Quilts

West Australian Quilters' Association
The quilt is a repeat block in the Ohio Star pattern in turkey red and cream. Quilted in squares in the cream block and diagonal lines in the star block. The fabric border is disintegrating. The backing is cream calico and the padding is cotton, badly degraded. 1940 x 1760mm.
Joyce Wynn
Whole cloth traditional Durham quilt in sateen, pink one side and ivory the other. Elaborately hand quilted. It is padded but the type of padding is unknown. 2030 x 2030mm.
Helen Cornish
Patchwork quilt in the Log Cabin pattern, each square 14cm x 14cm, made of used cotton fabrics with a fine wool fabric as the centre square of each. Colours are mainly reds, blues, greens and maroon, and pastels, in prints and plains. Quilt has a wide border of dark blue cotton with mitred corners. The padding is black and white mattress ticking, and the backing is the same dark blue cotton as the border. Machine stitched.
1770 x 1170mm
Miles Pioneer Village
3 fragments of koala bear skin joined with very fine stitching. Uneven edges. Thought to have been part of an aboriginal cloak or rug.
Annette Gero
The top is mainly squares of flannel machined together with patches of dress materials stitched randomly on top. There is no padding and the backing is calico. The top and backing are held together by a binding only. It is one of a pair.
2010 x 1680mm
Jeanette Marchant
Quilt of hand stitched cotton hexagon patches, the hexagons are in groups of 7 to form flowers, with white or cream 'paths'. The quilt centre has 19 flowers grouped within a single hexagon border of brown and red patches. In each corner of the quilt there are 6 flowers grouped around a larger flower within a single border of darker print hexagon patches. Backing is cream cotton, machine stitched to the top. There is no padding or quilting. Some fabric patches have deteriorated.
Narelle Grieve
Folded log cabin, foundation pieced. Machine constructed. Materials are cotton, wool, rayon, flannelette, silk and twill. There is no padding and the backing is cretonne. 2700 x 2100 mm
Kaniva District Historical Society
Wholecloth cot quilt of pink silk with an overall paisley pattern in grey and black. Pink-purple fringe along one edge.
1677 x 1677mm
Josephine Curtis
Taylor's sample quilt made from men's suit swatches, mainly greys and blues. Edging is 6cms wide, of blue flannelette. Padding is an old grey blanket, and the backing is of printed pattern corduroy. 1680 x 920 mm.
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
Julie Atkinson
Reversible wholcloth quilt with elaborate hand quilting. One side is rose pink and the other black with quilting done in black thread. It is padded but the type of padding is unknown,
2250 x 2100mm
National Gallery of Australia
"This quilt follows the traditional hexagon patchwork pieced pattern, which are then joined and sometimes edged with a contrasting border. The edges of the quilt have been turned and then scalloped edges made of identical patches to the main body of the quilt have been attached to the edge. The quilt is fully lined, and the lining is visible front the front face through the gaps between the scalloped edge. The lining is attached to the patchwork with a row of stitches along the edges; there are no stitches in the centre field. The fabrics of the quilt are plain weave cotton in simple floral and geometric designs. Most of the fabrics are monochromatic. Several different colour ways of the same fabric are evident which could suggest some fabrics were from manufacturer samples. The lining is a William Morris print.
Each of the patchwork pieces (there are several thousand present) are sewn together with very fine overcasting stitches. The quilt is entirely hand sewn. There is some evidence that templates from the hexagon pieces possibly blotting paper, remain in situ���The quilt is not padded or quilted. The lining is fine twill weave cotton printed in pink and pale purple. The design follows William Morris's 'Strawberry Thief design'." [NGA] 2075 x 1911mm
Wangaratta Historical Society
9 large blocks of crazy patchwork in silks and velvets. The blocks are divided by strips of deep ruby coloured silk. There is a wide ruby border with peaks to which is attached cream lace. The backing is beige silk. The main blocks are outlined with feather stitch in gold thread and many individual patches are outlined in fancy stitches and have embroidered motifs some of which are Australian eg centre patch has Sturt's Desert Pea flowers, parrots, wattle. There are also English flowers, Japanese motifs, flags, domestic objects and Marianne's initials. Embroidery is in a variety of threads including chenille.
2250 x 2180mm
National Trust of Australia (NSW)
Handsewn quilt pieced in red, blue, green and yellow print cottons in 'Lone Star' pattern, with diamond shaped patches. The main star is edged with a red and cream sawtooth border. In each corner is a star made up of 4 rows of diamonds, surrounded by small 8 point stars in red and green. The background material is a cream and brown spot print. The backing is a printed cotton in a small all over purple leaf and bud print on cream. Quilting is in an all over wave pattern.
2320 x 2320mm
Irma Whitford
Pieced repeat block in 'Dresden Plate' pattern in a variety of fabrics with pink and pale blue predominating. Scalloped outer edge. Machine pieced and hand quilted, with echo quilting of four petals between the 'Dresden Plates'. The padding is polyester, and the backing is white calico. 2600 x 1630 mm.
National Trust of Australia (VIC)
Double sided patchwork quilt. One side has small 'Tumbling Block' pattern. The other side has larger pattern of pieced stars. It is made of silks, some printed, some solid colours mainly blues, greens cream and black. There is no padding.
2100 x 1800mm
Art Gallery of South Australia
Rectangular patchwork crazy quilt pieced in squares (3 across by 4 down), in silks and wool, with red sashing between blocks and red border, quilted. Colours are dark, with red and light blue. Embroidery includes double feather, rope, herringbone, satin, cross, sword edge, buttonhole and coral stitches, and French knots. Embroidered flowers include lily of the valley, rose, daisy, and sunflower, also butterflies. Backing is pieced in the frame style, with a large centre red square, within 10 frames or borders. Embroidered "In Most Loving Memory of My Darling 1883", "V.H.B." Hand sewn.
1900 x 1500mm
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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