Mosaic Quilts

Helen Sparkman
Hexagon quilt made from dressmaking scraps, nearly all woollen. The hexagons measure 150mm. It is hand stitched.
1170 x 1100mm
Margery Smith
Patchwork cot quilt made from hexagons 63mm across in a variety of cotton prints and plains. The bright coloured patches came from children's clothes and dressmaking scraps. No padding. Backing of unbleached calico. Hand sewn.
1524 x 1169mm
Mare Carter
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
Annette Gero
This domestic Wagga is two layers of woollen army blankets with the top layer in rectangles joined in rows. The backing is hessian bags that originally contained meat meal.
11650 x 1130mm
Barbara McCabe
Patchwork quilt made of squares and rectangles in woollen fabric, stitched together without any particular pattern. Colours are mainly green, grey, blue, black, pink and some yellow. Fabrics are plain, checks and stripes. No padding, quilting or binding. Backing is a remnant of synthetic fabric. The quilt has been well sued and is very worn with fabric torn and marked in some places.
1400 x 400mm
Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery
Quilt with alternate red and white diamonds in cotton, with wide border of white cotton and a white cotton crochet edging. All diamond patches and edging were joined to white border decorated with feather stitch. White border edged with zig-zag white feather stitch. Centre rectangle of white has 4 red petals edged with white feather stitch and 4 red diamonds each embroidered in white clockwise: '1898', 'R', 'L', 'K'. Diamonds edged with feather stitch. There is no padding and the backing is white cotton.
2420 x 1740mm
Ryder Lundy
"Hexagons pieced over cardboard hand-sewn together. Each rosette was then machine quilted 1/8th to 1/4 inch from edge of rosette in shape of each rosette. Quilt is mainly cottons with a few rayons. Some checks and stripes are used but mainly florals. Has been machine quilted in rosette shape using green on green fabrics, lemon on lemon, orange on orange and red on red." [Ryder Lundy] There is no padding and the backing is gold curtain fabric extended at the end and one side with matching taffeta. 2220 x 1270 mm.
Annette Gero
The top is mainly squares of flannel machined together with patches of dress materials stitched randomly on top. There is no padding and the backing is calico. The top and backing are held together by a binding only. It is one of a pair.
2010 x 1680mm
Jan Hanslow
Hexagon quilt with 60mm hexagons in cottons. No particular design or pattern. Patches are plain and patterned in reds, blues, pinks, browns and greys. There is a 70mm wide lace trim. The quilt is padded and the backing is wholecloth green with a floral design in pink and cream. 1860 x 1640mm
Ann Cuthbert
Patchwork quilt of hexagons in pattern known as 'Grandmother's flower garden'. All cotton. Rosettes are set in a white 'path' with the centre and first ring in solid colours and the second ring prints. There is a yellow border and an outer border in pink. It is hand pieced and hand quilted. The padding is cotton and the backing is white cotton with 2 border edges in light and dark blue. These borders were originally part of the top. There is an inscription "Dear daughter from Mother".
2390 x 1880mm
Joyce Lannin
A hand sewn quilt of more than 6,536 hexagon pieces in cottons, silks and polyester mix. There is a centre circular pattern of hexagons within a larger hexagon and small hexagons form larger hexagons in a random pattern on the quilt top. There is no padding and the backing is a plain fawn sheet with a floral edging in hexagons. 2880 x 2550 mm.
National Trust of Australia (TAS)
Small rectangular bed cover, probably child's or even doll's, made from rectangles of cream linen stitched together with hand sewn french seams. The top surface is decorated with small squares and rectangles of coloured silk, velvet, wool and cotton attached approximately 25mm apart, with 3 stitches in centre of patch to attach to background. Bright pink wool patches stand out.
935 x 635mm
The Queensland Women's Historical Assoc.
Hexagon rosettes of printed and plain cotton in a flower pattern. Incomplete, top layer only.
2439 x 1981mm
Annette Gero
Quilt top of hexagons in silks and satins, pieced over papers in the English tradition. Some paper templates still in place. One states: 'Semi - Monthly Regular Clipper packets to New Zealand, Port Phillip, Sydney�2nd of each month..Adelaide' suggesting it may have been from a shipping timetable.
1580 x 1830mm
National Trust of Australia (NSW)
Pieced patchwork quilt of hexagons in cottons, chintzes and linen. The centre is pieced in 6 point hexagon stars, then radiating out are large hexagons alternating with tumbling blocks, then 6 piece hexagon stars and 4 piece hexagon diamonds. Some pieces have Egyptian patterns dating from 1800 - 1805. The backing is cream linen.
2450 x 2200mm
Mare Carter
Quilt of alternate green and fawn squares (100mm) in knitted fabric, originally swatches of sample fabrics. Padding is a piece of old blanket. Backing is fawn flannelette, and the quilt is finished with a flannelette ruffle.
1423 x 1124mm
National Gallery of Australia
" Reversible patchwork quilt of woollen suiting in grey, blue, navy, maroon and brown. The fabrics appear to be new tailor's sample pieces (the sizing is still present on the fabric, signifying it has never been washed). The patches are rectangular and vary in size. Both sides have different designs. The front of the quilt has 4 rows of 12 vertical rectangles then below this are 4 rows of 7 horizontal rectangles followed below by 4 rows of 11 vertical rectangles. The reverse of the quilt has a section at the top and bottom composed of 5 rows of 9 horizontal rectangles. The central area is made up of a centre section of 6 rows of 5 vertical rectangles; flanked on either side by a column of 10 horizontal rectangles and two columns of 8 smaller vertical rectangles.
The patchwork layers are joined at the edges with machine stitching. The patchwork layers and padding are machine quilted on the front down 2 vertical lines following joins in the patchwork; therefore not being totally straight. The lines are more noticeable on the reverse as the 2 sides do not match. The front face is displayed at the NGA.
Between the patchwork layers is a striped cotton blanket in black, sky blue, white and cream." [NGA]
2082 x 1386mm
National Trust of Australia (TAS)
Quilt top of hexagonal patches in silk and velvet in colours of brown, black, soft green, maroon, light yellow and blue. Some materials self patterned. Blue backing papers can be seen at edges behind some patches.
National Trust of Australia (TAS)
Quilt made of hexagons in cotton materials, the hexagons set in the 'Grandmother's Flower Garden' pattern with 6 patterned patches set around a plain coloured centre patch and white hexagons forming 'paths'. There is a white cotton backing with the edges turned under all the way around and top and backing are joined by a blue machine sewn satin stitch. The patches are hand sewn.
2160 x 1830mm
Margery Smith
Patchwork quilt made from hexagons 63mm across in a variety of cotton prints and plains. The bright coloured patches came from children's clothes and dressmaking scraps. The 'set included a large cot cover, a pillow cover and a circular stool cover. No padding. Backing of unbleached calico. Hand sewn.
2300 x 1840mm

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