Thursday, May 18, 2017

Mary Deal Bost's quilt, 1976

The other day, this quilt arrived from an eBay seller in Carrboro, North Carolina. It is approximately 46" x 83" and is made of polyester double knit rectangular patches and long strips.


There is an inscription on the edge of one patch. It says Mary Deal Bost 1976. Mary could have been the maker or the owner, or both.


Great mix of colors, mostly solids with one or two tweeds, and decorative hand stitching over each seam.


The size is interesting. I wonder if it was made as a bed runner. Depends on how you look at it, I guess.

That reminds me of a funny moment the other day at the NW Quilters show with Carol and La Rayne from Latimer Quilt and Textile Center. We struggled to come up with the term "bed runner" and I asked, "What do they call those things that go across the foot of the bed?" to which Carol responded, "At my house it's called two dogs." They could probably hear my guffaw all the way back at the concession stand.

4 comments:

  1. The secret life of quilts.... it is interesting to ponder who made and owned them before they came into our hands. (I have one that doesn't really belong to me but I like it too much to return it!)

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  2. Love the story from the NW Quilters show. I have one furry bed runner too - he's cute and furry but not as colorful as this one ;)

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  3. I love making up stories in my head of where an item has been when I buy or find an antique or something special like this quilt!

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  4. So interesting how home sewing tracks with political changes!

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