Mosaic Quilts

Art Gallery of South Australia
Patchwork quilt in the Tumbling Block pattern in light and dark silks in bright colours. On both sides and at the bottom is a wide border in Tumbling Blocks, the pattern vertical at the sides and forming a triangle centre bottom, with an edge on both sides of two black bands with pieced diamonds between. Made for a poster bed. Hand sewn.
1790 x 1750mm
Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery
Patchwork quilt made from silk and challis and velvet hexagons set to form diamond shapes. The centre shape has 8 hexagons surrounded by a row of 16 hexagons. The outer border of the quilt is 2 rows of 'Tumbling Blocks' set amongst a variety of black silk and satin patches. There is a wide fringe in red, green, blue and yellow. There is no padding and the backing is a recent addition in red cotton, synthetis mix.
1770 x 1740mm
Marian Russell
Patchwork quilt made from squares of wool, cotton, tweed, corduroy, tartan and stretch knit fabrics. Colours are mainly reds, greens, blues, pink and orange, mostly solid colours with some checks, stripes and florals. Padding is an open weave hessian material. Backing is a loosely woven cotton, pieced, buff coloured with a woven red and orange thread. Machine pieced, machine quilted in a large rectangle.
1601 x 915mm
Mrs. L. M. Chick
Hexagon quilt made by hand from a wide variety of cotton materials. There is no padding and the backing is calico.
2286 x 915mm
The Temora Rural Museum
All cotton hexagon quilt using a wide variety of colours and patterns. The hexagons were hand stitched by Sylvia Schleibs in the same style she and her daughter, Norma Gilchrist, had previously made 3 hexagon quilts. There is a calico border and backing.
2000 x 1450mm
National Trust of Australia (WA)
Hexagon quilt in dress and shirting cottons constructed in frame style with a centre rosette of 7 patches surrounded by 4 borders of patterned hexagons alternating with cream patches. The quilt has an inner border of triangles then rows of rosettes alternating with cream patches. The outer border is triangles. There is no padding. The backing is cream linen and has had a 20th century white cotton sateen slipstitched to it.
2045 x 1940mm
Barbara McCabe
Patchwork quilt made from squares of cotton fabrics, from curtains, left over from dress making projects, and new fabrics. Colours are bright primaries and some pastels, prints are checks, florals, stripes and plain. Pieces were stitched together without any particular order. No padding or quilting. Backing is a cotton bedspread in turquoise and blue stripes.
2520 x 1600mm
Elsie Shephard
Double sided patchwork quilt/rug constructed from squares machined together in strips and then the strips joined. It is made in one piece and then doubled over. The materials are mainly wool, worsted, part cream machine made jumper, pink and blue mohair, blue and white spotted flannelette and cream blanket and all are scraps or from worn clothing.
1690 x 1370mm
Wanda McPherson
Patchwork quilt made from pure wool suiting samples in shades of navy blue and brown. Quilt is constructed in 11 rows containing 11 pieces. Each piece is 14cm x 9cm. No padding. Backing is of mauve cotton with a floral pattern of closely spaces white/pale mauve flowers.
1480 x 900mm
Powerhouse Museum
"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 outer borders. The quilt is padded and backed and the side seams are secured with black herringbone stitch. The three layers are tied together invisibly with lazy daisy stitches in black cotton from the back." [PHM] The padding is a wool blanket and the backing is two pieces of cream twill cotton.
2030 x 1440mm
Lyn Uppill
Patchwork quilt of hexagons, handsewn, in print and plain cottons and rayon. Central star group has diamond shaped groups of patches, with smaller flower shapes, an inner border of a star shape in yellow hexagons, and an outer border of hexagons in vertical bands. Colours are mainly blues, reds, greens and yellow, the 'paths' and border are a pink print. The backing is herringbone stitched to the border or sashing, which has mitred corners.
2400 x 2340mm
Diana Cameron
Small patchwork piece possibly made from salesman's samples. There is no opening in the back so it is not a cushion cover. There is no padding. The backing is green polished cotton. There is a 40mm fringe around the edge.
520 x 520mm
Elsie Roberts
Patchwork quilt has a centre of a square within a square, with rows of scraps added around it. The scraps are mainly cotton shirting fabrics and are cut in different sizes and shapes. The two long sides have a narrow red edging folded from the back. The other two sides have been 'bagged'. Filling is an unusual weave thought to be wool. Backing is a pink, red and beige floral cotton.
2080 x 1650mm
Irene Treneman
Cotton quilt, checks, plains and patterns. Machine construction. Rectangles stitched together in strips and then strips joined. The backing is a cotton print. There is no padding and no quilting.
2420 x 1220
The Pioneer Women's Hut
Patchwork quilt made up of 100mm multi coloured squares in a variety of materials including cottons, synthetics, lurex, plain and printed. Each square has dacron padding and is then joined in strips and the strips joined. All hand sewn. The backing is blue synthetic whole cloth 60mm of which is returned to the front to form a border.
1500 x 1200mm
Lyn Uppill
Scrap quilt made of vertical strips of rectangles alternating with narrow strips of pieced triangles. Colours are subdued, blues, pinks, red, browns and black, in small patterns and stripes. Fabrics are suiting, rayon, crepe, gaberdine, taffeta and blazer wool. The padding or middle layer is pieced from hessian and suiting fabric, knitted cotton. and khaki and brown twill (uniform material). The middle layer is then handsewn to the back.
1550 x 870mm
National Trust of Australia (WA)
Patchwork top made of cottons, constructed with 5 by 5 rows of squared 8 point pieced stars alternating with white cross-shaped blocks (made from 4 pieces). On all sides are borders of half stars. The outer border is of rectangles of cotton prints appliquéd on to cotton to form a plaited pattern. The border only is backed with a band of cream cotton. All patches are whip stitched together.
2645 x 2615mm
National Trust of Australia (VIC)
Double sided patchwork quilt. One side has small 'Tumbling Block' pattern. The other side has larger pattern of pieced stars. It is made of silks, some printed, some solid colours mainly blues, greens cream and black. There is no padding.
2100 x 1800mm
Helen Jarmyn
Patchwork quilt made in the 'Trip Around the World' pattern, from cottons and some fine dress linen, in bright and pastel solids. Each colour is placed in a diamond shape on the quilt. Patches are 10cm square, quilt has 620 squares. The linen was mainly used to work the cross stitch. Quilt has a 2 inch border in black. Backing is sheeting. Each square is embroidered, with many different stitches, in geometric, floral, animal, insect and abstract designs, in different colours.
2760 x 2350mm
Barbara McCabe
Patchwork quilt made of rectangles of woollen fabrics from dressmaking projects. Pieces have been stitched together in no particular order. Colours are predominantly dark red and light grey, with some green, pink and blue. Fabrics are plain, checks and weaves. No padding or quilring. Backing is yellow curtain fabric.
2200 x 1100mm

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