Doll’s Hospital
The Doll’s Hospital in Bexley in New South Wales has been a saviour for many people over the years with doll surgeons hastily operating on sick dolls who have lost limbs, been chipped, or simply need some new hair.
By Rebecca Ware
It started operating in the early 1900s as a family business and Geoff Chapman, the current owner, following in his grandfather’s footsteps it’s stayed that way ever since. World War II was the time when the Doll Hospital flourished due to the lack of new dolls and leather goods being sold. Geoff can remember his grandfather repairing all sorts of pieces including umbrellas, nylon stockings and even handbags. Back then the main clientele were people who travelled from the country to the city yearly who brought all their broken dolls and bears to the hospital while on their travels.
Doll making has changed quite dramatically since then. The main ingredients for making a doll included various sawdust compositions and even flour and sugar were thrown into the mix until the Chapmans realised that mice had a taste for these inclusions! It was in the 1950s that hard plastic was introduced and eventually the vinyl we use today became popular, and this signified a turning point in the industry. “Vinyl was much more lifelike for children because it was soft like skin and you could colour it and make it look like real flesh,” Geoff explains.
The surgeons at the doll hospital see a variety of pieces come through their doors for repairs, like teddies that have been attacked by dogs, or dolls that have lost their walking motion or voice. The repairs range from the simple, like replacing a wig or painting a new pair of eyes, to complete restorations which include taking the doll apart, sanding it down and repainting it. Geoff and his team at the doll hospital also try to use the original materials as much as possible to keep the toy’s character.
On average, the hospital receives about 20 items a week for repair, not only from around Australia, but from all over the world. Some dolls get repaired because they’re worth a lot of money, so it’s worth spending the time and the money to fix them, while others are fixed for sentimental purposes. In fact, many of the repairs that they do are for surprise birthday presents or for loved ones.
For more information on The Doll’s Hospital, contact them at 38 Stoney Creek Road, Bexley NSW 2207, phone (02) 9150 0266 or fax (02) 9554 3532.
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Antique Quilts at Nutcote
May Gibbs is one of Australia’s most celebrated and well-known authors. She is famous for her children’s creations that include Snugglepot and Cuddlepie, and Bib and Bub which was a popular comic strip published in The Sydney Morning Herald.
By Rebecca Ware
After moving to Australia from England with her family in 1877, she spent most of her young life in South Australia and Western Australia where she developed her love of our native flora and fauna. Her first books were published from 1916 to 1918 and many of them have remained in print, even to this day. After marrying Bertram James Ossoli Kelly in 1925, May recruited the help of B J Waterhouse to build her dream home, Nutcote.
The result was a house with marked Mediterranean features with arched windows, blue and green shutters, and stuccoed yellow walls. Separating the house from the waters of Neutral Bay is a magnificent garden worthy of one of her books. This gorgeous escape, much of which May designed herself, features a combination of native Australian trees and shrubs, and old-world flowers. Many of these flowers she planted herself. Overlooking this amazing garden is the studio where May wrote most of her famous works. The garden was inspiration for her, and she looked to it often for ideas for her storytelling and illustrations.
When May passed away in 1969, she wanted to leave Nutcote to the United Nations Organisation, UNICEF. At the time however, they were unable to own property so the house was sold. After the owners expressed interest in developing the property, concerned relatives and friends formed the May Gibbs Foundation and succeeded in having Nutcote protected by a Permanent Conservation Order. It was also placed on the Register of the National Estate and because of the widespread support generated by the Foundation, the North Sydney Municipal Council bought the property in 1990. It was leased to the Nutcote Trust, who restored to its original 1930s décor and set it up as a House Museum.
In the past, there have been a variety of quilt exhibitions, with many featuring quilts from the time that May lived. One in particular featured examples from Annette Gero’s collection, who thought it was important to show quilts from that period. “When I saw that the house was furnished in the period of May Gibbs’ lifetime, I decided to choose quilts which were also from that period,” she explained. “I am fortunate to have a lot of children’s quilts from early last century in my collection and as May Gibbs illustrated and wrote children’s books, the decision as to what to put in the exhibition came together really well!” There are a variety of quilts on show permanently in Nutcote and it’s a great place to have a look at some beautiful creations of the past.
