Can you identify this antique quilt?

It’s dated “Begun 1865, Done 92”, made from ¾ inch hexagons, mainly in silk, backed with strong calico with no wadding and edged with a thin cord. The initials LT are embroidered in a blue hexagon and the remains of several blue tags along one side suggest it may have been hung on a wall – perhaps, because of the cross motifs, in a church.

 

Its present owner is Margaret Cook and it is stored with Dr Annette Gero and is in a very fragile state.

 Margaret thought the quilt had been made by a member of the Bell family of Beaudesert in Queensland. It was in the Paddington, NSW, terrace house she bought from the estate of Pamela Bell. However, Pamela’s family have no knowledge of it; they and her friends Margaret Olley and Lyn Clarke suggested it may have been in a piece of antique furniture that Pamela bought some time after she bought the house in 1968.

Daphne has made an exact copy of the quilt for Margaret and below is a photo of her at our recent QSG meeting showing us her copy and talking about her search for the origins of the original quilt.

If you can shed any light on this find, please contact Daphne Massie care of the Quilters’ Guild of NSW Inc.