Christmas runner

The material for this Christmas runner came in a bag of "scraps" from a local curtain shop.  I was already delighted by the price of the "end of roll" material at the back of the shop.  Material over £20 a metre at £1 or occasionally on sale for 50p.

Always happy to cut just a metre and willing to advise if a particular material just was not going to wash at all well the shop assistant was ever cheerful in woolly hat and gloves almost all year round.  Brrr was that shop cold! A bag of free random bits, well that is a delight to me both on the parsimonious side but also there is something about figuring out what to do with random that appeals.

Cream on cream

This cream and gold (reversible to cream on cream) material was already in strips. Very heavy curtain weight it was not going to do for the patchwork however, my mother had mentioned liking the idea of a table runner, and the ones she liked were not cheep.

Gold on Cream

So, edged with satin bia binding (bought from Boyes at a most reasonable price) and finished with matching tassels from my stash this particular bit of gifted fabric became a Christmas runner.

I have some more strips, and of course it is in the back of my mind (and for some time it has stayed there who knows when it will reach the front) to get some more bias binding and tassels and make some more.

The happy lady trying to stay warm in her woolly hat was always encouraging me to make stuff and sell it. I never have. Well other than the charity craft fair at work, but I am not sure she would have counted that!

At the moment I just wish I knew where (if at all) she and the shop she ran have gone.  The shutters came down at the location I knew a long time ago and although she spoke of them reopening at another location there have never been any "we have moved to" signs on the door.

Now that would be a good Christmas gift, finding them again.