"Alicia Tye's mother came to Australia in the 1850s from Longford, Ireland. The other half of the family emigrated to America and settled in Oxford, Ohio. Alicia's mother married a gold miner and lived in Guildford near Castlemaine in Victoria. Alicia was one of her seven children. Alicia, interested in fabrics and dress designing, became an apprentice to the head dressmaker at Buckley and Nunn in Melbourne before her marriage to George Tye in 1880.
After her husband died in 1930, Alicia decided to travel to America to visit her relatives in Oxford, Ohio. Here she met with her cousin Maye Morris, who taught her to make patchwork quilts. Although the American side of the family had been there for several generations, Alicia was taught to make quilts in the English style using a template and overlocking the seams.
On her return to Australia Alicia made 4 quilts, this quilt was exhibited at the Royal Agricultural Show in Melbourne in 1935. It was also displayed in the window of Buckley and Nunn." [Annette Gero]
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