Quilts

National Parks & Wildlife Service of SA
Patchwork quilt of hexagon patches (3.5cm sides approx), handsewn, in cotton fabrics in sprig prints, stripes, checks, florals and plains. Colours are pre-aniline dyes, in lavender, green, red, beige and purple. Centre of quilt is pastel colours with a central patch embroidered in red: 'Elsey Rowbotham her work May 1 1869'. Quilt has a wide border of squares and triangles.Padding is thin cotton. Backing is off white calico. Quilted in parallel lines.
2693 x 2490mm
Ryder Lundy
"Hexagons pieced over cardboard hand-sewn together. Each rosette was then machine quilted 1/8th to 1/4 inch from edge of rosette in shape of each rosette. Quilt is mainly cottons with a few rayons. Some checks and stripes are used but mainly florals. Has been machine quilted in rosette shape using green on green fabrics, lemon on lemon, orange on orange and red on red." [Ryder Lundy] There is no padding and the backing is gold curtain fabric extended at the end and one side with matching taffeta. 2220 x 1270 mm.
West Australian Quilters' Association
Repeat block in Dresden Plate pattern using various cotton fabrics from the 1920s. Quilted with a flower in the purple/pink centre and squares elsewhere. Border is furnishing fabric. The padding is cotton that is disintegrating and the backing is calico. 1980 x 2100mm
Ankie King
Small square piece of crazy patchwork in silks and taffetas. Many of the seams are oversewn with decorative embroidery stitches. There is a calico backing.
550 x 550mm
National Trust of Australia (SA)
Hand stitched unfinished crazy quilt with patches placed around a centre hexagon pieced in log cabin type strips. Materials are mainly silks and satins and pieces are mounted on grey cotton material. Seams are overstitched in herringbone stitch. 1520 x 760mm
Margery Creek
Cotton quilt made in the USA. The pattern is 'Double Irish Chain'. It is machine pieced and hand quilted. The backing is calico and the padding is cotton,
2134 x 2134mm
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
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
Melinda Smith
Wholecloth cover in synthetic rayon. Centre plain, drop slightly gathered, edging border is large saw tooth appliqued pieces in flannelette, striped seersucker, crepe de chine. Materials typical of the 30s through to the 50s. The appliqued triangles are chain stitched in yellow thread which also anchors them to the backing.
2450 x 1940mm
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
Fiona Gavens
Hexagon quilt constructed over papers; all seams oversewn with featherstitch embroidery. Materials are vyella and clydella scraps from childhood dresses of the maker's first four children, augmented with scraps from a dressmaker and a book of samples. There is no padding; backing is plain, pale blue, brushed cotton.
2200 x 1720 mm.
Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery
Patchwork quilt made from diamond patches in a variety of cotton materials set in a 'tumbling block' pattern. Patterns include geometrics, stripes, a 'Kate Greenway' print and colours are largely soft pastels, dark browns, with some reds and blues. The quilt has been cut down and a later border added. There is no padding and the backing is cream cotton.
2279 x 2000mm
Barbara McCabe
Patchwork quilt made from rectangles of mostly woollen fabrics sewn in strips and then stitched together. Fabrics left over from dressmaking projects. Machine stitched. Colours mainly green, purple, blue, pink, pastels, in plain, checks and spots. No padding or quilting. Lining is an old bedspread.
2200 x 1440mm
Romsey/Lancefield & Districts Historical Society
Wholecloth quilt made of royal blue satin, squares around a central panel. Seam lines are covered with a faggoting stitch. All names are embroidered in satin stitch, the central motif is hand painted. The border is quilted with a repeat scroll ing pattern in hellow thread, and edges are trimmed with a fringe of small pom-poms in burgundy, gold, blue and yellow, the colours mixed in each pom-pom. Quilt is backed with yellow satin cotton. Centre has embroidered: "Lancefield/ Presbyterian/ Sale of Gifts/ February, 1896'.
1880 x 1330mm
Mildura and District Historical Society
Quilt of 2025 hexagons stitched together to form diamond patterns. Hand sewn using paper templates. Materials are cottons and plains typical of the thirties period. The backing is blue cotton and the quilt is bound with many rows of coloured bias binding through which is treaded window cord. There is no padding. The quilt is called 'Grandmothers' Flower Garden quilt'.
2439 x 1829mm
Effie Katianos
Wholecloth quilt of golden brown cotton sateen, the backing of a lighter yellow cotton sateen. Hand quilted with an allover repeatingr pattern of a cross within a square. The border is quilted with 4 parallel rows of stitching at the sides, and 5 at the top and bottom. Padding is cotton wadding. 1920 x 1440 mm.
1920 x 1440mm
N.S.W. Parks and Wildlife Service
Double sided square quilt mainly in cottons. Side 1 has been made in 4 squares each consisting of different sized strips and rectangles. With side 2 there appears to have been 2 stages as if the quilt was extended perhaps to match side 1. It is also squares, rectangles and strips. Sparsley machine quilted. There is no binding but side 2 has been turned over to side 1 and stitched by machine.
1525 x 1525mm
Western Australian Museum
Possum skin rug made from rows of possum pelts sewn to a woollen blue checked blanket. 1720 x 1370mm
Annette Gero
Hand pieced frame quilt with centre frame and borders of squares set on point. There is a blue patterned border. The backing is white and it is finely quilted. "The fabrics themselves are all absolutely typical of the period [1830 t0 1840] and many, if not most, of them can be found as illustrations in historical textile reference books - in this respect the quilt is virtually a book chapter in itself and has a particular value to a quilt historian. At about this period in England cottons and chintzes were being produced in great quantity and were relatively modestly priced." [Annette Gero]
2540 x 2540mm
National Gallery of Australia
" The quilt is a patchwork of red cotton fabric. Each piece is decorated with embroidery in thick white cotton thread and with cotton appliqué. The edge of the quilt is decorated with a red cotton unlined border strip decorated with cutwork daisies, producing a scalloped edge. The images and inscriptions carried on each of the pieces of various sizes are a time capsule to notions and everyday life at the turn of the century.
In the centre is Queen Victoria surrounded by a garland of floral emblem of the Empire. (This square is dated 1901) Other squares carry scenes of daily life, farm animals and mottoes. "When a woman throws herself at a man head she seldom hit the mark." There are several spelling errors within the inscriptions. The latest dated piece is 'Dec 1903'. The embroidery is quite crude and large, and shows the work of two hands." [NGA]
The quilt is not padded. It is lined with pink cotton flannelette. 2230 x 1910mm

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