Quilt No.810QVM - Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery

Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery
Owner: 
Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery
Location: 
TAS
Maker
Maker: 
Unknown
Made in
Unknown
Date: 
pre 1850
Description: 
Unfinished patchwork top made from hexagon patches in the 'Grandmother's Flower Garden' pattern, in glazed and unglazed cottons and some twill fabrics. 7 patches for flowers with white and some cream patches forming paths. All fabrics are patterned and date from c.1825-1840, including pieces of toile de jouy, stripes and florals. Colours are predominantly reds and blues with some green, brown, purple; one flower is in chrome yellow, 8 flowers are in turkey red indicating probably the latest fabric. The quilt is hand sewn and the papers are in tact in most patches.
1508 x 940mm
History: 

The quilt is thought to have been made in the early 1840s. It was donated to the Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery in 1969 by Major P. Hallowes.

Story: 

Most backing papers are still in place; sheet music, letters, note books, covers, pages from a cook book. Different writing on letters also. At least 2 people were involved in the sewing as some patches are more finely sewn than others.

Related Quilts:

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Fran Williams
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Art Gallery of South Australia
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Gillian Sullivan
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National Gallery of Australia
" 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]