A Linen Table Runner - The Joy of Creation and Repurposing Found Treasures

I was recently at a thrift store when I spied some really lovely linen jumper. They were not my size, but I love the look at them and touch them. They reminded me of my Aunt Kathy who frequently wears linen with style.
There were so many to choose from. It seems that retailers had sent in donations. I gathered a whole pile of linen jumpers, most of them brand new. I picked out four of them to make into a table runner. I have a very light oatmeal color, two more that are darker shades that carry hints of gray and offer a bit more texture. I also picked up a blue jumper with a blue jacket with a sparse floral print. It all came to a grand total of $12. I was thrilled. Even if I was willing to pay the usual price for linen I could not have found such a selection in any of our local fabric stores. I bought one of the dresses more for the buttons than the linen, but came to love the linen, too. I

I wanted to be sure that the table runner would be fully functional and not fussy so I ignored the usual instructions for linen and washed them all together just as I would wash our regular table clothes. Much to my amazement, I found that they did not shrink or become unruly.

I spent an evening cutting them up so that they would be easy to handle. I spent a morning pressing and starching them, figuring out the coloring sequence and cutting them into strips. I spent the afternoon putting the top together. It was so nice to lift the image I had in my head and lay it down onto the quilt.It is one of the joys of creation for me. I would make some parts and then lay other pieces down to audition them.

Moxy had to give his say, too. If he did not like it, he would use his paw to swipe it onto the floor where his brother Toby would trot away with it. Luckily, this did not happen too much this round.


As the late afternoon light was streaming into my workroom I was finishing pressing and starching the finished top. I ironed on some WonderUnder and placed the batting for the middle. Some time soon I will do a bit of hand quilting and finish it up. I can't wait to see what I decide to do. I am considering whether it should be all straight lines to echo the Frank Lloyd Wright spirit of the design or if I should introduce a few partial circles into the open areas to offer a bit of energy.