Jane McGrath made this quilt 30 years ago from a tartan fabric sample book (c.1990). It was one of her first quilts. Jane was inspired to quilt by her mother Shirley Critchley. Jane recalls her mother being a very talented quilter, with one example being the “Unpicked Jumper Wagga” which can be found within the National Wool Museum’s Collection (REG 8283). Shirley taught Jane the basics in quilting and assisted her in preparing this quilt. The quilt is backed with material from disused woollen skirts. Jane could not recall what material was used for the internal insulating fabric. Jane donated the Tartan Fabric Sample Quilt to the National Wool Museum in 2021. The quilt had been languishing in her cupboard for many years and had found its way to the op-shop pile, as her children had no desire to inherit her quilts. The top layer of the quilt consists of five distinct rows of tartan samples appliqued together. The rows of tartan samples are broken with a boarder of white, grey, and brown fabric which runs in parallel lines. This fabric is also used to bind the quilt together at the edges. The internal insulating fabric of the quilt is not known. The backing fabric is a grey coloured wool originating from disused skirts. The Tartan samples contain stripes of varying width and colour. The samples have been arranged so that the stripes run diagonal on the quilt. Many different colours have been used. The predominant colours are red and black, with lessening amounts of blue, yellow, white, green, and grey featuring. quilts, tartan fabric samples, upcycle, shirley critchley/jane mcgrath collection

This quilt was created by Ms Shirley Critchley, c.1960. it was made in a wagga style from unpicked knitted jumpers that Shirley would repurpose. Some of these jumpers were from her daughters out growing their garments, while others were from jumpers Shirley would find at opportunity stores. One of Shirley’s daughters, Jane McGrath, followed in her mother’s footsteps and begun quilting with Shirley’s guidance. One of Jane’s first quilts, the “Tartan Fabric Sample Quilt” is located within the National Wool Museum’s collection (REG 8282). Multicoloured wagga style quilt. The quilt’s top layer is made from unpicked knitted woollen jumpers. These jumpers are in a variety of colours including yellow, blue, green, and red. Some blocks are a single colour, while others have been knitted with a different secondary colour such as grey or white to give noise. The quilt has an unknown insulating fabric. It shares its backing fabric with the material used to bind the edges together. This material is a woollen blanket in a tartan pattern of a blue background with green and red lines. The quilt is sized to suit a single bed. quilts, wagga, upcycle, shirley critchley/jane mcgrath collection, woollen jumpers