Patchwork Quilts

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
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
Port Curtis Historical Soc.Inc.
Cotton Hexagon quilt with a wide variety of patterned and plain materials. Blue binding and a cotton backing. The padding is thought to be cotton wool.
1525 x 1220mm
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
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
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
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
The Pioneer Women's Hut
Patchwork top with a centre frame of a mauve cross outlined in black within a square bordered with pink. The rest of the top is rectangles and squares in a wide variety of materials. There is no padding. The backing is brown, possibly curtain material.
1910 x 1480mm
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
Jillian Towers
Hand pieced patchwork quilt with blue and black checkerboard central frame surrounded by 4 borders of irregular sized rectangles. Mainly dress materials with possibly some furnishing material. It is not quilted or tied. The backing is a large rectangular red check table cloth with 3 borders of irregular shaped pieces down 2 sides and 1 border down 2 sides. There is no padding.
1860 x 1730mm
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
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
Kathryn Thompson
Crazy patchwork quilt in a variety of cotton materials. There is no padding. The backing is old flour bags.
2000 x 2000mm
National Gallery of Australia
" This is an unfinished section/piece of crazy quilting. Ribbons divide the piece horizontally into three sections; between these are bands of pastel fabrics and embroidery in the crazy quilt tradition. The fabrics and threads employed are very luxurious: laces, satin ribbons and silk velvets. The embroidery is very fine, employing a wide variety of stitches and threads. This patchwork piece is padded with cotton wadding and backed with tarlatan." [NGA] 1170 x 1020mm
Barbara Levy
"The quilt is made up of many cotton hexagons of various colours, patterns and designs, finely sewn by hand, making a very attractive bedspread. Each patch is lined with lawn. It is quite a heavy quilt, with its plain border, and backing of home-spun cotton or cesarine. The family always called it a 'cottage design'."
No quilting.
2312 x 1905mm
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
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
Sallie Cross
Patchwork quilt of pieced repeat blocks in 'T' pattern,mainly cottons. Quilt is constructed with 12 blocks across and 12 blocks down. Some fabrices have been reused from clothing, some blocks have patches which have been pieced from scraps to make enough fabric for the pattern. Padding is' pellon', quilt is backed, bound and quilted.
1600 x 1500mm
National Trust of Australia (SA)
Patchwork frame quilt made from cotton prints. Quilt centre has four pieced squares set within a star shaped border of square patches, set within a square frame (74cm square) edged with half triangles, then set within a red frame (114cm x 114 cm), diamond shaped or 'on point'. In the 4 triangles are double diamond shapes, then a wide border of squares and 'square within a square' patches with red triangles. Red binding. Padding is probably wool. Backing is a cotton print in browns in a floral paisley. All over quilting. Handsewn.
1880 x 1850mm
Margery Creek
Snow Ball' cotton quilt made in the USA. Feed bag materials and dress materials. Hand pieced and hand quilted. Calico border and backing.
2058 x 2007mm

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