Friday, August 27, 2021

Sometimes it just doesn't work out


Good Morning!  The sun has moved south along the ridgeline so the sunrise is not blocked by the trees.  The color in this picture is accurate.  It has been enhanced by all the smoke in the valley from the terrible fires that still rage in northern California and Oregon.



This is what the color catchers looked like the first time I washed the quilt below.  I also added blue Dawn dishwashing detergent.


Here is the quilt.  I know it's no beauty but it was fun to make and brings back a lot of memories.

I noticed that the fabric that I used in the center of the quilt was a bleeder after I washed another quilt that I used it in so I was trying to be extra careful.  I used that fabric in numerous blocks in this quilt.  Everything with a solid white background turned out pristine.  But the block below has issues.



This is the single block that absorbed any of the red.  And the red in this block did not bleed.  It absorbed it from the colored water.  This is the only block I used the "Little Red Hen" fabric.  You can see it in the quilt above 3rd row from the bottom, 2nd from the right.

I washed it again using fresh color catchers, more blue Dawn, and OxyClean.  The block is less pink now but there still has a rosy cast.  The one thing that this did do was fade my label - sigh.  


I was making this for a Christmas gift.  But now it will stay at my house.  Maybe it's just as well because this is the 3rd quilt in the "Poultry Trio" (as you can see on the label) and the other two have been given away.



Our cousin Carolyn and my sister Pam.

It all began in 2002 at the Wasatch Front Shophop.  My sister, above in purple, and I went on the two day jaunt from Brigham City to Tooele, to Orem.  We had a wonderful time and went to every shop.  We were exhausted when we got home.  We also bought bags of Chicken fabric.



I made the 1st of the Poultry Trio and called it "The Silly Chick Quilt".  It has hen and chicks blocks and the cornerstones are from Easter 1988 when my cute little 6 year old decorated the house with chicks she had drawn on paper and taped to the walls.  I traced them on to white Kona and embroidered them in red, green, and gold.  It's not a beauty (none of these chicken quilts are striking or clever) but I enjoyed making it.  I learned a great lesson on this quilt.  There are chicken shapes quilted all over the border and you can't tell unless you get really close.  So, now I only do fancy quilting when it shows up from a distance like the cable on the stop border.  I've also learned to make the stop border out of something that doesn't blend in with the sashing or cornerstones.



Here is a close up the the six year old's drawing of a chick.  I also try and use a certain fabric in each of my quilts and you an see the red triangle here.



The 2nd quilt in the Poultry Trio was this appliqued wall hanging.  The pattern is by Meme's Quilts and is called Spring Chickens.  The same daughter that drew the chicks dubbed this one "Jousting Chickens' so that is what is on the label.  Again, my color placement is not dazzling but I really like it and you learn as you go, right?  And I learned a lot about needleturn applique.


So now, we come back to the 3rd quilt in the Poultry Trio.  It was pieced in 2012 after my sister gave me all her chicken fabric because she was a self proclaimed fabric collector and never finished a quilt.





It will be used as a cuddle quilt, a picnic quilt, a camp quilt.  Who knows, maybe it will turn out to be my favorite quilt of all because of all that is invested in it.   It's named after my favorite chicken restaurant.    Hmmmmm, maybe I need to go there to celebrate the finish.

Robin


This is the backing that also didn't turn pink.

9 comments:

Quilting Babcia said...

It's a wonderful quilt despite the bit of bleed on that one block, and in the context of the whole quilt the bleed is barely noticeable unless you're looking for it. Actually all three chicken quilts are quite wonderful, especially the one with your daughter's drawings! A sweet remembrance of her innocence and exuberance. I've had the same issue with one fabric in a quilt attracting the color bleed when none of the others did. Makes you wonder what was different or missing in the finishing process for those fabrics.

Julierose said...

It is a lovely quilt; I bet you will be the only one who notices that light pink cast to that fabric--(unless you tell them!! ;000) Just enjoy this quilt and all the work you put into it. Hugs, Julierose

Samplings from Spring Creek said...

What did we do before color catchers

Shelina (formerly known as Shasta) said...

Color catchers do come in handy. I don't think the quilt is ruined because of a bleed.

Denice Barker said...

Great story! Maybe someone out there knows what happened to your bleed and mine, too. Especially why some fabrics grabbed the color and some didn't. There has to be an explanation somewhere.

audrey said...

It looks like you rescued your bleeding fabric issue as well as could be. I get so tired of having to deal with this myself. I think I've pre-soaked all the fabrics in a quilt and then I forget, run out and add just one more little piece of red or whatever. Ughh.. Your quilt looks great regardless! And so interesting to read the story of the three. Fun times, great memories.:)

Nancy said...

Such beautiful sunrise colors! Love them.
I like the color of the color catchers too, sort of on the darker end of the madder color range, but oh, ugh, to imagine that much color floating around a new quilt.
I like your chicken quilt a lot, especially all the baskets, the chicken fabrics, and the blocks with the on-point 4-patches. This quilt speaks comfort to me. Will the block with bleeding in it fade as you use and wash the quilt, do you think? It seems a contradiction that sometimes when we want a fabric color to say, it fades; when we don't want it to bleed or would like it to lighten just a little, it's permanent.
So sorry your label faded. It looks good to me and you have beautiful penmanship.
I enjoyed reading the history of your chicken quilts. I think it's wonderful that you included your daughter's drawings. I love Jousting Chickens. It's too fun and makes me chuckle. Did you name your favorite chicken restaurant? If so, I missed it.

Janet O. said...

A delightful tale of three quilts--and chicken themed to boot! So sorry about the bleeding. Very frustrating, but if that block is the only one, I would think in the overall view, it would be unnoticeable!
I do love your little stitched chickens from your daughter's drawing. And the "Jousting Chickens" seems an appropriate name for that setting--very clever.
Curious--what is your favorite chicken restaurant?

Cynthia@wabi-sabi-quilts said...

Red is so tricky. I think that you handled the problem well and you should use and enjoy your quilt! I really think the pink cast is not noticeable unless you "know" - and it's a delightful quilt with a lot of connection with your sister. If you use it in all the ways you list, it WILL become a beloved favorite. Also... love the embroidered chick from your daughter's drawing. That is the sweetest idea and I've never done that. Very lucky to have a sister who collects fabric, lol.

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