Quilt No.647ME - Margaret Eisenhauer

Margaret Eisenhauer
Owner: 
Margaret Eisenhauer
Location: 
NSW Riverina
Maker
Maker: 
Olive Donaldson
Made in
AUSTRALIA VIC
Patterms
Wholecloth, Utilitarian
Date: 
1921 - 1940
Description: 
This is a double sided almost square quilt. Machine made and quilted. Both sides are green cotton. One side has centre square of pink paisley. The other side has a centre square of dark blue/grey with the same material in triangles in each corner. The padding is believed to be raw wool.
1325 x 1350mm
History: 

This quilt was made by Olive Donaldson (born Dolphin) in Melbourne pre 1923. It is now owned by her daughter, Margaret Eisenhauer.

Story: 

Olive Donaldson (1893-1988) made the quilt in Melbourne probably pre her marriage in 1923. Olive came to the Temora district to be a farmer's wife on a mixed farm, sheep and grain (mainly wheat and oats). The furniture and other chattels came up in a horse drawn covered van.
Olive was a superb seamstress and made all the clothing and household furnishings for the family. She had one child, Margaret, and lived on the farm until her husband died in 1969.
Olive's grand parents migrated from Ireland where they had a farm. Olive's mother, Catherine, was born here and the family lived at Girgarry in the Goulburn Valley, Victoria.
Margaret recalled that in summer her mother would put a hand spun, hand woven Irish linen cover on the double bed in the spare room and that it had a big round embroidered piece in the middle. In winter the quilt was on the bed with just a marcella under it.

Related Quilts:

Yvonne Hamdorf
Quilt No.1016YH - Yvonne Hamdorf
Wholecloth pram quilt with a top of pink cotton sateen, and the reverse is a more finely woven, ivory, fabric. All over quilting design as main feature, with stylised hearts, leaves and cross hatching. The padding is cotton batting. 870 x 660 mm.
Wholecloth, Quilting as major design element
John Tomkin
Quilt No.1005JT - John Tomkin
Hand stitched, cotton, appliquéd, quilt in a flower pattern on a plain background. Colours are shades of green, apricot and browns. This quilt was known as a 'Bride's Quilt'. Padding is thought to be layers of white fabric raised almost like a wadding. The backing is cotton material. 2470 x 2020 mm.
Wholecloth, Embroidered and/or Appliqued
Margaret Lyons
Quilt No.833ML - Margaret Lyons
Padding for a utilitarian quilt that originally had a wholecloth cover. The padding is up to 3 layers of woollen scraps and pieces of used clothing, including hand knitting. White cotton tacking and overcast stitches hold all layers in place. The backing is a cream wool blanket with woven stripes.
1580 x 1200mm
Wholecloth, Utilitarian
Ida Blenkiron
Quilt No.270IB - Ida Blenkiron
Wholecloth cot quilt of floral cotton in a pattern of pink roses, green leaves, and blue ribbons. Paddiong is old blanketing, and backing is a soft fawn twill. The cotton was the same fabric as the bedroom curtains. No quilting.
1010 x 840mm
Wholecloth, Re-used clothing or blanket, Utilitarian, Typically Australian
Christina Kazaglis
Quilt No.725CK - Christina Kazaglis
Wholecloth quilt with one side blue satin with a red satin border and the reverse side wholecloth floral cotton. The quilting is parallel lines and squares. It is all hand stitched. The padding is raw cotton.
1740 x 1240mm
Wholecloth, Quilting as major design element, Greek
National Gallery of Australia
Quilt No.973NGA - National Gallery of Australia
" This coverlet is composed of two pieces of dark blue cheese cloth joined with a row of running stitches down the centre of the coverlet (the seam faces the front face of the coverlet but is hidden beneath a row of appliqué).
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
Embroidered and/or Appliqued, Motifs or Names, Pictorial, Wholecloth, Typically Australian