Quilts

Patchwork quilt made of fine pieces of silk from ballgowns and cut into small triangular pieces, sewn together to form a pinwheel pattern. Quilt has a wide border with a quilted feather motif and is edged with red silk.
No padding, backing is of cotton.
2500 x 2500mm
White cotton quilt of gathered hexagons. Hand embroidered roses in the centre of each hexagon. It is quilted.
2395 x 2286mm
Embroiderers' Guild Victoria
One of a pair of quilts with traditional Durham quilting. All hand stitched. Elaborate quilting in a wide variety of patterns. The backing material is the same as the top.
2340 x 2000mm
Unfinished, hand stitched, polychromatic patchwork quilt in a tumbling block design. Constructed from silk fabrics and stitched with cotton yarns. Although crumpled and torn, the original paper squares are still in the back of the patchwork pieces. There is no padding. 1300 x 1300mm.
Helen Sparkman
Patchwork quilt made from large pieces of cretonne and similar type cotton materials. On one side the seams and edges have been embellished with chain stitch.
2150 x 1220mm
Utilitarian quilt made from roughly square patches of tailors' samples and men's suitings. The backing is calico and a border has been formed by turning the top under. The padding is ticking and pieced reused clothing.
2000 x 1400mm
Patchwork quilt made of hexagonal patches of variously patterned cottion chintz. The fabrics are printed with floral, geometric and striped designs in brown, blue, pink and cream stitched together by hand in no fixed pattern. There is a cream cotton backing.
1940 x 1410mm
Patchwork quilt made of gathered circles stitched into a square shape. Made of scraps of fabrics from the depression period. The maker called the shapes 'squirkles'. No padding. Quilt is lined.
2100 x 1400mm
Patricia Galbraith
Fur fabric quilt made from scraps cut into squares and put together randomly. Colous are black, several greys, browns and some blacks and dark greys are astrakhan. There is no padding and the backing is a grey cotton bush blanket. The quilt is tied with buttons and wool.
1753 x 1251mm
" This quilt is in the Suffolk puff tradition. The quilt consists of 1,518 white plain weave 'puffs'. Unlike some quilts where the puffs have been made from blue bags, here they are from circles of fabric with the edge turned with a gather stitch, which has been pulled and secured. The quilt is entirely hand sewn. The edge of the quilt is decorated with a 35cm band of crochet; producing a net with scalloped edge. The crochet is executed in a thick cotton thread." [NGA] There is no padding or lining. 3230 x 2120mm
Quilt made from suitings and cloth patchwork, hand stitched with blanket insert and pieces of knitting from garments.
1900 x 1190mm
Double bed size quilt, which the owner calls 'Devon Puffs', with main pattern in centre. 2100 x 1800mm.
Utilitarian quilt, machine stitched. The outer cover has a top of floral and striped cretonne and a backing of faded pink cotton. This is a cover for another well worn quilt inside with a floral top and cream backing. The padding is a huge assortment of many layers of old woollen clothing secured with pieces of string. 1750 x 1040mm
Rug of 24 dingo pelts varying in colour from honey gold to dark brown and joined in a random arrangement. The tails are attached to each square. The backing is navy blue felt with a scalloped edge. 1830 x 1650mm
Marcella quilt filled with old blanket. Large diagonal quilting stitches. Running Stitch group suggests it is possibly a wagga filler which would have been covered with a cretonne sleeve.
1880 x 1180mm
Machine sewn quilt made from 125mm squares of scraps left over from dressmaking joined in strips and then the strips joined. There is a border of fawn cotton and the backing is the same material. The padding is an old blanket and the border is padded with sheep's wool.
1400 x 925mm
Embroiderers' Guild Victoria
Cotton quilt of hexagonal pieces joined to form rosettes or 'flowers' in a pattern often called 'Grandmother's Flower Garden'. Hand pieced. Colours are mainly pink, brown, amethyst and cream. There is no padding and the backing has been added recently.
2140 x 1550mm
Wholecloth quilt with both sides a furnishing cotton. The material has a pattern of pink flowers on a brown/blue/white striped ground. The top has a cream border top and bottom and has been covered with 'Stabiltex'. The padding is felted grey wool.
1710 x 1145mm
Quilt of pieced printed cottons in the 'Le Moyne Star' pattern with the blocks set on point with sashing in a turkey red cotton print. Patchwork prints for the diamond shapes include spots, small prints, plaids, florals. The backing is another turkey red print and it is folded over to the front to form a border. The padding is cotton. The quilting outlines patches with some additional diagonal lines.
2595 x 2565mm
Embroiderers' Guild Victoria
Unfinished patchwork quilt top of silks and velvets in 'Tumbling Block' arrangement of diamonds. There is no padding or backing. Template papers are still in place and have been cut from magazines and letters from Melbourne.
1420 x 1210mm

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