History
This quilt was made by Agnes Maxwell for her granddaughter Anne Howard in the late 1940s or early 1950s in Sydney NSW. It is still owned by Anne. It is now stored in a camphorwood box. "Agnes McEwan Brown Maxwell (1876-197) [was] born in the port town of Helensborough Scotland which is not far from Glasgow and Loch Lomond. Died in Sydney at the age of 94.
Came to Australia from Vancouver, Canada in 1935. Lived in Leeton for many years but after the death of her husband in 1949, she moved to Pennant Hills, a new suburb of Sydney in the north. When she lived in Pennant Hills she was always working with her hands. Exquisite fine lace tablecloths crocheted with the tiniest crochet hook, beautifully knitted baby clothes and there always seemed to be a quilt in the making. Quilt making had always been in the family. Grandma Maxwell and her sisters (Sally, Polly and Jean) had all made quilts for their daughters and the tradition continued with the arrival of grandchildren. The quilt made for her first born Kathryn, which was made out of dressmaking scraps from Kathryn's own clothes was unfortunately lost in the Ash Wednesday fires of 1983, having been brought out from Canada in 1934. However, those made for the granddaughters have met a kinder fate. Grandma Maxwell continued to sew and make quilts until well into her nineties. She was well loved by many and had a lovely group of friends who brought her their fabric offcuts to help with the quilt making. One of her favourite charities was the Spastic Children's Association for whom she made several quilts which were then raffled and always resulted in a most successful fund raising activity for the Association. In the 1960s when she was already in her eighties several ladies from the Pennant Hills area used to come and help to do the final quilting on these quilts when she couldn't manage the whole thing on her own." There are four granddaughters and each has a quilt.
[Irene Garran and Anne Howard, 29 August 2000]
Description
Cotton patchwork quilt 'Trip Around the World'. Various patterns and colours and a wide variety of cottons eg homespun and waffle weave. Hand pieced and hand quilted. The backing is yellow cotton and the padding is thought to be a beige coloured curtain.
1830 x 1260mm
