Typically Australian Quilts

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
Dorothy Stevens
Utilitarian quilt. Padding consists of recycled hand knitted jumper pieces (mainly 3 ply crepe and 8 ply) tacked to a layer of cotton material with strong buttonhole twist thread. The top is a piece of cotton fabric. Machine quilted in rows approximately 70mm apart.
1827 x 1423mm
N.S.W. Parks and Wildlife Service
Double sided quilt. One side is different shapes including rectangles in various sizes in wools and men's suiting material. It is hand pieced. The pther side is mainly cottons in florals of different patterns joined in strips of varying width and machine and hand pieced. There is a 25mm binding. The padding is an old blanket.
Glenda Wilkinson
The quilt consists of 2 layers of random pieces of woollen coating and suiting materials machined together, very dark colours on one side and a mixture of dark and lighter on the other. The 2 layers are quilted together with a row of machining and has a folded and machine stitched edge. There is no padding.
1270 x 950mm
The Pioneer Women's Hut
The top is a wholecloth piece of twill type cotton and the backing is a wholecloth piece of finer patterned cotton. The padding is a layer of pieces of used clothing stitched together, including part jumpers, some darned. These are inside an old folded blanket.
1540 x 950mm
The Pioneer Women's Hut
Single bed quilt made up entirely of hexagons in 'Granny's Flower Garden' pattern. The rosettes are made up of 8 hexagons and a central one. Native flower prints, including wattle, on a white background. Plain hexagons in white, yellow and blue form a scalloped border. Hexagons are hand stitched and the 2 layers are quilted in running stitch. The backing is a pieced sheet.
2400 x 1500mm
National Gallery of Australia
" This coverlet is composed of two pieces of dark blue cheese cloth joined with a row of running stitches down the centre of the coverlet (the seam faces the front face of the coverlet but is hidden beneath a row of appliqué).
The coverlet is decorated with rows of pieced work surrounding appliquéd and embroidered scenes. A panel down the LHS of the quilt and a smaller panel lower RHS depict animals and floral images. In the centre RHS an elderly couple sit beneath a tree. In the upper left a bride and groom accompanied by three flower girls are showered with petals from a wicker basket carried by a very large angel. Glass beads, sequins and a button have been used to highlight the appliqué and embroidery.
As with all of Mary Jane Hannaford's quilts, the work is stitched by hand and quite crudely, but the naivety of the images is overwhelming with their charm." [NGA] The quilt is not padded or lined. 1950 x 1690mm
Joan McGregor
One side of this quilt is large pieces of check and striped material surrounding a small patterned supper cloth with a border of scrap pieces. The other side is small, floral, check, spotted, striped and plain cotton pieces surrounding a tablecloth. It is machine sewn and is not quilted. The padding is an old woollen blanket.
1825 x 1625mm
Val Ireland
Utilitarian quilt. The top and backing are machine pieced scraps of curtain material and clothing pieces. The centre is an old blanket and possibly clothing pieces.
2033 x 1525mm
Mrs Joan McGregor
Large and small pieces, mainly rectangles and mainly cottons, machine sewn. One side has replacement materials in red check, brown, tan, blue and pink materials. The padding is an old woollen blanket.
1950 x 1327mm
Irene Pascoe
Utilitarian cot quilt. The padding is layered reused woollen materials, parts of old blankets, part overcoats. These are stitched together with string and knitting wools The top and backing are printed cotton. There is a frill all around and buttons have been used to anchor the padding layers to the outside cover.
1169 x 915mm
Rosemary Blake
Single bed quilt made from sugar bags stitched together covered with a ticking type fabric. This inner layer is then covered with muslin, dyed yellow. It is similar in construction to 80RB but much lighter as the sugar bags are lighter than the heavy jute potato bags.
1520 x 990 mm
Mary and Max Robertson
Traditional Wagga rug made from 3 wheat bags joined along the long side by sewing with bag needle and twine. Machined twill cover was put on later in the 1960s. Originally no padding but now the bags are the padding. One of a pair(identical).
1790 x 1160mm
Lorna Calder
Patchwork quilt of multi coloured silks and brocades. Crazy patchwork borders, mainly rectangular fabrics pieced together in diagonal patterns, radiating from a central frame embroidered with flowers. Many pieces are extensively embroidered in a great variety of stitches and motifs; butterflies, sunflowers, cats, daffodils, crown, pawn broker's symbol, 'money to lend', 'good night', the initials of family members and 'mater 1890'. The quilt has a deep border of maroon sateen. There is no padding visible but it is possibly a blanket. The backing is green/gold silk with a self stripe with red cotton damask showing underneath, possibly an earlier backing.
2165 x 2165mm
Rozanne Andrew
Quilt, single bed size, made from reused clothing roughly handstitched on to a backing of a wool/linen blanket type fabric in green, cream and brown stripes. Clothing is fronts and backs of old jumpers, vests etc as well as opened out sleeves in red, brown and grey. They are stitched together in several layers with long stitches. Another top may have been intended to cover the stitched down layers of clothing.
1500 x 1040mm
Annette Gero,
Wholecloth quilt originally covered with cretonne and recovered with orange satin. Machine quilted. Padding of wool.
1270 x 1160mm
Mary Robertson
Domestic Wagga made from 3 bags joined (the bags feel lighter than the jute wheat or flour bags) and covered back and front with floral cotton featuring large roses in red and oranges. The cover is machined.
1750 x 840mm
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
Kristine Gray
Double sided frame quilt. All reused materials including corduroys, wools and light weight suitings. Machine made and not quilted There is no padding as already heavy and warm.
1780 x 1530mm
Powerhouse Museum
"A tied patchwork wagga quilt made from swatches of men's wool suiting fabrics in blue/grey and pink/brown tonings. Rectangular swatches have been cut in half diagonally, and the resulting right-angled triangles paired to form larger equilateral triangles which alternate dark with light across the field. The quilt has been machine and hand pieced, then machined in vertical stripes.
The centre field is bounded by two strip-pieced borders at top and bottom, and three down each side. These are sewn from rectangles, using light pink/brown tones for the inner border and darker colours for the outer borders. The quilt is padded and backed and the side seams are secured with black herringbone stitch. The three layers are tied together invisibly with lazy daisy stitches in black cotton from the back." [PHM] The padding is a wool blanket and the backing is two pieces of cream twill cotton.
2030 x 1440mm

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