Has anyone been to the piece gardens in canada/usa?
I am looking at checking that off my bucket list this year and was wondering the best time of year to go!
Any ideas?

Yes, new batiks you have to watch out for them …they will gettcha when you least expect it...
I temporarily ruined several yards by washing several pieces together...
After I say what happened, I got a bottle of dye and re-dyed it, re-washed it with a color catcher after I set it with retayne... new fabric all over again.. I never use any fabric with out washing it first… to many bad experiences..

Try the color catchers, one on top, one underneath with lots of hot water...

I've found that new batiks often have quite a lot of excess/loose dye in them which wash out quite well in that first wash... I now wash all fabrics with a bunch of color catchers, generally making a full load of mixed fabrics instead of separating types and colors... And found all that excess fabric ending up in the catchers and not in the other fabrics.

Good luck!

Dylon colour run remover - this is the product I have found in my area by phoning around. Has anyone heard of this?

I was told that Retayne would work, but on this forum, I've been told the opposite....and they say that Synthrapol is to prepare fabric before dyeing it. I've heard that Retayne is for preparing fabric 'retaining' the colour and Synthrapol 'pulls' the colour out, while Retayne 'retains' the colour.

Isn't there some old fashioned way? Like soda water?LOL

Glad I didn't drive way over there. My DH suggested I phone first.
Well, I'm still going to put the rest of the rows together, and if anyone knows about Dyson, I may check that out in the morning; the store is closing in 30 minutes .

You could also try tacking a colour catcher over the bleeding fabric whilst washing that bit. (lots of hot water not so much agitation to avoid fraying).

Thanks, Maureen. I will dash out {in the storm snow and winds up to 70km/hr!! Yikes!} to the local big-box fabric store and see if they have it. I'll post any results.

Should I wash just that spot, or the whole thing once I get all the other rows together? Everything else has been washed separately before the construction began.
Many thanks.

Would this help Terrie :-

Easy way to remember the difference between Retayne and Synthrapol:

RETAYNE - It RETAINS the colors! Use this for prewashing store bought fabrics the first time, before they are cut and pieced into a quilt. This sets all colors so they won't bleed in the future. If you use retayne on a quilt that has bleeding, it will set and retain all the bleeding! Not good!!

SYNTHRAPOL - Pretend it's spelled SYN-TRAP-OL!! This TRAPS and lifts loose dye particles from fabrics, esp hand dyes and batiks. It can be used after fabric is cut and sewn into a quilt. It can be used to remove bleeding spots on quilts... you must use the hottest water you can, and it may take more than one washing. Try not to use the dryer until you know for sure the bleeding is out.

Help! Help! Help!

This is the first time, so maybe I'm overacting, but I have a problem. I hope someone can help.

I am in-the-process at the moment of writing - sewing rows of spools/reels together. I've been very pleased at how things are working out until now!

For the 1 1/2 inch X 5 1/2 inch strips used for the tops and bottoms of the reels/spools, I used various fabrics. One has bled, but this only showed up while ironing the rows together. I have ironed it each step of the way, and no sign of bleeding, and now it's going nuts on me.

It is a batik (grabbed from a give-and-take stash box at our guild - you put in your 'don't wants' and take some 'wants'. It's great for finding just the special bit of fabric.) I now imagine that it had not been washed! I always pre-wash. I 'should have' been more careful. But right now I don't have time for a pity-party and 'should-haves' and 'if-onlys'. It's bleeding into the neutral blocks between the reels. I tried to soak it with more water, but it doesn't seem to be going away. I have a bottle of Retayne, but that says to use it before even first washing the fabric. Would vinegar work, or baking soda? Shall I keep it wet until I find a good solution? It's purplish-blue
Thanks.

Renata wrote: Ditto!

Aw, Maureen, that is a wonderful story. Thanks for sharing--made me chuckle out loud.

And, Rita. WOWZA--just watched the Sue Nickels episode on TQS show and saw how Ricky was ecstatic over your performance at the tea. Certainly surprised the heck out of him but he loved your music.

Happy (belated) New Year everyone.

)))

heartnsoulquilts wrote:

Michelle What a delightful story LOL I know exactly what you mean, my family were celebrating NYEve and I ask to be brought home at 9:30, Joan

My younger son was born on Easter Sunday, which happens to be tax day on most years, but not that year. Very easy to remember. My older son was born 3 days before my b-day. And my DD was born 5 days before Christmas. All easy b-days to remember!