Patchwork Quilts

National Trust of Australia (NSW)
Utility quilt hand and machine sewn. The top has a centre frame of hand sewn hexagonal patches in a mix of dress materials and shirtings with four corner flowers and a roughly circular ring in red and blue stripe. The inner border has rectangular pieces in red/yellow/green/white hexagon printed material alternating with a blue/white spot. The outer border consists of large pieces of material, predominantly pink and blue stripes and checks. The backing is mainly red/white printed cotton. It is quilted all over in a diamond pattern. The padding is mainly flannel and has been made from another quilt.
1975 x 1675mm
Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery
Unfinished patchwork top made from hexagon patches in the 'Grandmother's Flower Garden' pattern, in glazed and unglazed cottons and some twill fabrics. 7 patches for flowers with white and some cream patches forming paths. All fabrics are patterned and date from c.1825-1840, including pieces of toile de jouy, stripes and florals. Colours are predominantly reds and blues with some green, brown, purple; one flower is in chrome yellow, 8 flowers are in turkey red indicating probably the latest fabric. The quilt is hand sewn and the papers are in tact in most patches.
1508 x 940mm
National Trust of Australia (WA)
Frame quilt of dress cottons, including some glazed cottons. The centre is 4 triangles pieced to make a rectangle. This is surrounded by a plain border, a border of triangles, plain border, triangles border, plain border, border of triangles pieced to form squares, square and triangle border, then rows of squares. The outer border is of glazed floral chintz with a brown background. The backing is cream linen pieced lengthways in 3 sections. There is no padding. It is quilted all over in a large clamshell pattern. The top is covered with netting.
2615 x 2280mm
Arapiles Historical Society Museum
Patchwork quilt, reversible, with log cabin blocks on one side, with central red square in each block. Colours predominantly light greys, browns and pastels, and dark grey and blue. Reverse side is made of squares constructed from 2 triangles, in black, patterned pastels, pale blue and dark red. There is a black border along 2 edges on this side. It is quilted.
2058 x 1829mm
Pauline Munro
Quilt of woollen rectangles, probably tailors' samples. Machine pieced. The backing is floral cotton similar to curtain material.The backing has a french seam down the centre back and is folded over to the front to form a binding. There is no padding.
1440 x 1260
Win Oliver
Crazy patchwork quilt made from silk, brocade and velvet pieces, the seams covered with feather stitching in yellow silk. Fabrics are plain, and patterned with tartans, woven spots, stripes and floral brocade. Colours are rich, mainly red, pink, blue, green and cream. Quilt has a patterned velvet or velour border with urns and flowers in pale olive green and black, edged with a fringe in these colours.
1090 x 1040mm
Narryna Heritage Museum
Cotton quilt in 'Wedding Ring' pattern. Background material is calico type in cream and the rings are in pastel colours, yellow, pink, blue and green prints and plains. It is hand pieced and hand quilted and the edges of the quilt are scalloped and finished with a pale pink binding. The backing is cotton and the padding is cotton.
2200 x 1900mm
Gloria Martin
Double sided machine sewn patchwork quilt made from clothing scraps, wool blends, corduroy, velvets. Patterns include checks and tartans and there are many plain colours. Shapes are mainly rectangles and squares.
1524 x 1372mm
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
National Trust of Australia (VIC)
Hand stitched silk quilt in mosaic patchwork based on triangles. Pieces include dress materials and some embroidered linings fom men's waist coats. Paper templates. The backing is cotton.
2200 x 2000mm
Anne Gardener
Quilt made from woollen dressmaking scraps, sewn to an army demob issue blanket, grey with blue stripes. Patches are feather stitched in red broder cotton thread. Quilt is edged with red cotton material zig zagged into place. Colours are pink, blue, brown, black and grey, in plain cloth, weaves and checks.
1462 x 966mm
Mare Carter
Friendship Quilt'. All cotton with thick cotton padding. Each of the large panels of patchwork is different and many are signed by the makers who belonged to the Rebecca Lodge in Linwood California. Dates on the squares with signatures are 1933. Wide variety of colours and patterned and plain fabrics. The quilt is now in 2 pieces.
1981 x 1727mm
Thelma Lithgow
Repeat block quilt top based on hexagons, each 350 mm diameter. Six hexagons and a centre one make a 'flower' and these are set in rows against a plain calico background. Patterned cotton fabrics are used for the hexagons, small prints, fine stripes and tiny flowers. As it is a quilt top only, there is no lining or padding. 2100 x 1800 mm
Jean Winchester
Patchwork quilt in the Log Cabin pattern, made from cotton fabrics in prints and plains in bright colours. There are 185 squares, all sewn on to check gingham. No padding. Backing is of black cotton.
2718 x 2540mm
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
Ann Hockey
Patchwork quilt made from rectangles of samples of men's woollen suitings, in greys and blues and some browns. The rectangles were machine sewn together and then sewn in rows or strips. Originally the quilt had a rabbit skin backing, removed due to deterioration. No padding. Machine sewn.
1550 x 1420mm
Narelle Grieve
English pieced hexagonal star quilt in silks, velvets and satins. Commercially made fringe in cotton maroon twill. Some motifs have herringbone stitching around them. There is no padding and the backing is polished cotton twill. 1840 x 1660 mm
Elsie Shephard
Double sided patchwork quilt/rug constructed from squares machined together in strips and then the strips joined. The squares average about 27cms. The materials are mainly woollens, fleck tweed, school jumpers, gren check, and chenille and all are from used clothing.
1800 x 1170mm
Gillian Sullivan
Quilt made of 9120 very small Suffolk Puffs, each one about the size of a 20 cent piece. "Each piece backed and the front of it drawn up like a reticule. It was not backed and was rather fragile, so I backed it on to a sheet, as it was heavy and in danger of tearing when lifted." [Gillian Sullivan]
2360 x 2230 mm
Barbara McCabe
Patchwork quilt made from rectangles of mostly woollen fabrics sewn in strips and then stitched together. Fabrics left over from dressmaking projects. Machine stitched. Colours mainly green, purple, blue, pink, pastels, in plain, checks and spots. No padding or quilting. Lining is an old bedspread.
2200 x 1440mm

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