My Library 5

No more stumpwork today - the Dragonfly wings I made are too big, and after looking at them for hours, they are going to have to come off while I make another set.

So instead, it is back to my library shelves. And doing this is definitely making me look more carefully at my books. This one was published as part of a series in 1993, and I think I have another one, maybe the one on Surface Embroidery and Smocking.

There is a super-large (ie same size as the book) HERE - it takes a while to load, but means that you can see the actual stitches on the cover quilt - which seems to like a lot of spider-web flowers.

Margaret Rolfe then went on to write Australian Quilt Heritage. But the interesting thing I found was in the small print - the book editor was Meryl Potter, who herself has written an Australian crazy-patch book - I had always wondered where she fitted into the picture.

Meanwhile ..... back to this book. Its title is Australian Heritage Needlework: Patchwork, Applique and Quilting by Margaret Rolfe and Val Moore. It was published 1993 by Lothian, 72 pages, paperback. ISBN 0 85091 578 3. And I would think well out of print and unavailable.

The quilt on the cover is held at the Kyneton Historical Museum, in rural Victoria. It is a doll's quilt, and a close look shows that some parts, possibly silk, are shredding.

There are a few other interesting quilts inside - the Christina Brown (1815-95) quilt that is in the National Gallery in Canberra, and the Tasmanian Fan Quilt, which has been published elsewhere. But one of the other things about this book I like is that it has good, large diagrams for some of those fans, and good large outlines for Australian wildflowers for embroidery.

This isn't a book I use a lot, but is interesting to have if you are thinking about the history of crazy quilting/publishing in Australia. Must find my other book in the series.