War and Pieced Quilt Exhibition in Cowra

In the local paper a couple of weeks ago there was an ad for an exhibition at the Cowra Art Gallery.  Cowra is a small country town just over an hour west of us.  It was rather unusual to have such an ad in our paper and the content of the exhibition was also rather surprising.

What a coup for Cowra.  The ad also mentioned that Dr Annette Gero would be giving a talk about the exhibition this afternoon.  We had nothing planned for today, so guess where we went?

Cowra is one of those towns that every time you drive through on your way to somewhere else you say "We must have a good look here some time". Too far to just pop up the road, but too close to go and stay for the weekend.  This was the perfect opportunity.

We had a lovely morning tea, sitting under an enormous, shady grape vine.

How magical is that!

There are two fabric shops in town, which I guess is sustainable, as there is no Spotlight within an hour's drive.

Mick sat in the "Patient Husband Seat", but I'm not too sure how patient he was.

We then found an interesting antique shop as well.

I did make a couple of purchases - some more 1930s reproduction fabrics for Splendid Sampler 2 and a rather nice vintage sewing machine accessories box, with a few accessories inside.  I just thought it was cute in the red.

So, after all that, we went to the art gallery.  The exhibition was wonderful.  No photographs are to be shared on line, so I'll just tell you a little about them.

Annette came across her first military quilt when she was searching for old Australian quilts, back in the early 1980s.  She has been an active collector ever since.  There are less than 200 documented world wide and Annette owns the oldest private collection.  This collection has just returned from an exhibition at the International Quilt Study Centre and Museum in New York.  It was voted one of the best 10 exhibitions in the USA that year.  I still can't believe that it is on display in Cowra.

The display consists of quilts mainly made out of fabrics used in military uniforms.  The fabric is a very finely woven wool that was felted at the time of manufacture and therefore doesn't fray.  There is no modern equivalent.  The method is "intarsia", which means the fabrics are just butted up together and whip stitched.  There is no turned over seam allowance like the usual quilt.  Some date back to the Napoleonic Wars in the early 1800s and one even to 1766.  Most seem to have been completed by men from the Prussian area in Germany.  There were also a few more modern ones.  There was even a wagga made from old army blankets.

Some had beading.  These mainly seemed to come from India.  A couple had tiny circles of fabric, about a quarter of an inch in diameter, stitched on with a bead or just a stitch.  The circles were cut out of button holes.  A few had the finest button hole applique that I have ever seen.  The details were incredible.  They think that many would have been made by regimental tailors, as they would have the skill and access to fabrics.  There is a popular belief that they were made by convalescing soldiers as occupational therapy, but the historians now don't believe this to be true, as the workmanship is too good for someone injured and the designs are all unique. 

The colours were so rich - reds, yellows, blacks, whites.  One, which they think came from the Czechoslovakia area, even had pinks and purples.  Surprisingly, most were in excellent condition.  A couple were a little moth eaten, but that is all.  The colours don't appear to have faded at all.

After we visited the exhibition we attended the talk.  Annette was very engaging as she chatted about the history, techniques and the research that has taken place.  This was followed by a beautiful afternoon tea.

You can see some of the USA exhibition here, here and here.  Not all those quilts were on display in Cowra, and some ones that Annette has only recently acquired were in the Cowra exhibition.

I am so glad that we chanced across the ad in the paper.  If anyone is in the area, the exhibition is open until 28 April 2019.  It is definitely worth visiting.