28 June 2011

Is this weird or what ?


I'm child-free this week (well, teen-ager free, amounts to the same thing, and the quiet is a balm to both soul and body ... even if I'm somewhat unsettled and on edge by not having the brood within shouting distance).

ANYway. Carpe Diem, take the day, take the opportunity : Time to wash the quilts in their rooms.

Two of them went very well, thank you, but the third. Oh, no. Unintentionally pink in places. Back into the washing-machine, this time with 3, rather than just one, dye-magnet. All 3 sheets came out purple-red.
... and so did parts of what used to be whites on the quilt. If you look at the picture top-right, and see the two stars on the left side of that picture; they used to have white fabric, where there is now light purplish-pink.
Or look at the picture below. Bright whites in some places, but muddy, light purplish pink in others.

And in case you wondered : All fabrics have been washed before being pieced together.
The finished quilt has been washed before. In the same machine. Using the same water-tap. And using the same soap. It did not mis-colour last summer or the summer before that. It did so this year.

Now, I don't have access to Retayne or Synthrapol or any of the other fancy stuff that Americans use, I live in Europe, so : any suggestions on how to salvage this ? Other than learn to love light purplish-pink instead of white?

2 comments:

Karen - Quilts...etc. said...

sorry to hear that happened on your quilt. I had that happen on an old quilt of mine - I had it for over 10 years and it had been washed several times and never bled. Then I happened to wash it several months ago and I had red wash out to the white and turn pink in several areas. I just washed again with the dye magnets and it got most of it out. I'm not sure what else to use other than the chemicals you say you don't have. Hope you find something.
Karen
http://karensquilting.com/blog/

Cathi said...

I have heard of people basting the dye magnets over the spot and washing it again.
I don't know if your quilt shops carry Grandma's Secret Spot Remover but if they do, try that. It seems to take any stain out of anything!