Quilts

National Trust of Australia (QLD)
Crazy patchwork quilt with mainly patterned pieces in a wide variety of designs and colours. Backing is wholecloth patterned cotton. The quilt is edged with a checked bias binding. Machine construction.
2299 x 1449mm
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
Mary Robertson
The suffolk puffs are mainly cotton in a wide variety of colours and plain and patterned materials. The puffs are small squares rather than the more usual circles. The backing is teal satin hand stitched to the top. There is a teal bow at one end. There is no padding.
1570 x 1100mm
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
Guna Naoumidis
Wholecloth quilt made of gold satin with a backing of beige coloured cotton. The padding is wool. The quilting pattern is an all over diamond pattern, framed in a border of straight and wavy parallel lines. It is hand quilted.
2000 x 1820mm
Mary Robertson
Domestic Wagga made from 3 bags joined (the bags feel lighter than the jute wheat or flour bags) and covered back and front with floral cotton featuring large roses in red and oranges. The cover is machined.
1750 x 840mm
Sam Genovese
Wholecloth quilt, bright crimson cotton. Hand quilting is in thick cotton with a medallion design in the centre, vases of flowers in each corner, and some cross hatching. Padding is thick flock, possibly compacted fabrics, and backing is yellow cotton. 2250 x 1930 mm.
Fran Williams
Quilt with centre area of silk triangles framed with small squares and the rest of the top is larger squares. Wide variety of prints and plain materials. There is no padding. The backing is cotton and "E.M.B." is cross stitched in one corner. "Back is interesting as it's all the same fabric, joined but it appears to have been stitched with a running stitch (cf quilting) before it was attached to the front. It was definitely done after being joined as the stitching design follows through the seams." [Fran Williams]
2500 x 2500mm
Ida Blenkiron
Patchwork quilt of square and rectangular patches, mainly in cotton fabrics, in plains and prints. Colours are predominantly yellow, pinks, blues and prints on white. Backing is the same except there is a piece of patterned curtaining material as a patch across the middle width. Padding is old blanketing.
1830 x 1140mm
Yvonne Hore
Reversible quilt. Both sides are small squares of cotton scraps mainly left over from children's clothes. Plain and patterned pieces in a wide variety of colours. Hand stitched. Padding is pieced men's clothing, jumpers, cardigans, trousers. The present owner zig zagged over the seams, bound the edges and 'clouted' (her term) it in circles and squares.
2080 x 1570mm
Alysoun Ryves
Red Applique on an off white background. All applique is by hand using herringbone stitch. Three different red materials are used for the applique each printed with a different tiny all over pattern. There are 3 different applique shapes: the 9 major shapes have 8 points; the daisy pattern has 8 petals; the edge pattern is used along the top, left and half of the bottom edge of the quilt and sometimes has 4 points, sometimes 3 and sometimes 2. There is a tiny red piping around the quilt along the bottom and both sides. It is hand quilted in 100mm long zig zags 12mms apart all over the quilt. The quilt is signed twice on the front, once in ink and once in embroidery. It is signed 'Anna Edwards Jan 1858'. There is no padding and the backing material is similar to the off white background material of the top.
2270 x 2180mm
Mare Carter
Quilt of alternate green and fawn squares (100mm) in knitted fabric, originally swatches of sample fabrics. Padding is a piece of old blanket. Backing is fawn flannelette, and the quilt is finished with a flannelette ruffle.
1423 x 1124mm
Agnes Pratten
Thick padding for a wholecloth quilt constructed from pieces of old woollen clothing. The backing is a calico sheet. Originally had a cretonne cover.
Deb Nichol
Rug made from 40 brown fur skins (8 rows by 5), possibly possum. Skins are sewn by machine, with seams covered with white tape. Rug is backed with cream wool felt, and bordered with beige scalloped felt. There is a braid binding along the outer edge of the skins. No padding. 1640 x 1480mm
Bill & Barbara Meynink
Patchwork quilt made from brightly coloured printed cotton fabrics in hexagon patches hand sewn together in rosettes, and stitched by machine onto a border of bright teal blue fabric. Fabric scraps for the patchwork were donated from friends. No padding. Backing is polished cotton curtain lining.
2312 x 1969mm
Christina Kazaglis
Wholecloth quilt with one side blue satin with a red satin border and the reverse side wholecloth floral cotton. The quilting is parallel lines and squares. It is all hand stitched. The padding is raw cotton.
1740 x 1240mm
Sandra Jones
Crazy patchwork quilt in silks and velvets. Centre circle of embroidered flowers and outer border of diamonds in tunbling block pattern. Most pieces have embroidered flowers and all joins are embroidered in fancy stitches. The owner's mother had a pink silk quilted backing and a thick edge cord added to the quilt by Rocke's of Collins street Melbourne c.1960
1620 x 1595mm
Margery Creek for Eugene Creek
Wholecloth polyester and cotton quilt in deep orange with centre frame of Creek family crest. The crest is machine zig zag appliqued to white background and has a black border. The quilt is machine sewn, hand quilted, has a white backing and a thin black binding on the border. The padding is polyester.
2235 x 1854mm
Gwenneth Miller
Rabbit skin rug hand stitched. Originally had no backing but a fawn felt backing has been added. 1480 x 1180mm
National Gallery of Australia
" Reversible patchwork quilt of woollen suiting in grey, blue, navy, maroon and brown. The fabrics appear to be new tailor's sample pieces (the sizing is still present on the fabric, signifying it has never been washed). The patches are rectangular and vary in size. Both sides have different designs. The front of the quilt has 4 rows of 12 vertical rectangles then below this are 4 rows of 7 horizontal rectangles followed below by 4 rows of 11 vertical rectangles. The reverse of the quilt has a section at the top and bottom composed of 5 rows of 9 horizontal rectangles. The central area is made up of a centre section of 6 rows of 5 vertical rectangles; flanked on either side by a column of 10 horizontal rectangles and two columns of 8 smaller vertical rectangles.
The patchwork layers are joined at the edges with machine stitching. The patchwork layers and padding are machine quilted on the front down 2 vertical lines following joins in the patchwork; therefore not being totally straight. The lines are more noticeable on the reverse as the 2 sides do not match. The front face is displayed at the NGA.
Between the patchwork layers is a striped cotton blanket in black, sky blue, white and cream." [NGA]
2082 x 1386mm

Pages