Nutcote is located at 5 Wallaringa Ave, Neutral Bay NSW. It is open 11am-3pm Wednesday-Sunday. For more information phone (02) 9953 4453.
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Organising a Quilt Show
When you attend a quilt show, it might seem quite simple to set up and organise – after all, they only go for two or three days!
By Rebecca Ware
Well if you think this you will soon be surprised at the amount of organisation actually goes in to it. A lot of effort goes into the lead up of a quilt show including making a variety of decisions and preparations.
One of the most important things to decide is the venue where it will be held. More often than not, established quilting groups have shows at the same place every time, but it’s always good to have a change. Things you need to consider when looking at venues are the facilities, costs and availability – and don’t forget to make the booking!
Choosing the date shouldn’t be taken lightly either. You have to decide when a good time is in terms of season and weather, if you want your show to coincide with a special day like Mother’s Day or Christmas, and even when school holidays are on. You should also leave enough time to promote the show.
The effectiveness of the promotion can make or break a show. There are a variety of ways to get information about your show to the public, like advertising in craft magazines, newspapers, radio, or simply on noticeboards and shop windows.
Once you have organised the date and got the word out, you have to look at catering the event. Most quilt shows have some light refreshments on offer, which are generally paid for with the entry fee. You can always get some willing volunteers to cook up some delicious dishes, and people are usually more than happy to donate some of their time.
It’s a good idea to print up catalogues that include all the information about the quilts featured in the show. This gives people the chance to take home a lasting reminder of the projects they can refer to whenever they like. You can also include information about what inspired the creations and contact details for everyone involved.
One of the most important things to plan is the layout of the stalls. You have to make sure there’s enough room for people to move around, while also having ample space to showcase each piece. The width, height and colour of the quilts must be known in advance so the hanger lengths and quilt pairings can be determined. Don’t forget to arrange people to set the show up, and make sure they’ve had a briefing on exactly how it should be done, don’t leave anything to chance!
Once you’ve pre-planned your quilt show however, you’ll find that it runs a lot more smoothly and the hard work will be extremely appreciated.
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Material Girls
Fascinated with Fabric
Bright and bold or neutral and subdued, there’s something about fabric that’s addictive. Even when we have more than enough of it in the stash, that rarely stops us from seeking out new fat quarters or a new range we just ‘have-to-have’.
By Jamie-Lee Hogan
Go to any quilting store or fabric shop and you’ll see women quietly surveying the bolts of cloth, walking from shelf to shelf and touching the materials in awe. There are many things that go through a quilter’s mind at a time like this such as, “is this the right colour?” and “will the pattern and tone work with the other fabrics I have?” Apart from this, there’s an inherent admiration for these beautiful creations, dreamt up by many talented people all around the world just for us to enjoy. We speak to two quilters about their own experience with fabric and find out how they think this fascination and ‘romance’ with it comes about – and why.
Elaine Rose, Technical Editor for Country Threads and Patchwork & Stitching
I’ve collected fabric from the time I started sewing. At first, it was just pretty bits to make dolls’ clothes in primary school, then I moved on to high school and TAFE – and to making clothes for myself. I would wake up in the middle of the night with a design in my head and draw it, then I would spend weeks looking for the right fabric – often not even knowing if it existed!
Whenever I saw fabric I fancied, I bought it – I have a huge stash of dress materials with patterns and buttons to match to the extent that my daughter used to say, “Mum, don’t buy any more!” I’ve collected bits and pieces of old fabrics from friends who have died, as well as some from aunties and my own mum, and they are quite old – no reproductions there. Then there’s the patchwork shop – I can’t resist a pretty print or hand-dyed fabric for an appliqué. And there’s a kind of unwritten rule that if you need a specific colour, you just have to buy several to make sure you end up with the right one!
Jenelle Kent, Pieces To Treasure
I certainly am a fabric addict. I don’t think there’s much science behind the compulsion – it’s probably in the same category as buying shoes! Some things are just plain irresistible. You should never attach any guilt to this addiction! Fabrics – likes shoes – change with fashion, so something you bought five years ago as a must-have may not be so appealing today. Or maybe that shade of green doesn’t quite match the new materials, colours and designs.
