Patchwork Quilts

June Dean
Pieced hexagons, English paper method. Large hexagons form the centre with a border of smaller hexagons. The fabrics are all cotton in a wide range of colours and patterns. There is no padding. The backing is cotton, large white floral design on dark blue. The hexagons are hand pieced and the edges machined.
2480 x 1420 mm
Gwen Cordinglay
Patchwork quilt made from hexagon patches in silks and rayons, in pinks, blues, red, yellow mainly, with pastels. No padding. Bordered and backed with green satin.
1829 x 1372mm
The Queensland Women's Historical Assoc.
Quilt top of plain, floral and printed cotton hexagons in a diamond pattern, separated by plain white hexagons. Hand written letters have been used as templates and some are still in position but the ink is faded and the writing now illegible. Tacking stitches are still in place.
3048 x 2210mm
Gundagai Historical Museum
Patchwork cot or pram quilt made of diamond patches in the Tumbling Block pattern. Patches are made from cotton, corduroy and velvet, with red, black, teal blue, green, brown and cream predominating. No padding. Backing is of green wool and the quilt is bound with dark red crushed velvet.
780 x 560mm
Amanda Smith
Unfinished crazy parchwork quilt using a wide variety of mainly cotton scraps in patterns and plains. Machine sewn on to calico base.
1956 x 1677mm
Oakey Historical Museum Society Inc.
Cotton patchwork cover constructed from hand sewn hexagons (65mm) in cotton and linen furnishing materials. The curved edges are bound with blue and cream printed striped cotton. The backing material is not visible.
941 x 261mm
Wangaratta Historical Society
9 large blocks of crazy patchwork in silks and velvets. The blocks are divided by strips of deep ruby coloured silk. There is a wide ruby border with peaks to which is attached cream lace. The backing is beige silk. The main blocks are outlined with feather stitch in gold thread and many individual patches are outlined in fancy stitches and have embroidered motifs some of which are Australian eg centre patch has Sturt's Desert Pea flowers, parrots, wattle. There are also English flowers, Japanese motifs, flags, domestic objects and Marianne's initials. Embroidery is in a variety of threads including chenille.
2250 x 2180mm
Red Cliffs Historical Society
Pieced construction, repeat block format, American Blue Grass pattern. Hand stitched and quilted with a machined edge. Mauve check stars, 8 points, surrounded by 16 point stars in yellow floral. One star per block plus green squares and red strips. The background is yellow cotton and so is the backing. There is a dacron type padding.
1980 x 1740mm
National Gallery of Australia
" Reversible patchwork quilt of woollen suiting/upholstery fabrics in khaki, greys, blues and browns. Both sides have different designs. The front of the quilt has 13 rows of 12 vertical rectangles flanked on either side by a column of 22 horizontal rectangles. The reverse has a more interesting and complex design of small and very large rectangles, squares and triangles; with khaki contrasting with the duller greys and blues. The patchwork layers are joined at the edges with machine stitching and the quilt is machine quilted along 3 horizontal lines following joins in the patchwork; therefore not being totally straight. These lines are more noticeable on the reverse. The reverse face has been on display at the NGA." [NGA] There is a cotton blanket used as padding. 2054 x 1451mm
Margery Creek
Cotton quilt made in the USA. The pattern is called 'Turkey Tracks'. It has a cotton backing and a bottle green binding. The red patches have faded to pink. The quilt is hand pieced and hand quilted. Two names are written on tape sewn on the back viz: Cora Phelps and M.Hoover.
2135 x 1727mm
Phyllis Dowling
Hand pieced cot quilt made from small rectangular shapes of a great variety of materials including cottons, silks, wools and velvets. The backing is cotton sateen in 3 colours and is brought to the front to form a border of pink, cream and yellow.
1170 x 920mm
Mrs M Batts
This quilt is allover crazy patchwork not done in squares. Many pieces are awkward shapes. In the centre is a 150 x 150mm square of squares each 25mm repeating some of the materials in the quilt. Most of the materials are velvets, satins and silks. There is a border of red and green patterned wool and all seams are feather stitched in a thick gold thread. The padding is thought to be flannelette and the backing is polished cotton in faded red and green.
2560 x 2160mm
Evelyn McAlister
Quilt made from dressmaking materials in a design probably made up by the maker but resembling 'Courthouse Steps'. The outer border of each block is mitred. Originally it was reversible but during restoration the back was brought to the front, doubling the size of the quilt. The padding is old woollen materials. The backing is a new piece of floral material. It is now machine quilted.
1830 x 1220mm
Doreen Carter
The quilt is called 'Loved'. The pattern is log cabin and it is made from dress materials and pyjama flannelette. The original filling was a heavy woollen blanket (now flannelette) and the backing is green headcloth - all government issue. With its restoration, the backing was supplemented with a green floral, and the quilt is now tied. The quilt is machine pieced, some restoration work is done by hand.
2260 x 1920mm
Janine and Eva Chick
Hexagon quilt, hand sewn, using a wide variety of patterned and plain cotton scraps left over from dressmaking. 6 hexagons are placed around a centre one. There is no padding. The backing is brown flannel turned over to the front with hexagons hand stitched to it.
1220 x 763mm
Joyce Lannin
Machine stitched quilt made from tailors' samples cut into squares. The colours are mainly greys, browns and fawns. There is no padding and the backing is a grey herringbone heavy woollen material with a white fleck. This is folded back to the front to make a 75mm border and finished with a dark grey braid where it meets the patchwork top. 1525 x 1225mm
The Pyramid Hill Historical Society Inc.
This unfinished cover has a centre frame of a simple block. There are alternating plain and patterned borders including sword tooth, flying geese and squares on point. It is hand pieced with plain and twill weave cottons, variety of stripes, checks, florals and plains. There is no backing.
1800 x 1800mm
Billie Briggs
Hand pieced hexagon quilt in pattern known as 'Grandmother's Flower Garden". 12 hexagons, in patterned cottons, form the outer border of each flower with an inner border of 6 matching plain coloured hexagons and all flowers have a yellow hexagon centre. There is no padding, a cotton backing and it is hand quilted.
2400 x 1780mm.
Kathryn Thompson
Crazy patchwork quilt in a variety of cotton materials. There is no padding. The backing is old flour bags.
2000 x 2000mm
Rita Fiddian
Grandmother's Flower Garden quilt. Hexagons are from cotton and polyester material mostly from 'Reverse Garbage' Melbourne. Hand pieced by Rita Fiddian, the owner. Hand quilted. The padding is wool and the backing cotton.
3049 x 2109mm

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