Quilts
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Unfinished silkTumbling Block quilt top, pieced over papers many of which remain. Some are parts of hand written letters with dates, one piece of newspaper has the date '1885' and the words 'Adelaide Milling' and 3/6 to 3/9'.
2630 x 1430mm
2630 x 1430mm
Quilt top of hexagon rosettes each with 4 rows of hexagons around one in the centre. It is hand pieced over papers and the papers include cut up old letters and envelopes and several of the papers are dated 1830 and 1831. In the centre of the quilt is a small square of chintz depicting a cupid amongst flowers. Materials include cambrics, chintzes, muslins and dimities and the quilt owner noted that these types of materials were imported into Australia from England around the 1830s.
2740 x 2310mm
2740 x 2310mm
"A double sided rectangular patchwork quilt with blanket inlay. On the face side, the patchwork pieces are arranged in long rectangular strips, laid 'log cabin style' and dimishing in size, around the rectangular medallion. This is composed of a column of 5 patches with narrow strip borders. The colours are strong in the centre of the quilt and become softer toward the edge. The patches that make up individual strips are the same toning with a variety of dot, stripe, check and small floral patterns. The quilt has been hand and machine stitched.
The reverse of the quilt has been similarly structured, with rectangular and square patches forming borders around a central rectangle. The patches however are arranged in rows of the same fabric but in different colourways. Most fabrics are striped with a secondary floral pattern while others are bolder. The presence of fabrics in different colourways suggests they may have been taken from a swatchbook." [PHM]
1920 x 1630mm
The reverse of the quilt has been similarly structured, with rectangular and square patches forming borders around a central rectangle. The patches however are arranged in rows of the same fabric but in different colourways. Most fabrics are striped with a secondary floral pattern while others are bolder. The presence of fabrics in different colourways suggests they may have been taken from a swatchbook." [PHM]
1920 x 1630mm
"Medallion quilt pieced from square, rectangular and triangular pieces from plain and patterned cottons. Central motif is appliqued in red cotton on white background with kangaroo and emu on either side of a shield. Four stars are randomly placed on the white background. There is no padding. The backing is pieced together from different types of white material." [PHM]
2265 x 1975mm
2265 x 1975mm
"A rectangular patchwork medallion quilt or coverlet, machine sewn from delicately coloured plain and printed cotton shirting fabrics in fine stripe, spot and check patterns. The fabrics were probably obtained from a manufacturer's superceded swatchbook. The design is of medallion type with a central rectangular panel surrounded by three deep borders, all separated by narrow strip borders. The central panel and deep borders are made from small triangular patches that form dynamic geometric patterns of squares, diamonds and chevrons. The quilt is backed with patched white cotton fabric, probably sheeting, and is bound around the edges with cotton strips."
1810 x 1700mm
1810 x 1700mm
"This crazy quilt is unusual in that it contains diamond shaped blocks. It is signed 'L.A.D. 1883' in the centre and contains a myriad of Victorian images. There are several embroideries of children copied from Kate Greenway's children's book 'Under the Window' (1878). There are also butterflies, Japanese fans, some of which are hand painted, elaborately embroidered flowers, a tea cup, spiderwebs, and a dragonfly. The quilt may have been made as a present as it contains a horse shoe, a symbol of good luck." [Annette Gero] The materials used in the quilt include silks, satins, brocade, grosgrain ribbons and it is hand pieced and embroidered and appliqued.
1600 x 1190mm
1600 x 1190mm
Welsh flannel quilt in fine wool wholecloth. Red on one side and turquoise on the other. Hand quilted in a traditional Welsh pattern. The padding is carded wool and the backing is flannel. 1970 x 1910mm.
