Ooops, I did it again

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You know when you make a mistake and you end up thinking " Man, I really should have known better!"?

I recently experienced that moment when I took my latest finish out of the wash, hung it to dry, and later found that the backing I used had bled through to the front of the quilt. Maybe it wouldn't have been so bad if it had covered the entire quilt, but in this case I have a strip of a stronger color on one side of the back:


Heartbreaking to think that after all that time and effort, the piece was ruined just because I forgot to turn to the cold/cold setting for the delicate cycle on the washing machine.

But then it occurred to me to "put it out there." I posted the problem on Instagram and got back several suggestions. The most popular solution was Dawn dish soap. And I'm happy to report I've met with success!!!

It did require some persistence though. First, I tried applying Dawn to the affected areas and then putting it through the wash with a bit of OxiClean for good measure. Twice. There was some modest improvement but you could still remnants of the pink. Finally, I filled the bathtub and soaked the quilt in Dawn overnight. Then I ran it through the wash without any other cleaner to get all the suds out, 'cause that Dawn really works up a lather. The third time was the charm.

Now I'm going to sift through that pile of quilts in the other room and find the last quilt I messed up this way. Maybe it's not a lost cause either. But before I do, I want to express my gratitude to those "quilty" friends on Instagram who shared their tips to save this quilt, and turned my disappointment into rejoicing. You're the best!    


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