Quilt No.982SB - Sheila Bruhn
Owner:
Sheila Bruhn
Location:
NSW Sydney
Maker
Maker:
Changi Prison Girl Guides
Made in
SINGAPORE Changi Prison
Date:
1941 - 1970
Description:
Quilt constructed of blocks of hexagons with 72 'flower' rosettes made from plain and printed cotton scraps. The centre of each rosette has the name of one of the Girl Guides embroidered on it. The one in the centre of the quilt has the Trefoil insignia outlined in satin stitch. The background is white hexagons. There is no padding and it is backed with white cotton. 1880 x 960mm
History:
The quilt was made by Girl Guides in Changi prison camp in 1942. Elizabeth Ennis, who started the project, took the quilt to Scotland with her when she left the camp in 1945 after the war ended. 'Trish' Ennis gave it to the present owner, Sheila Bruhn, in April 2001 and it is now with Sheila in Australia.
Story:
This Girl Guide quilt was put together by a group of girls in Changi Prison. The guide group was started by Elizabeth Ennis, an army nursing sister, with the help of a young Dutch girl, Trude van Roode. There were about 20 to 30 girls between 8 and 13 and they collected oddments of material in the camp. The girls' names are recorded on the quilt.
Related Quilts:
Patchwork quilt in crazy pattern, with pieces of silks, corded silks and velvets in prints, plaids and plains. Nearly all pieces are edged with embroidery, and many pieces have embroidered names and motifs. There are a variety of embroidery stitches. The backing is of slub cotton in a plaid pattern in yellow, grey, red and white. No padding. Quilt has a gathered edging of dark red organdy and silk. Names and dates embroidered are: Bert, Milly, Toots, Verdi, Ida, and 1893, 1895, 1894.
1550 x 1420mm
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661 a 649mm
661 a 649mm
"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
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
Machine sewn quilt made from 125mm squares of scraps left over from dressmaking, joined in strips and then the strips joined. There is a border of fawn cotton and the backing is the same material. The padding is an old blanket and the border is padded with sheep's wool.
1400 x 925mm
1400 x 925mm