Wednesday, April 13, 2016

What To Do??

I finished my Stars In A Time Warp last night and waited until this morning to remove the basting and spritz the blue quilting lines . . . 


I'd do about three rows at a time and then blot with a towel to remove any excess water.


And then it happened. Two of the reds began to bleed. This one came clean with two dye catchers and a bowl of water but . . . 


. . . the second one left this horrible stain on the back which didn't want to budge. So I did the unthinkable and mixed a little color remover in a pot and submerged the affected area of the quilt. Then I panicked when I realized some of the colors on the front were beginning to change. I put the whole quilt in the washing machine with two more dye catchers but it was too late.   


The stain came out on the back but the upper left portion of the quilt is now a different color.


And there is a streak where the color changed unevenly. What to do?? I considered throwing the quilt back in the machine with a small amount of color remover thinking that it may even out the rest . . . or, possibly overdying the entire quilt. 


Anyway, I quilted a 2" crosshatch over the entire quilt. I started last October. 

 

This is the back but must apologize for the poor photo. I still need to do a label but my heart wasn't in it today :-(




__________
Copyright 2016, Barbara Schaffer 


13 comments:

  1. How sad. Such a pretty quilt. Hope you get good advice.

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    1. I got some really good advice and hope to give the quilt a good soak tomorrow.

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  2. Oh dear - I do feel for you! I've never used colour remover but hope someone comes up with some advice here. It still looks wonderful in the photos - and perhaps you've just given it an extra antiqueing?!

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  3. Wow, that is a hard blow and I do feel for you. I think you need to decide if you are able to live with it like it is now. If not, then will you be happy if all of the fabric colors change in shade? I would probably submerge the entire quilt in the tub and either overdye or use the colour remover. But first, I would try to recreate the tragedy with scraps of the fabrics affected (if you have any) and see what happens to the discolored areas when you overdye and when you use colour remover. Best of luck.

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  4. Maybe this will help:
    http://www.colorwaysbyvicki.com/save-my-bleeding-quilt.html

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  5. Oh, gosh. No real advice what to do, but I do know how you feel. Like Jill said, I guess you have to decide what you can live with or not. At the quilt shop we always recommended Synthrapol when a fabric bled. Probably wouldn't work now because you're really dealing with the color change. So sorry.

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  6. From France I unfortunately can't help you but Becky and Kyle gave you some solutions ??
    I'm so sad for what happened...your quilt is so beautiful. Fingers crossed dear Barbara. ..

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  7. I am using an Air Erasable marker from Clover... No need to spray water on your work !

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  8. I look forward to reading what you decided to do about the quilt problem and the results.

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  9. Oh what a gut wrenching story! We have all done it I'm sure, but that is no consolation when it is happening to you. I will say that this is why I no longer use chemical markers of any kind. I did have an experience last summer with my Dear Jane quilt where the reds began to bleed into the background. I closed my eyes and threw it into the washer with 7 color catchers and solved the problem. It is a stunning quilt and you should be proud. You can just tell people it is an antique and that is why the corner is a different color. Hope you day is better today!

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  10. Gorgeous..It's look like vintage quilts..I visited your blog thanks to Cécile...Your work is beautiful...
    Véronique

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  11. So sorry you are having this problem! Let us know how the "good soak" works out. I would probably wash it with a whole box of color catchers, and then be ready to accept and be happy with the result, and use and appreciate the quilt as is! It is still such a pretty quilt. It may have scars from an accident but is still pretty at its core!

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  12. Oh Barbara - so sorry to hear your story. But first let me say it is a wonderful quilt and it has a war story.
    I find that most spot treating ends poorly for some reason. I usually wait and wash the whole quilt with many (like 10) color catchers. Jill never wanted to wash her quilts and maybe you feel this way too. As far as what to do? Not sure. Soaking in the machine in Oxy clean and Clorox2. I would have also considered over dying with 1/2 package of tan. Can't wait to hear what you do (did) I've been away and missed so much blogging.

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