Some fabrics just scream, ‘buy me!’ And they are often a very useful tone-on-tone or small print that you have to have simply because it coordinates with lots of others in your stash. Some also give inspiration. I sometimes see a fabric and a design idea for using it immediately occurs to me, so I have to buy it. I also think your tastes change over time and this is very much influenced by the fabrics available.
Our stash also grows because fabric addicts and patchworkers can’t throw out their scraps – that little piece of blue might be just right for something in the future. Put all those small bits together and you could make a quilt!
Organising this precious stockpile is also very therapeutic and fabric is a wonderful medium to work with. You take flat pieces and turn them into a warm, snuggly quilt, a useful bag or a comfy cushion. Of course, the bottom line is simple, ‘She who dies with the most fabric, wins!’
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Threads of Hope
Female prisoners needed something to occupy both their minds and hands while travelling on board the convict ship, HMS Rajah, en route to Van Dieman’s Land– so they created an appliquéd patchwork quilt now known as the ‘Rajah’.
By Jamie-Lee Hogan
The Rajah, crafted by female convicts on the ship of the same name, is the result of skilled labour and planned direction. It is the only surviving quilt known to have been produced during transportation and was made in 1841 after the ship set sail from Woolwich, London on April 5 bound for what was then known as Van Diemen’s Land.
The vessel made landfall in Hobart, Tasmania on July 19, with 179 female prisoners, 10 children, a Royal Navy surgeon and a few more passengers on board – one woman had died during the voyage. A total of 24,000 women arrived on the Tasmanian shores and conditions ranged from brutal to merely tolerable, thus, regulations were soon put in place to improve the situation.
The Rajah quilt was made using the pieced-medallion style which was common in the late 18th century. It’s a patchwork bedcover with a centrepiece of white cotton decorated with appliquéd chintz birds and floral motifs – and is one of Australia’s most important textiles. Although it’s a work of great documentary importance in the country’s history, it’s also an exceptional work of art created by women who came together in the most abject circumstances.
At some stage after its arrival in Tasmania in 1841, the quilt was returned to England to be presented to Elizabeth Fry, but its circumstances and ownership in the subsequent 147 years remain a mystery. In the 1980s, it was discovered in a private collection in Scotland and two years later, it was donated to the National Gallery of Australia.
If not for the women of The British Ladies Society for Promoting the Reformation of Female Prisoners, which was formed in 1816 by Elizabeth Fry, the Rajah quilt may never have been possible. Providing the convicts on the ship with personal items, Bibles and sewing supplies, The British Ladies Society also gave them tape, pins, needles, white cotton thread for sewing, thimbles, scissors and patchwork pieces. The female prisoners were also taught how to quilt and in turn, these supplies were put to great use.
On inspection, it appears that up to 20 women worked on the quilt as it shows varying skill levels of needlework. It seems the women also pricked their fingers with needles as there are a few patches marked with small, dark brown stains which were found to be blood. Even though the women would have been stitching in poor light on a rocking boat, and some of them had failing eyesight, these needle-pricks are thought to be the result of their lack of skill.
Miraculously, the Rajah has endured the effects of time and physical decay, and it’s now a tangible link to our country’s early society and the women who worked together to overcome their plight in the service of art.
The border of the quilt is embroidered with an inscription that reads:
‘To the ladies of the convict ship committee
This quilt worked by the convicts of the ship
Rajah during their voyage to Van Diemen’s
Land is presented as testimony of the
Gratitude with which they remember the
exertions of their welfare while in England
and during their passage and also as a proof
they have no neglected the Ladies kind
admonition of being industrious’
Today, the Rajah quilt is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Australia, Canberra.
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Internet Shopping – Craft Dot Com
Approach country craft shopping from a new angle! Just log onto the Internet!
Story by Jamie-Lee Hogan
Patchwork Interactive has a great CD-ROM on hand-dyeing fabric by one of Australia’s best teachers, Michelle Steele. Favourite find: A free craft pattern every month.
CRAFT-search provides a simple tool for locating craft businesses and online websites. Favourite finds: It’s so easy! Browse all of the best craft stores.
