strips of the log cabin are joined by rows being hand sewn onto a small square backing fabric, each square of strips has then been hand sewn together to form the quilt. The work is backed with a sateen printed fabric decorated with paisley design. A strip of the lining trims the edge of the front face of the quilt. The lining is attached with machine stitching. There are numerous tacking stitches that remain in the front face of the quilt. There are approx 9000 pieces in the quilt, most being only 5mm in width.
The quilt is of three layers because the strips of the log cabin are attached to a backing piece, and then the quilt is lined; however it is not padded." [NGA]
The quilt is of three layers because the strips of the log cabin are attached to a backing piece, and then the quilt is lined; however it is not padded." [NGA]
This quilt has been strip pieced with no regular pattern. It seems a large quilt has been made then folded in half. The materials used are woollen skirting pieces in a variety of colours. It could be used either way. There is no padding and it is very heavy.
2100 x 1950mm
2100 x 1950mm
Patchwork quilt made from alternate squares of light green and medium green cotton headcloth. The light green squares are hand embroidered with Australian native birds, the medium green squares are decorated with pulled thread designs. No padding. Backing and binding of medium green headcloth. Made from patterns published in The Adelaide Chronicle.
2650 x 1573mm
2650 x 1573mm
Patchwork quilt made from hexagon patches of cotton, silk, brocade, sateen and wool. Some silk patches are individually lined. Colours are mainly red, blues, purple, black, yellow and brown, with some pastels. Many silk patches have disintegrated, showing the paper templates. Quilt has a brown cotton inner lining, then a blue cotton backing, and is edged on the reverse with checked silk. Hand sewn by more than one person: one experienced sewer, one not so experienced.
1370 x 1170mm
1370 x 1170mm