Miss Grace's Quilt by Sophia Wilbow on display

In conjunction with The New Quilt, the heritage quilt, Miss Grace’s Quilt, by Sophia Wilbow of Pitt Town, Windsor (1829–1924) will be on display.

 

Sophia Wilbow was well-known for her needlework skills in the Hawkesbury district and reputedly made a quilt for each of her seven daughters who reached adulthood. Three of the quilts are still in existence. Miss Grace's Quilt was is made entirely by hand using a paper template technique with a tumbling block design.

The outer border of patches is made from the off-cuts of nurses uniforms, as two of the Sophia’s daughters were nurses. The other squares were made from material samples from department stores such as Anthony Horden & Sons, as was characteristic in the late 19th century and early 20th century trends, creating quilts with complex patterns.

The quilt was donated to the Friends of the Hawkesbury Art Community and Regional Gallery by a Wilbow descendant Joyce Hedges.

Miss Grace's Quilt (detail)

 

Another of Sophia’s quilts, held in the National Gallery of Australia collection, was created for her youngest daughter Jane. It has a hexagon pattern containing more than 7,000 pieces with a print based on a design by William Morris. It is believed Sophia worked on the quilt while she sat at the side of her dying husband who suffered a long illness prior to his death in 1896.

Quilting Basics Workshop

To complement the display of Grace's Quilt, QuiltNSW is hosting an English Paper Piecing (EPP) workshop at the Gallery, presented by Sandra Lyons, on Saturday 6 March.

A kit is included in the fee for this two-hour workshop. If you are interested in learning this basic quilt-making skill, book your place now. For full details and to book, visit here. 

The New Quilt, on exhibition at Hawkesbury Regional Gallery, Windsor, NSW from 6 February – 11 April 2021. 

Gallery hours: Open 6 days a week Monday, Wednesday-Friday 10am-4pm Saturday-Sunday 10am-3pm. Closed on Tuesday and public holidays.  

All Quilt Study Group events postponed until further notice

All 2020 Quilt Study Group events that were to be held at the Powerhouse Museum and Museums Discovery Centre are postponed for at least 6 months. 

The events affected are the two talks to be given by Catherine Butterworth and Catherine Porter, and the Behind the Scenes visit to the quilt collection at the Powerhouse Discovery Centre.

This is in line with decisions made by the National Cabinet as communicated by the NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian, to temporarily close these venues to the public until further notice to help protect the health of all visitors and staff and minimise the spread of COVID-19 (coronavirus) in the State.

7th March Quilt Study Group talk by Catherine Butterworth postponed

The Quilt Study Group talk by Catherine Butterworth on how she designs her quilts has been postponed.

 The talk was scheduled for Saturday the 7th of March at the Powerhouse Museum.

Catherine will give the talk later this year.

Quilt Study Group talk by Chris Timmins on Saturday the 7th of September

On the 7^th of September Chris Timmins, who received the Lut-Da award earlier this year, will give a talk for the Quilt Study Group about how to get young people quilting and her joy of teaching both school and adult students. For members of Quilt NSW, the nomination submission in the latest Template Newsletter that the President, Megan Manwaring, wrote  gives just a small inkling of the contribution Chris has made to Quilt NSW.

“My journey into Patchwork was not on my agenda. I reluctantly went to a patchwork class to learn a new skill to teach my school students. I have taught so many students over my 25 years even after I retired. I cannot image my life without Patchwork and the friends I have made through this Patchwork Journey.” 

Please encourage everyone you know who is interested in quilting to come along to hear Chris talk. The Glover Cottages (124-134 Kent Street, Millers Point) is a beautiful light-filled venue and it is an easy walk through The Rocks area from either Wynyard or Circular Quay train stations. Quilt NSW guild members pay $5, non-guild members pay $10. Afternoon tea is provided and the talks start at 2pm. Check the Quilt NSW website or the latest Template Newsletters for more details.