Quilter's Tip of the Day

Odors

A bar of Gold Dial soap cut in half and wrapped in a paper towel included in the box or bag with a quilt will pull any odors out of the quilt.


:flower:

Nice hint, Mamu...

hmmmmm..never heard that one....thanks!

I wonder if any other soap would work???

My daughter sent me a box today with a bunch of very old hexagons cut out in it. The story behind them is that her DH's grandmother used to sew, not sure if she really made quilts or not, but she cut all these hexagons out and I guess she must have passed away and the daughter got them. She knows nothing about quilting and she decided to sew them two long rows together. No problem so far except they are not true hexagons, so I have to take them apart and fix that first. The material is all the very old material, and many patterns I've never seen before and some are badly stained, so those will get tossed for sure, but my main problem is they have a perfume odor and then a smell from being in a box for years. It's really bothering me. I was thinking about spraying them with Febreeze and tossing them in the dryer but I concerned about the dyes they used to use and this material has never been washed either. What is the best way to handle this, there is bias going on here too. Also would it be best just to PP these together to get them all the right size or measure, mark and sew by machine or hand??? Any suggestions how to handle this problem??? I have allergies and it's driving me nuts!!!! My daughter wants me to put them together to save for a throw or something. There are some plains so thought maybe GFG with what I can and then see how many are left from there, or would you just sew them all together at random, since there are no two blocks alike??? Norma

Try Mamu trick... a couple of post earlier...

My problem is I'm concerned that will just be another odor on top of what is already on there. It smells like perfume to me and I have one heck of a headache now from it. Norma

Norma..I don't know how many you have...could you put them in the sink with warm water and just a little detergent..or dish soap, let them soak, then let the water drain out, and refill with water to rinse? I wouldn't agitate them really because they are fragile in this state. Then lay them out on a towel and roll the towel up tightly to get the excess water out and let air dry.

From there you can decide if you want to cut the papers to baste them onto and then whipstitch them together..or recut and sew. I've worked with hexagons in the past and sewed them by hand, with no papers. How big are they?

Ann, there are quite a few and lots of colors that I'm sure will bleed. I'm just having Don pack them up and send them back to her, I can't stand the smell, we put them on the enclosed porch to see if they would air out some and when I opened the door the porch smells like them now and got sick all over again. They are four inches. I would have loved to worked with them but can't get close to them any more. Thanks for your help any way. Man, that girl knows how I am about perfumes, I wish she wouldn't have set them, I sure have one bad headache form it now!! Norma

That's a shame Norma. They are a nice size to work with...and those older fabrics are fun to see. Do you think laying them on a sheet in the grass would help? The chlorophyll can remove odors too.

I agree, Norma, it's too bad about the odor. It's hard for some of us ;) to say, 'Just give them back' or 'Toss them' but unfortunately that sounds like what you need to do. You've tried to de-stink them - how many more methods will you try and how many more headaches will you get?

It sounds like even if the package wasn't toxic, putting the pieces together would be a <ahem> challenge.

Unless its something that means the world to you, I'd cut my losses. My guess is that you're not in such danger of running out of (other) fabric that you need to fuss around with this stuff.

Hmmm. I seem to be in a bit of a mood this morning!!

The only thing I can think of is sew them together and wash with a highly scented laundry soap. That still may not work and you've put that work into something smelly.

I'm with Tracy. Give them back or toss them. If you got them DD, she may not want them back and may just want to toss them, too.

Thanks every one for trying to help me, I was just trying to do this for DD's husband since they belonged to his GM, but not worth getting down sick over either. I e-mailed her and told her what the problem was ( which she should already know, as this is not new with me, ). She may get mad, but that won't be the first time and I'm sure not the last. Woke up several times thinking about that pretty material though, would have loved to seen what it looked like all together. She doesn't have a clue how to do anything like that, she is so hyper, she would really make a mess of it. Oh well, thanks any way for your help. Norma

Sometimes people get mad when you have to say no. You can't please everybody all the time. I'm sure DD will get over it? You could tell her this would be the perfect time/project for her to learn to sew? That might scare her off! LOL Oh heck, have her send them to me. I might forget to send them back though. ;)

You did the right thing Norma, your heart was in the right place and you wanted to help but sometimes you just cant and the ability to say 'sorry, I cant do this' is a hard thing to master and you have done the right thing. Perhaps you could suggest to her or your son in law that they might be able to pay someone to assemble it for them, you can commission quilts to be made, Im sure you could find someone to 'finish' this quilt and pay them to do it. Its up to them but it was unfair to send it to you when she is aware of your allergies, dont feel any guilt at all, you tried

Just discovered a quick way to create a light box for smaller projects. I opened up my folding Ott light and laid it down flat on the table light side facing up and placed a clear 12.5" square plastic ruler on top of the lighted side. Instant light box. You just have to be VERY careful to not use it for very long and keep checking the underside of your ruler to make sure it's not getting too hot. The ridge around the edge of the light keeps the ruler above the bulb. I was VERY careful not to use it very long without checking it....every minute or two. I was doing just a few marks, so it was perfect. Someday I'll make myself or buy myself one, but this works for now!

I think that would work if you use a plastic storage tub (clear one of course) and put the light inside it laying down???

Hobby Lobby has picture frames for keepsakes. They are about 2 inches deep. I got one on sale (50% off) , drilled a whole in one side, clipped in a small night light size socket and presto--light box-cheap. I am thinking of spraying the glass with a clear matte sealer to "frost' it cause when I move the paper without thinking, that tiny bulb sure is bright in my eyes.

The cord is a clip in and I can take it off and stuff it inside but mostly I just wrap the cord around the box cause I am lazy.

My 1st one was made from the veggie drawer of an old frig. Top already frosted

Good ideas! Thanks! LOL...mine was out of frustration....grabbed what was lying on top of the table in front of me. I'd heard of the platic bin one......the pic frame sounds good! If I get a new fridge, I'll try the drawer trick....we are looking at them..haha.