Patchwork Quilts

Jeanette McGeoch
Crazy patchwork quilt made from pieces of silk, velvet, silk ribbon and brocade in a variety of patterns and plains, in a range of colours. All patches are edged with embroidery, in blanket, feather, herringbone and other stitch variations. Many patches are embroidered with flowers, butterflies, leaves and initials of family members, and there is some beading. 1901 is embroidered in one corner. Quilt has a wide border of gold velvet. Patches are stitched to a base fabric. Backing is dark green sateen.
1470 x 1060mm
Mr. Michael and Mrs. Mary Dilworth
Pieced repeat block, hand pieced over papers in a diamond pattern. Blue patterned border. There is no padding and the quilt has been recently backed with calico. The 2 layers are tied together. 2240 x 1830 mm.
Muriel Thompson
Quilt in pattern known as 'double weeding ring'. All cotton, using old prints, plaids, checks and solid colours, with plain blues and red squares at the intersections of the circles. White background. Hand pieced. Padding is Hobbs Heirloom: cotton 80%, polyester 20%. Backing is cream quilted cotton. 2500 x 2100 mm.
Eileen Dinning
Quilt of over 6000 suffolk puffs (also called yo yos) in a mix of cotton and synthetic materials. The top is hand stitched on to a satin backing.
2413 x 1626mm
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
The Embroiderers' Guild of S.A.Inc Museum
Yellow and white cotton Durham quilt with centre panel of patchwork blocks in counterchange design called 'Plate'. There is a wide yellow border and square white corner blocks. It is padded and there is a yellow backing. It is quilted all over following the patchwork pattern in the centre panel. Feather pattern border.
2120 x 1720mm
 Dianne Gorringe
Patchwork quilt/cloth with strong overall design of very small squares. The colours are navy, red, cream, green (khaki) and fawn. There is a wide fringe on all sides. There is no padding. The backing is cotton sateen.
1240 x 126mm
Valinda Gale
Patchwork quilt made from squares of cotton prints in florals, stripes, spots and checks, joined together in rows. Colours are predominantly blues, reds, yellow and pastels. Binding is of turquoise blue fabric. Materials appear to be from the 40s or 50s. Patches caught in the middle with a woollen knot - red, yellow, blue wool. No quilting. Backed in blue fleecy flannel.
Single bed length and width.
The Pioneer Women's Hut
Machine pieced crazy patchwork quilt in plain, floral and striped cotton materials. Some pieces are seamed and others are sewn direct on to calico backing. Each piece is outlined in red stranded cotton in herringbone stitch.
2150 x 1770mm
Barbara McCabe
"A single bed cover made up of squares and recrangles of woollen fabric pieced together by a Vicker Sewing Machine from Myer Melbourne. The fabrics are either new (left over scraps) or used (unpicked woollen garments). The backing is an old (used) candlewick bedspread. There is no padding. It is faded and worn due to being used for other purposes later. There is a 66 cm high clown that ahs been appliqued on mainly by hand using blanket stitch. It is also made from scraps of fabric. The hands were cut from an old felt hat."
2400mm x 1660mm
Bob Sloan
Double sided quilt made from all wool worsted suiting samples. Machine construction. There is no padding.
1840 x 1330mm
Julie Bos
Crazy patchwork quilt with pieces made from cottons, rayons, silks and taffetas. Each piece is stuffed with kapok and machine sewn to a backing then a wholecloth floral cotton backing has been added.
920 x 164o mms
Annette Gero
This quilt is of hand pieced hexagons randomly placed and stitched on to a linen backing. They are mainly dress fabrics and chintz with some hexagon flowers in the centre and corners in broderie perse. There is no padding.
2600 x 2600mm
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
Gloria Martin
Double sided quilt machine made from clothing scraps. Shapes are mainly rectangles in corduroy and wool blend. The padding is an old grey blanket.
1524 x 1372mm
The Pioneer Women's Hut
Machine constructed log cabin quilt using a wide variety of strips of used clothing including cottons, men's suitings and wools. Each square is about 250mm and arranged in the 'light and dark of the fire' variation of log cabin. There is no padding. The backing is brown twill with an orange pattern and is probably a replacement backing.
2180 x 1710mm
Alice Lemon
Patchwork quilt made from hexagon patches on one side, and squares and rectangles on the reverse. Cottons are used, mostly from dressmaking, in bright and light colours. The hexagons form an indented edge on all sides; on the back the rectangles have been cut at the edge to match the hexagon shapes. Hand sewn, the edge machine sewn.
No padding.
1551 x 1373mm
Nancy Dunlap
Grandmother's flower garden pattern. All cottons with plain centres to 'flowers' then row of prints and outer row of plains. One hexagon flower has been repaired. Scalloped edges bound with yellow. Hand quilting around the hexagons. The backing is cream cotton and the padding is thin cotton. 2140 x 1780mm.
National Gallery of Australia
"This quilt follows the traditional hexagon patchwork pieced pattern, which are then joined and sometimes edged with a contrasting border. The edges of the quilt have been turned and then scalloped edges made of identical patches to the main body of the quilt have been attached to the edge. The quilt is fully lined, and the lining is visible front the front face through the gaps between the scalloped edge. The lining is attached to the patchwork with a row of stitches along the edges; there are no stitches in the centre field. The fabrics of the quilt are plain weave cotton in simple floral and geometric designs. Most of the fabrics are monochromatic. Several different colour ways of the same fabric are evident which could suggest some fabrics were from manufacturer samples. The lining is a William Morris print.
Each of the patchwork pieces (there are several thousand present) are sewn together with very fine overcasting stitches. The quilt is entirely hand sewn. There is some evidence that templates from the hexagon pieces possibly blotting paper, remain in situ���The quilt is not padded or quilted. The lining is fine twill weave cotton printed in pink and pale purple. The design follows William Morris's 'Strawberry Thief design'." [NGA] 2075 x 1911mm
Arlene Crane
Cotton patchwork quilt in double wedding ring pattern in pastel prints. Quilted in a design of geometric flowers. Padding is probably cotton wadding, backing is cream calico. 2270 x 1970 mm.

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