Quilts

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
N.S.W. Parks and Wildlife Service
Double sided quilt. Side 1 has an off centre frame based on a hexagon and including triangles and squares in a concentric pattern. The borders are all small rectangles with a single strip of large rectangles at one end. Side 2 has a central patch of pieced shapes appliqued to the background. The borders are squares and rectangles many in striped shirting cotton. Side 1 has minimal quilting to the interlining but it does not go through to side 2. The padding is a thin sheet.
The circle (sometimes pieced hexagons) is common to other 'Craigmoor' quilts.

1450 x 1230mm
Val Ireland
The top of this utility quilt is machine pieced rectangles of woollen materials joined in strips. It includes corduroys and velveteens and woollen tartan. The backing is an Indian cotton blanket.
1651 x 1271mm
Barbara McCabe
Patchwork quilt made of squares and rectangles in woollen fabric, stitched together without any particular pattern. Colours are mainly green, grey, blue, black, pink and some yellow. Fabrics are plain, checks and stripes. No padding, quilting or binding. Backing is a remnant of synthetic fabric. The quilt has been well sued and is very worn with fabric torn and marked in some places.
1400 x 400mm
National Museum of Australia
A 'Farm Life Quilt' made from alternate squares of beige linen and brightly coloured cotton headcloth. The coloured squares are farm animals and birds in a variety of embroidery stitches. The beige squares have a cornucopia design embroidered in dark brown stem stitch. There is a wide border front and back of beige linen. The backing is brown and white check cotton. There is no padding.
The Pioneer Women's Hut
Double sided patchwork quilt. Machined squares and rectangles joined in strips and then the strips joined. Wide variety of materials, mainly woollen from hand or machine knitted jumpers, many patched. All materials came from worn garments from family and friends of the maker. No padding.
1860 x 1410mm
Narryna Heritage Museum
Cotton applique quilt in 'Kentucky Rose' wreath pattern. Cream background with applique flowers in deep pink with green stems and leaves. The wreaths, each with 4 flowers, are repeated across the quilt. It is extensively hand quilted. The backing is cream finished cotton and the padding is cotton.
2300 x 2250
Christine Barnes
Cotton quilt with rosettes of hexagons. There is a centre hexagon with a surround of 6 hexagons in a contrasting pattern and then an outer row of 12 hexagons in a different pattern. Between each rosette is a single row of hexagons in a print common to the whole quilt. The materials are typical of the 60s period. There is a deep aqua border. It is machine quilted. The backing is cotton.
2515 x 1829mm
June Brown
Pieces of heavy woollen material have been strip pieced and then joined. The joined pieces have then been folded over and restitched along the sides to make a double sided quilt. It is very heavy.
1830 x 1400mm
Annette Gero
Hand pieced hexagon quilt or table cover with centre motif of hexagons within hexagons. The remainder of the quilt is mainly hexagon rosettes. The materials are silks and brocades and it is pieced over papers in the English tradition.
1710 x 1600mm
Despina Petridis
Wholecloth quilt made of deep pink satin with a cotton backing in a similar colour. The padding is cotton. It is hand quilted and the pattern is a central motif of a star inside a circle surrounded by parallel lines forming large cable or knot design. The border is of one zig zag and four parallel lines.
1970 x 1770mm
Yass & District Historical Society
Patchwork quilt made of approx. 730 Suffolk Puffs, using mainly cotton materials in florals and plains. Each puff is 45mm diameter. The quilt centre has a square of 16 pink puffs outlined with a single row of blue puffs. Each corner of the quilt has a square of 9 puffs in a single colour. No padding. Quilt is edged and backed with a red and white tartan cotton.
Brenda Bird
Suffolk Puff quilt made from a variety of scraps of dress materials including cottons and terylene. It is backed with white cotton sheeting and edged with a frill of white terylene. There is a matching pillow sham.
1740 x 1300 mm.
Red Cliffs Historical Society
Garland with berries appliqued on wholecloth quilt of off white cotton. The backing is whole cloth in soft green. The garland (ribbon appearance) is in floral patterned green. The red berries are padded. It is machine quilted. Dacron type padding.
1820 x 1500mm
The Pioneer Women's Hut
Utility patchwork quilt made up of mainly squares of furnishing material machine pieced. It is backed with machine pieced patches of woollen jumpers, mainly machine not hand knitted. The back is possibly the top. There is no padding.
1950 x 1270mm
N.S.W. Parks and Wildlife Service
Double sided quilt. Side 1 has a central patch of small rectangles and borders of half square triangles. Seamed construction. Side 2 is crazy patch in wools and cottons on to a backing material. There is one round segmented circle in the centre. Machine pieced and quilted.
2050 x 1610mm
Western Australian Quilters' Association
Quilt made from furnishing materials, mostly velour type or uncut moquette. The colours are dusty pinks and beige/camel/blue. It has been put together by making wide strips of various sized rectangles sewn together and any missing piece in a rectangle added by using another piece of material to complete the shape. There is no padding and the backing is winter cotton.
2000 x 1650mm
Nancy Dunlap
Repeat block in wedding ring pattern. All cottons with cream background and mainly pale mauve and green dressmaking prints in wedding rings. Green border and cream calico backing. The padding is cotton. 1800 x 210mm.
Museum Victoria
Possum skin cloak. Possum skins sewn together with vegetable fibre or kangaroo sinew. Designs incised into the skins, some of which are decorated with ochres. 2070 x 1540mm
National Gallery of Australia
"The quilt consists of 12 blocks of crazy patchwork with an embroidered border. The quilt is made of 167 different fabrics; most of these are silk. These velvets, printed silks and satins are beautifully embroidered with flowers, household items and Kate Greenway images of children at play. Many of the motifs have a strong influence from the Aesthetic Movement. The edge of the quilt carries a border in maroon silk decorated with tendrils and daisies in very fine embroidery.
The patches are joined with hand sewing and embroidery, however the 12 panels are joined with machine stitching (chainstitch machine stitching). The blue silk lining was hand sewn into position with silk thread." [NGA]
"The quilt does consist of three layers but the central layer is not padding. The crazy patch pieces were sewn together and this was lined with white cotton fabric prior to the embroidery at the edges of the 12 panels being placed. This in turn was lined with a fine blue silk." [NGA] 1810 x 1460 mm

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