Sew Stitchable has dreamy embroidery and appliqué kits and patterns including silk ribbon and wool embroidery. Favourite find: A crazy-patchwork Thimble Pipkin kit.
Up in Annie’s Room; find patterns by designers including Rosalie Quinlan Designs and Whiskers and Wings. Favourite find: Darlin’ Dollies, a collection of sassy pocket-size little stitcheries.
Sun Valley Primitives is filled with pip berries, polka dots and primitives. Favourite find: 1930s green and yellow fabric canisters.
The Calico Rose has a collection of brilliant patterns from the best ‘prim’ designers. Favourite find: An amazing crow angel by Make Mine Primitive.
Gumnut Gear caters for patchwork and appliqué enthusiasts, featuring country patterns including bags and quilts. Favourite find: A 10 month correspondence course, covering all the patchwork basics!
Meet Chocolate Lindy – just one of the primitives you’ll find at Making Spirits Bright. Favourite find: A knockout folk-style alphabet stitchery quilt.
Norwest Craft provides for all your crafting needs. Favourite find: Pretty Judith and Kathryn silk prints.
Visit the Blue Box for all your craft essentials and patterns by Jan Mullens, Bareroots and Art to Heart. Favourite find: Home Sweet Home, a wall-hanging made with flowers, hearts, chooks and buttons.
Always Quilting provides a quality hand-guided machine-quilting service with designs carefully selected to complement your quilt. Favourite find: A gallery of the quilting completed on clients’ projects.
Just Patchwork stocks a great range for all quilters, as well as a fabric club, inspiring block-of-the-month projects and patterns by Simply Homespun. Favourite find: Advent calendar designs – spirited projects for Yule.
The Purple Patch stocks quality patchwork fabric, novelty buttons, mohair wool and silk ribbons. Favourite find: The fabric range, Making a quilt red.
The Country Quilt Co is full of fabric with great patterns and kits by The Chook Shed. Favourite find: The Vintage Blooms fabric club for women who love the romantic look of roses and florals.
Pieces to Treasure stocks the Country Needfuls and Country kids range. Favourite find: Album covers for boys and girls.
Patches of Heaven has a range of fabrics, quilts and stitcheries from Candelight Creations and Buzzy Bee Buttons. Favourite finds: Squares ‘n’ Squares, a Memes quilt you’ll love!
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Felt Penny Rugs – Coining a Craft
If you see a penny, pick it up – and then trace it! With its wool felt appliqué circles, the penny rug is a traditional craft form that is loved for its softness, versatility and classic style.
By Jamie-Lee Hogan
Their typically warm colours, simple shades and classic looks make penny rugs very popular items, particularly among lovers of folk art and primitive styles. However, the identity of the person who conceived the idea of using an actual penny as an appliqué template will probably always remain a mystery. All we know is that the penny rug is part of the patched-rug family and it’s thought to have become fashionable in New England in the United States, around the mid-19th century. It even has cousins – the square-patched rug and the rectangular rug with rounded ends.
Traditionally, penny rugs were made mainly out of wool felt, as well as scraps from clothes and blankets. Concentric circles of cloth pieces referred to as ‘pennies’ were blanket-stitched to a felt background in layers, along with other shapes such as animals, fruits and flowers.
The ancient craft of felt making originated in central Asia and it was a handmade process that turned separate animal-hair fibres into a single piece of cloth. It was made from alpaca fleece, rabbit fur, goat under-hair, camel hair and more commonly, sheep’s wool. The first steps involved cleaning the fleece or hair, untangling and rinsing it, and then drying it. The fibres were then combed with a wire brush called a ‘card’ then layered to create thickness and later spread out to achieve the desired dimensions. Next, the ‘cloth’ was soaked and alkalized with an agent such as starch, eggs or oil, which was rubbed into the mat to produce a mass of interlocking fibres. It was then rolled into a tight cylinder and worked with the hands until it became a seamless, non-woven piece of fabric. In modern times a heavy duty washing machine or dryer is used to mat the fibres.
Use your felt penny rug as a decorative table topper, wall-hanging or mantle covering!
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Soft Beauty – 1930s Fabrics.
