Pieced Random Quilts

Kristine Gray
Double sided quilt. One side is frame with borders of wool rectangles mainly offcuts of men's suiting from tailors' shops. The other side is mainly flannelette in stripes and patterns similar to pyjama material. The padding is pieced patches of worn jumpers that were too matted to be unpicked. Machine construction.
1700 x 1490mm
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
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
Albury Regional Museum
Log cabin patchwork pieces (2) with each block approximately 120 x 120mm. They are diagonally divided into light and dark side. Materials are mainly silks including silk velvets. Each block is stitched on to a backing square, pieces of old blanket, woollens, cottons, many very worn. There is no other backing.
Quilt is hand pieced.
1000 x 1000mm
Shirley Maywald
Patchwork crazy quilt in velvets and silks, no pieces over 4" long. Colours are black, maroon, pinks, blues and pastels, and all seams embroidered with coloured silks in herringbone stitch. Backing is green, there is no padding. Quilt is bound with black velvet 1/2" wide. A patch near the centre is embroidered: '1909' and '1948'.
940 x 915mm
Muriel Hartmann
Reused parts of hand knitted woollen jumpers patched together. Wide crocheted edge from wool unravelled from jumpers retrieved from the tip.
1905 x 1525mm
Ruth Hansen
Quuilt constructed from large pieces of used clothing pieced together to form the top. There are layers of under shirts once used by the maker's father and also by her husband Bill. The backing is an old cream blanket.
1700 x 1200mm
Diana Garder
Grey woollen army blanket backing with multi-coloured pieces sewn in a random way; includes pieces of jumpers, socks, rugs with crochet flowers added etc. Quilt is a rectangular shape, the colours are mainly blues, pinks and maroon. Bottom third of quilt and part of one side are made from a striped rug, the remaining two-thirds are made from pieces of recycled clothing and decorated with crocheted flowers.
National Trust of Australia (NSW)
Quilt pieced in silks and velvets in Log Cabin pattern, the blocks set side by side. There is a dark blue cotton velvet binding. The backing is machine quilted dark blue cotton, the machine quilting in diagonal and straight lines.
2080 x 1090mm
Annette Gero
Hand pieced and embroidered crazy quilt in silks, satins, velvets and ribbons. It is signed 'L.Dawdrey, Melbourne' and dated 1889. The embroidered motifs include, a spray of wattle worked in wool, two naval badges, a kettle, fans, beetles, a shamrock, roses, hearts.There is also one log cabin block.
1900 x 1700mm
Annette Gero
Log Cabin quilt in silk, velvet, satins, ribbons, hand pieced and tied. 238 blocks and 6000 strips of material. There is a ruffle all around that is possibly a later addition.
1720 x 1520mm
Annette Gero
"This crazy quilt is unusual in that it contains diamond shaped blocks. It is signed 'L.A.D. 1883' in the centre and contains a myriad of Victorian images. There are several embroideries of children copied from Kate Greenway's children's book 'Under the Window' (1878). There are also butterflies, Japanese fans, some of which are hand painted, elaborately embroidered flowers, a tea cup, spiderwebs, and a dragonfly. The quilt may have been made as a present as it contains a horse shoe, a symbol of good luck." [Annette Gero] The materials used in the quilt include silks, satins, brocade, grosgrain ribbons and it is hand pieced and embroidered and appliqued.
1600 x 1190mm
Powerhouse Museum
"Crazy patchwork principally pieced from cotton, silk, velvet, damask, brocade and felt with a printed cotton back. The edges of the pieces have been embroidered with a range of stitches including herringbone, feather and blanket stitches. The quilt is edged with red cotton with a machine made lace flounce all around."
The backing is a "cotton patchwork print with an asymmetrical design of playing cards, paisley, checks and geometric patterns in green, red and blue on a white background." [PHM]
The quilt is padded with a wool and cotton blanket.
2275 x 1935mm
Annette Gero
Domestic Wagga made from wheat bags sewn together and covered with large pieces of material.
1400 x 1230mm
Annette Gero
Log cabin quilt made from wool pieces including some from army uniforms from World War 2. It is hand pieced and tied but not quilted. The padding is an army blanket.
2800 x 2400mm
Annette Gero
Hand pieced silk log cabin quilt. "The centre of this log cabin contains three ribbons, each with a crown, Queen Victoria and the date 1887. The four surrounding blocks contain the rose, the shamrock, the thistle and the leek, representing England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales." [Annette Gero]
2250 x 1680mm
Cressida Mary Webb Challis
Quilt of 50mm hexagons in random pattern. Hexagons are made from scraps of old materials with many variations of colours and patterns. One red print hexagon has "J.P." on it. The padding is an old eiderdown and the backing is calico.
1660 x 1220mm
 Queensland Women's Historical Assoc.
Cotton crazy patchwork quilt. Plain and printed fabrics including tartans. Fringe of gold knitting wool. Machine zig zag stitching over seams. Backing is grey wool.
1449 x 1449mm
The Queensland Women's Historical Assoc.
Crazy patchwork quilt in velvets with cotton backing. "Possibly the maker intended to have a final backing layer." [Q.W.H.A.] Herringbone stitch in a silk thread is embroidered over the joins of the velvet pieces.
1372 x 864mm
Art Gallery of South Australia
Patchwork crazy quilt in silks, cotton and velvet has an appliquéd golden brown velvet star with black points in the centre. All seams have embroidery, mainly herringbone or feather stitch. The outer border is a light tan velvet. Quilt has a variety of appliquéd and embroidered motifs, including horseshoes, tennis rackets, kettle, cross tombstone, butterflies, hearts and an emu. Backing unknown. Handsewn.
2025 x 2680mm

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