Not much is known about Daylesford woman Fanny Jenkins, who lived in the late 1800s and early 1900s. However, the few details that are known have been gleaned through the lovely, intricate quilts she tirelessly stitched together.

One of Fanny’s quilts is now on display at the National Gallery of Victoria, one of 80 Australian quilts of historical significance chosen for the exhibition.

Making the Australian Quilt: 1800–1950 curator Katie Somerville said she was hoping the exhibition might encourage Daylesford residents with information about Fanny to come forward.

“We know she was a dressmaker based in Daylesford and we know she made several quilts from the later 19th century in  a style called ‘crazy patching’ – plush beautiful patterns arranged in a very decorative way, in a seemingly random style, but very beautiful,” she said.

Ms Somerville said the quilt in the exhibition was known as a “wagga” – an Australian rudimentary style.

The quilt, which has since been well-used and well-worn, was made with simple materials of cretonne and stuffed with layers of blanket pieces, a few food sacks and patches of woollen clothes tacked flat.

The cretonne, the floral green fabric on the reverse, and the red fabric on the front, cost three pennies per yard at the time. The cretonne is a strong printed cotton cloth that was often used for furniture upholstery.

“The one in this exhibition is from her later life. The beautiful and moving thing about this quilt is at the time she was experiencing some hardship. It’s not a quilt form someone who has access to lots of materials. It’s made in the constraints of hardship,” Ms Somerville said.

“Fanny’s example is really interesting because you can see all the different layers of the quilt. Even though it’s a humble object, she obviously wanted to make it very appealing to the eye.

“It’s a frozen moment in time in that it hasn’t been mended. It’s beautiful in a different way to what people might expect.”

Ms Somerville said some of the quilts in the exhibition, like Fanny’s, had been preserved as people saw their historical importance and emotional appeal.

“Quilts have the most extraordinary capacity to convey very rich stories about people’s lives, and in this case very ordinary, everyday Australians whose lives we would have otherwise known very little about,” she said.

Making the Australian Quilt will continue at the NGV Australia campus at Federation Square in Melbourne until November 6.