Quilts

Margery Creek
Double Wedding Ring' cotton pieced quilt. Machine constructed and hand quilted. Padding is Mountain Mist cotton. The backing is unbleached calico.
2160 x 1855mm
Margaret McMillan
Cotton log cabin double bed quilt. Each square has 52 pieces (i.e. 13 pieces x 4 to make a square). There are 192 squares so a total of 10.092 pieces. There is probably no padding. The backing is calico with a floral pattern done in running stitch.
2200 x 2200mm
Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery
Rug made from 40 quoll skins, 8 skins set in 5 rows. Skins are trimmed to rectangles and machine stitched together. Colours range from light cream to grey-brown with creamy yellow spots. The backing is dark green woven wool which extends beyond the top and is finished with a scalloped, punched edge. It is hand sewn to the top. 1575 x 1255mm
Ida Blenkiron
Rectangular quilt with front and back made of rectangles of cotton samples of shirt materials, in checks, stripes and plains. Colours are soft muted reds, greens, blues, yellows and browns, and pastels. Construction is 3 to 4 rows of rectangles joined across the quilt. Padding is probably an old blanket. There is a row of hand quilting approximately the width of one patch in from the edge, holding the layers together.
1870 x 950mm
Margery Creek
This utility quilt is mainly constructed from long strips of cotton seed sack material. It is machine pieced and quilted by hand in a diagonal pattern. There is a red border. The backing is cotton flannelette and the padding is cotton.
1601 x 1525mm
Julie Treacy
Animal skin rug made from rough rectangles of kangaroo skins, hand sewn together with leather thonging. Backing is woollen blankets. 2135 x 2057mm
Jean Winchester
Patchwork quilt of hexagon patches with a large central group of 14 rows, then groups or 'flowers' of 6 patches placed over the rest of the quilt. The colours are red, black, white and blue, in a mixture of stripes, florals and plains. No padding. Backing is a double bed sheet. Hand sewn.
2591 x 2566mm
Albury Regional Museum
Patchwork quilt or cloth made from pieces of woollen material used for regimental uniforms in England last century. Star pattern in colours, red, pale blue, green, maroon, yellow [white] and brown. Hand pieced probably by more than one person. Red fringe machined on. Red flannelette backing in poor condition. Two layers, not quilted.
1780 x 1700mm
Heather Roobol
Patchwork quilt has three centre squares, one in blue/white/brown in a cross pattern, one in framed square, one with diagonal strips in a pink frame. The rest of the quilt is made from strips of rectangles in different sizes sewn in rows. There is a narrow pieced frame, then an outer border of pieced rectangles. Mostly pastel colours. No padding. Backing is calico. There is a little embroidery.
2160 x 1601mm
Margaret Wright
Crazy patchqork quilt, handsewn, composed of six large squares of patches in brocade, velvet and silk in random shapes and sizes. Patches are stitched to others by blanket stitch in yellow thread. Some patches have surface embroidery, e.g. a dragonfly, flowers, music notes, and names, 'Minnie', 'Loyetta' (house in Ballarat), 'Diana'. There are also five small cream bobbles. Colours are red, gold, brown, pinks, greens and blues. Padding is flannel, and quilt is backed and edged with maroon or burgundy ribbed silk.
1461mm x 687mm
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
Molly Palmer
Patchwork quilt with repeat blocks of Log Cabin pattern in cottons. One side of the square has blue fabrics, the other side has pink. Blocks are separated by a floral and a blue strip. The quilt is finished with a dark blue border on 2 sides, and a light and dark blue border on the other 2 sides. Dark blue binding around edge. Hand quilted with a cable pattern on the borders. Padding is probably synthetic. The quilt is backed.
Mrs. L. M. Chick
Hexagon quilt made by hand from a wide variety of cotton materials. There is no padding and the backing is calico.
2286 x 915mm
Mary Elizabeth (Beth) Burnett
Tumbling Block quilt made from pure silk ribbons, patterned and plain. The quilt edge follows the block shapes. The backing is polished cotton printed with flowers.
2743 x 2439mm
National Gallery of Australia
"This is not a true quilt, but a pieced coverlet with a lining. The entire front face of the quilt is of pieced hexagonal and part hexagonal printed cotton patches. Pieces are joined with hand sewn over casting stitches of many different coloured cotton threads. The joining of the patches forms a 'daisy' pattern in some areas and in others it is random. The edge of the front face of the quilt carries a 40mm strip of cotton Chinoiserie which is then folded to the reverse of the quilt and becomes part of the lining. The template for the hexagon patches remains in many of the patches: writing paper and news print." [NGA]
The work is not padded "The lining at the edge of the quilt (for approx.175mm) is a plain weave fabric of a Chinoiserie design. The centre field of the lining is a rectangular panel of a twill weave brushed cotton fabric with a striped floral design." [NGA] 2215 x 2070mm
Joan Bradford
Utility quilt with wholecloth top and backing of twill upholstery material. Machine construction. Padding is 2 layers of wool blanket. Stitched through all 4 layers.
1474 x 1093mm
Bud and Patricia Ford
Round rug of whip tail wallaby skins pieced into centre circle. Skins have been joined and then stitched on to maroon baize backing which has traditional punched scalloped edge. The skins are wattle bark tanned. Diameter 1449mm
The Pioneer Women's Hut
Cotton quilt in pattern commonly known as "Double Wedding Ring'. Probably an American McCall's pattern. Hand stitched, florals, checks and plain pieces. The backing is pink cotton. Scalloped edge.
2300 x 1880mm
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
Ida Blenkiron
Patchwork knee rug made from maroon wool cut up from a garment into different sized rectangles. Pieced by hand, then all edges crocheted with coloured wool thread. The top was then machined and quilted to a pale blue wool backing. No padding.
1080 x 780mm

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