Quilt No.69MC - Mare Carter

Mare Carter
Owner: 
Mare Carter
Location: 
NSW South East
Maker
Maker: 
Eva Leota Towe
Made in
USA
Date: 
1921 - 1940
Description: 
Patchwork quilt made for a doll's bed or possibly as an infant's quilt. All cotton. The owner calls the pattern a variation of 'Bow Ties'. Hand sewn and quilted. This quilt is new.
534 x 382mm
History: 

This quilt was made by Eva Leota Towe in Southern California, USA, in 1928 or 1929 in anticipation of her grand-daughter's birth. It was never used and Mare Carter wrote it is now being saved for the next generation, Eva's great great grandchildren. Mare was born in 1930 and came to Australia in 1950. In 1953 Eva died. "In 1960 my mother brought me grandmother's legacy, her hand-works including the quilts when she visited Australia." Mare has 16 of her grandmother's quilts. Most have been family quilts, well used.

Story: 

"VINTAGE QUILTS 1898-1938
These quilts were made by my grandmother, Eva Leota Towe. Her maiden name was Tussey and she came from Missouri, U.S.A. In early 1900 grandmother moved to Washington State and later to Southern California.
Patchwork was our family tradition. It provided a frugal means to "dress" a home and to make cosy beds which were also pretty. I rarely saw grandmother without her bag of patches and templates handy, rarely saw her sitting idle; usually while chatting or listening to the radio, she'd be quietly piecing together patches which were cut mostly from used garments. Her scissors were kept sharp by my grandfather, she wore out countless thimbles, her needles were regularly pushed in and out of a little sock of sand to ginger up their points. The actual quilting was often done in company with friends who belonged to the Rebecca Lodge. At least one of these quilts is a Friendship Quilt made and signed by those women in 1933.
Grandmother also embroidered, to decorate her tables, her aprons and also her tea-towels which were always made from bleached flour sacks. It embarrassed my Mother and her sister that their underclothes were made from the same materials. Maybe this is why sewing and handcrafts skipped a generation in my family. The contribution my mother made was to keep these things safe and gradually pass them along to me.
My children suffered from allergies. Wool was too itchy, and too hot. The cotton quilts of my grandmother were perfect for our beds here in Australia. Thus we used our legacy to good purpose. Sadly, most of the quilts are now tattered and worn, but much loved for that, and for the affection which she sewed into them. She never made things to be preserved as objects of art. They represent her creativity, her duty as a woman and a home-maker, and her principle means of recreation and sociability."
[Mare Carter, Foxground 1998]

Eva Towe with grand-daughter Mary 1930
Eva Towe with grand-daughter Mary 1930
Adeline Thompson with daughter 1930
Adeline Thompson with daughter 1930

Related Quilts:

Jillian Towers
Hand pieced patchwork quilt with blue and black checkerboard central frame surrounded by 4 borders of irregular sized rectangles. Mainly dress materials with possibly some furnishing material. It is not quilted or tied. The backing is a large rectangular red check table cloth with 3 borders of irregular shaped pieces down 2 sides and 1 border down 2 sides. There is no padding.
1860 x 1730mm
The Pioneer Women's Hut
Patchwork top with a centre frame of a mauve cross outlined in black within a square bordered with pink. The rest of the top is rectangles and squares in a wide variety of materials. There is no padding. The backing is brown, possibly curtain material.
1910 x 1480mm
Jean Winchester
Patchwork quilt of hexagon patches with a large central group of 14 rows, then groups or 'flowers' of 6 patches placed over the rest of the quilt. The colours are red, black, white and blue, in a mixture of stripes, florals and plains. No padding. Backing is a double bed sheet. Hand sewn.
2591 x 2566mm
June Johnson
Hand sewn cotton cot quilt with pattern of red and white lozenge shaped hexagons measuring approximately 65mm from top to bottom. A centre flower is constructed from 2 circles of 19 hexagons in red and white. This is surrounded by 8 smaller hexagon flowers. Additional single red hexagons are scattered at random on the white background around the rows of flowers. The quilt is not quilted or tied but is attached at all 4 edges. Writing on the back of the quilt (probably added later) reads "Made by Sarah Hodge, Newport, Wales UK for her first child John." There is no padding and the backing is white cotton. 1000 x 1250 mm.
Annette Gero
This quilt consists of many blocks of different colours with etchings and verse from the bible machine appliqued on to a red backing material. It is a kit quilt.
2580 x 24100mm
Barbara Levy
"The quilt is made up of many cotton hexagons of various colours, patterns and designs, finely sewn by hand, making a very attractive bedspread. Each patch is lined with lawn. It is quite a heavy quilt, with its plain border, and backing of home-spun cotton or cesarine. The family always called it a 'cottage design'."
No quilting.
2312 x 1905mm