It’s hard to imagine when you look at genuine 1930s fabrics that they were created in an era of immense hardship. When the Depression hit hard, it was back to basics for many families who had enjoyed prosperity in the ’20s.
Story by Jamie-Lee Hogan
The cheery pastel and conversational prints reveal nothing at all of those grim economic times; indeed, that they suggest the opposite was entirely the point.
Recycling became a matter of course, even after life became easier again. In Australia and the US, women would reuse the calico fabric from empty food sacks to make domestic items such as aprons and pillows. And, upon learning about this clever redeployment of their product packaging, American manufacturers came up with the inspired marketing idea of printing the bags with floral designs. They commissioned professional textile artists to create an array of prints and in turn, women’s magazines responded with joyful and feminine quilt patterns such as Sunbonnet Sue and the Double Wedding Ring.
The detailed floral and geometric designs were printed with non-fade dyes, which at the time were a very recent innovation. With colours such as canary yellow and peony pinks, as well as primary shades like red and blue, the bags were cut up and constructed into quilts.
While Australian women didn’t have the benefit of printed grain sacks, they did take advantage of white food bags, transforming them into whatever they needed.
That fabrics were produced at all during this period demonstrates how important it was to have hope and creativity in our lives. The 1930s pieces that still exist are impressive examples of female resourcefulness and women’s ability to see their families through the tough times – and they also demonstrate our need for beauty and self-expression.
Quiltsmith has a variety of authentic feed sacks available that have been imported from America and are between 45 and 80 years old. They also carry over 1000 different 1930s fabrics, which are perfect for making your own reproduction masterpiece.
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Guest Towels - A Fresh Face
“I think that when you invite people to your home, you invite them to yourself.” -Oprah Winfrey.
By Belinda Crestani
What better way to make your guests welcome to your home than by hand-picking towels that apply specifically to them and their needs individually. There is nothing nicer after a long trip than walking into a bathroom filled with fresh, neatly placed handtowels. We’ve grown accustomed to finding such treats in hotel rooms – so, why don’t we accommodate our loved ones by doing the same?
There is a deep appreciation of vintage guest towels on the Internet these days, but in the past, most contents of linen cupboards were thrown out when a person moved or passed away – towels and other household accessories were all too often undervalued and thus disregarded. Now, it seems the older they are, the higher their value and this is due to the amount of work that went into them.
Back in the days when a woman’s main priority was her home and its upkeep, time was given to hand-stitching, crocheting, sewing, embroidering and knitting. It was a way for them to show guests their talents and the humble towel was decorated carefully and skillfully. Adorning items with embroidery, lace and whitework was common at that time and these older-style linens are valuable and now much sought-after heavily, and what was classed as everyday is now a must-have, modern accessory.
The vintage-style guest towel is often hard to come by, but with a little help from us at Country Threads, you can learn how to recreate the designs you love. White is a charming and versatile colour, however, if you want to jazz up your collection by adding to the vintage theme, you can incorporate beautiful apricots, light pinks and any other pastel colours in the bathroom. You can also combine hand-embroidery and lace, which was a popular technique that remains so today.
Like every collectible, finding matching linens is a challenge, but don’t let this put you off. Designed to complement any bathroom, don’t be afraid to assemble a variety of one-off towels which looks just as effective as a collection in one theme or colour. Matching guest towels are a thing of the past, but if you want to spoil to your guests, having ‘his’ and ‘hers’ is important. Look for ones that have the same pattern in different colours, or vice versa, to identify them. Embellish your ordinary linens with lace and embroidery. Once upon a time it was a statement of wealth when your initials appeared on personal possessions like these.
Fabrics
The fibre content which once consisted only of cotton or linen – and sometimes hemp – has now changed slightly to include terry towelling.
Decoration
From the 1930s to the 1950s in Australia, surface stitchery was a very popular technique applied to linens. It comprises a range of basic embroidery stitches that usually produce images like flowers, gardens, birds and the like. The design, either stamped or heat-transferred onto the fabric, was usually placed at one end and finished off by a special hemmed finish or lace trim.
Laces
You just have to have these in your home –. the simple look of the unassuming guest towel hangs nicely in traditional or country-style home, offering everyone a warm and homely feeling. So why not get started on your own collection now?
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