Quilt No.758PHM - Powerhouse Museum

Powerhouse Museum
Owner: 
Powerhouse Museum
Location: 
NSW Sydney
Maker
Maker: 
Caroline Mary West
Made in
AUSTRALIA NSW
Date: 
1921 - 1940
Description: 
"A tied patchwork wagga quilt made from swatches of men's wool suiting fabrics in blue/grey and pink/brown tonings. Rectangular swatches have been cut in half diagonally, and the resulting right-angled triangles paired to form larger equilateral triangles which alternate dark with light across the field. The quilt has been machine and hand pieced, then machined in vertical stripes.
The centre field is bounded by two strip-pieced borders at top and bottom, and three down each side. These are sewn from rectangles, using light pink/brown tones for the inner border and darker colours for the...
History: 

The quilt was made by Caroline Mary West about 1930 on a property near Trundle NSW in about 1930. It was handed down through the women of the family, to her grandson Mr. Ian Foster of Newport. Ian Foster gave the quilt to the Powerhouse Museum in 1985.

Story: 

"The quilt was made by Mrs. Caroline Mary West (nee Bray) in about 1930. Caroline was born on the 14 June 1872 and married a grazier, Everett Pearson West, in 1904. They lived on a property near Trundle, in the centre-west of New South Wales and had six children, four boys and two girls between 1905 and 1915. The quilt is thought to have been made in the 1920s or early 1930s during the Depression. The woollen suiting fabrics used to make the quilt were obtained from Tom Ellis, the local tailor. Caroline Mary West died on 19 March 1947." [PHM]

Related Quilts:

Red Cliffs Historical Society
Pieced construction, repeat block format, American Blue Grass pattern. Hand stitched and quilted with a machined edge. Mauve check stars, 8 points, surrounded by 16 point stars in yellow floral. One star per block plus green squares and red strips. The background is yellow cotton and so is the backing. There is a dacron type padding.
1980 x 1740mm
National Gallery of Australia
"The quilt consists of 12 blocks of crazy patchwork with an embroidered border. The quilt is made of 167 different fabrics; most of these are silk. These velvets, printed silks and satins are beautifully embroidered with flowers, household items and Kate Greenway images of children at play. Many of the motifs have a strong influence from the Aesthetic Movement. The edge of the quilt carries a border in maroon silk decorated with tendrils and daisies in very fine embroidery.
The patches are joined with hand sewing and embroidery, however the 12 panels are joined with machine stitching (chainstitch machine stitching). The blue silk lining was hand sewn into position with silk thread." [NGA]
"The quilt does consist of three layers but the central layer is not padding. The crazy patch pieces were sewn together and this was lined with white cotton fabric prior to the embroidery at the edges of the 12 panels being placed. This in turn was lined with a fine blue silk." [NGA] 1810 x 1460 mm
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
N.S.W. Parks and Wildlife Service
Double sided quilt. Side 1 has an off centre frame based on a hexagon and including triangles and squares in a concentric pattern. The borders are all small rectangles with a single strip of large rectangles at one end. Side 2 has a central patch of pieced shapes appliqued to the background. The borders are squares and rectangles many in striped shirting cotton. Side 1 has minimal quilting to the interlining but it does not go through to side 2. The padding is a thin sheet.
The circle (sometimes pieced hexagons) is common to other 'Craigmoor' quilts.

1450 x 1230mm
Mrs M Batts
This quilt is allover crazy patchwork not done in squares. Many pieces are awkward shapes. In the centre is a 150 x 150mm square of squares each 25mm repeating some of the materials in the quilt. Most of the materials are velvets, satins and silks. There is a border of red and green patterned wool and all seams are feather stitched in a thick gold thread. The padding is thought to be flannelette and the backing is polished cotton in faded red and green.
2560 x 2160mm
Barbara McCabe
Patchwork quilt made from rectangles and squares of woollen fabrics from dress making projects. Colours are mainly grey, blue, brown, green, with some red and yellow. Fabrics are plain, cheks and stripes. No padding or quilting. Backing is made of white flannelette sheets. The quilt has been lengthened after it was completed, and the backing sheet has been added to at the same place.
2470 x 1320mm