Quilt No.89DS - Dorothy Stevens

Dorothy Stevens
Owner: 
Dorothy Stevens
Location: 
QLD South West
Maker
Maker: 
Emmiline Marsland
Made in
AUSTRALIA QLD
Patterms
Wholecloth, Re-used clothing or blanket, Utilitarian, Typically Australian
Date: 
1940 - 1970
Description: 
Utilitarian quilt made for a child's bed. Padding is hand and machine knitted pieces of clothing. Top and backing is wholecloth of the same cotton fabric. Machine quilted in a simple pattern.
1728 x 864mm
History: 

The quilt was made by Emmiline Marsland in 1964 in Brisbane for Andrew, the 4 year old son of Dorothy Stevens,the present owner. "I have used it now and then as a floor rug for visiting babies and as an underlay on a camp stretcher."
[Dorothy Stevens 18.3.96]

Story: 

Emmeline was a steward at the ECCA (RASQ Show) before moving to Roma to care for 2 motherless children. She remained unmarried but adored children, stitching children's clothes for the various adopted families over a 30 year period.
"Emmiline Marsland was my very dear friend. I boarded with her when teaching in Roma in 1952-53. She was born 30th July 1901 and died 18 December 1986. A dressmaker by trade , she was skilled in many crafts, fine embroidery to woodwork and had a great love for children. I remember sleeping under the green quilt in Roma and it was probably used for packing precious furniture when moving form Roma to Maryborough to Brisbane."
[Dorothy Stevens 18.3.1996]

Emmiline Marsland
Emmiline Marsland
Andrew Stevens
Andrew Stevens

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
National Gallery of Australia
Quilt No.971NGA - National Gallery of Australia
"The coverlet is of cream cheesecloth, highly decorated with applied figures and pieced fabric bands. The appliqué bands follow the edge of the coverlet for some time and then become circles radiating from the centre. The bands form two framed circular areas that carry appliquéd images. A smaller area lower centre of the cloth depicts birds and insects. In the centre of the work is a bordered oval with two aboriginal figures, an angel, kangaroo, emu and kookaburra, with the words 'Advance Australia Fair' embroidered in black thread. The stitching and construction of the coverlet is quite crude." [NGA] The quilt is not padded or lined. 1640 x 1550mm
Embroidered and/or Appliqued, Motifs or Names, Pictorial, Wholecloth, Typically Australian
The Pioneer Women's Hut
Quilt No.598PWH - The Pioneer Women's Hut
The top is a wholecloth piece of twill type cotton and the backing is a wholecloth piece of finer patterned cotton. The padding is a layer of pieces of used clothing stitched together, including part jumpers, some darned. These are inside an old folded blanket.
1540 x 950mm
Wholecloth, Re-used clothing or blanket, Utilitarian, Typically Australian
Glenda Wilkinson
Quilt No.475GW - Glenda Wilkinson
The quilt consists of 2 layers of random pieces of woollen coating and suiting materials machined together, very dark colours on one side and a mixture of dark and lighter on the other. The 2 layers are quilted together with a row of machining and has a folded and machine stitched edge. There is no padding.
1270 x 950mm
Patchwork, Pieced Random, Typically Australian, Tailors' samples
Ruth Flett
Quilt No.182RF - Ruth Flett
Quilt is made of wool tailors' samples, each measuring 6 x 3 1/2 inches. The colours are predominantly navy and grey. Most pieces are striped but some more distinctly than others. Both sides are mad eof smaples, one side being mainly grey and the other almost exclusively navy. There doesn't seem to be another layer of material as padding. There is no added decoration. Made on a treadle sewing machine.
1703 x 1423mm
Patchwork, Typically Australian, Tailors' samples