Wholecloth silk Welsh quilt. "The overall design containing the border, the central motif and corner motifs within lines of quilting is also typically Welsh. The bent leaf and leaf motifs used as mirror image pairs between the tulips in the outer border and inner border help to distinguish this Welsh quilt from those made in other parts of Britain. The scroll patterns contained within the inner border also help to establish this as a Welsh quilt." [Extract from unidentified magazine article supplied by the quilt owner.] 2560 x 2240 mm
"The quilt has been machine- pieced from rectangular swatches of men's woollen fabrics in shades of blue, grey and black, and in various weaves including stripes, checks, chevrons and spots. The swatches are offset at right angles to each other in such a way as to create strong zigzag bands of light and dark along the length of the quilt. The join at the corner of each swatch is marked with a hand-stitched cross in red cotton. The backing has been removed, showing the pinked edges of the suiting swatches. A yellow-brown piping band, possibly the remains of the backing, is sewn around all four sides." [PHM]
2080 x 1620mm
2080 x 1620mm
Handsewn quilt with central appliqué scene of Japanese women and Mt. Fuji. Appliqué flowers form a border around the centre panel and three rows of open fans a second border. Each fan is different. The padding is cotton and the backing is polyester sheeting with a border of fans. 2380 x 2355 mm
"A double-sided patchwork quilt machine-pieced from plain and patterned rectangular woollen patches, each 130 x 200mm. The fabrics came from a tailor's swatchbook of men's, and possibly women.s, suiting samples and are mainly in tonings of olive green, brown, blue and cream. The two layers are bound together with a pieced border strip that forms the outside edge. There is no filling or quilting." [PHM]
2140 x 1660mm
2140 x 1660mm
"A rectangular quilt made from hexagonal cotton patches, pieced in the traditional 'Grandmother's flower garden' design of scattered rosettes on a plain ground. The rosettes are made from six patterned hexagons around a seventh cream hexagon, which forms the flower centre. The patterned fabrics are a mix of small floral prints with some checks and geometric designs, and the colours are mainly shades of brown, blue maroon, pink and lilac. The ground fabric is plain cream. The quilt was made the English way and is hand sewn. Traces of the paper templates still remain." [PHM] There is no padding or backing.
2170 x 1975mm
2170 x 1975mm
"Crazy patchwork principally pieced from cotton, silk, velvet, damask, brocade and felt with a printed cotton back. The edges of the pieces have been embroidered with a range of stitches including herringbone, feather and blanket stitches. The quilt is edged with red cotton with a machine made lace flounce all around."
The backing is a "cotton patchwork print with an asymmetrical design of playing cards, paisley, checks and geometric patterns in green, red and blue on a white background." [PHM]
The quilt is padded with a wool and cotton blanket.
2275 x 1935mm
The backing is a "cotton patchwork print with an asymmetrical design of playing cards, paisley, checks and geometric patterns in green, red and blue on a white background." [PHM]
The quilt is padded with a wool and cotton blanket.
2275 x 1935mm
"A medallion style, handpieced cot quilt with dark and light checkerboard patterning of rectangular cotton printed fabrics, probably taken from a fabric sample book. Two frames of pink cotton strips printed with navy blue polka dots outline the central block and separate the outer rows of patches. The quilt is edged with narrow strips of brown floral cretonne and dramatic triangular 'flames' of red floral cretonne attached all around. The seams joining the patches are oversewn with blue featherstitch embroidery, and the quilt is backed with printed cotton." [PHM] There is no padding.
1480 x 1235mm
1480 x 1235mm
Possum skin rug constructed from 24 rectangular pieces hand stitched to a dark brown felt backing and couched on other side to faded blue silk tape. 19 possum tails similarly attached to felt backing dangle around 3 sides of the rug. All felt edges are scalloped.
1500 x 1200mm
"An unfinished quilt in traditional 'Pinwheel' pattern, handsewn with linen thread using the English method. The quilt is composed of sixteen large hexagonal blocks made up of square, diamond and triangular patches around a central hexagon. The central motifs and outer borders are of block printed floral and geometric patterned glazed cotton chintz, with plain white cotton chintz as the background. The patches still have their original paper templates in place; many of these are covered with handwritten numbers and are perhaps from a school exercise book. A collection of templates, patches and partially assembled blocks and pinwheels in the same chintz fabrics came with the quilt."
1565 x 1295mm
1565 x 1295mm
Domestic Wagga made from wheat bags sewn together and covered with large pieces of material.
1400 x 1230mm
1400 x 1230mm
Miniature eiderdown or quilt made for a doll's bed. Wholecloth in polished cotton medium pink floral with rose pink plain frill. Machine made. The front is a floral rectangle with mitred corners and a floral border finished with a plain frill. The back is all floral including the frill. The quilt is filled with feathers. It is quilted. 4350 x 6150mm
Quilt of hand pieced (running stitch) hexagons formed into rosettes or 'flowers'. This pattern is commonly known as 'Grandmother's Flower Garden'. The materials are calico, plain and floral prints, some thought to be dress materials and some from flour'sacks'. The padding is cotton and the backing calico.
2160 x 1780mm
2160 x 1780mm
Double sided quilt made from mainly rectangular pieces of woollen tailors' samples and suiting materials. It is machine sewn and there is no padding.
1670 x 1220mm
1670 x 1220mm