Monday, February 6, 2012

Quilting a Bed Runner

Have been pretty busy quilting a bed runner, finally finished quilting and now I have to tie threads and attach the binding.  What is a bed runner?  Glad you asked!  According to my S-I-L Anne, bed runners have been around for many years.  They are the strip of fabric which runs along the bottom part of the bed.  Anne says back in the old days before wheeled suitcases, Colonial travelers had trunks and travel bags which usually got dirty and dusty while travelers were traveling!  The traveler would place the dirty trunk or bag on the bed runner to pack/unpack.  The bed runner would keep the bed clothes and quilts clean, one would only have to shake out and clean the dirty bed runner and not the quilt! Possibly the earliest quilt preservation devise!