Have you ever hit a wall while working on a project? This happened to me recently. Last May I started machine quilting a major work, roughly 100” wide by 90” tall. When I begin machine quilting I start on a figure in the center and work my way out to the edges. The central figure in this piece is dark purple and it is surrounded by shades of white and other light fabrics. As I was working, somehow I got a black oil stain on a light area. I guess it is from the dual feeder mechanism on my Bernina 830, but I do not know for sure. This was a problem. So I tried to get the stain out with warm sudsy water and a toothbrush. As water seeped into the quilt top while I scrubbed, dye started to run from some of the dark fabrics to the light ones. Now I had an even bigger problem. My heart sank. The oil stain was still visible, but not as dark; however, the dye stains were even worse. I stepped away from the piece and started researching my options. For days the piece sat untouched.
Multiple problems: stain spot, and at least two fabrics bleeding onto lighter areas.
I looked up how to remove dye from quilt tops. I asked a friend her advice. She suggested taking out the stained fabric and replacing it, but I wasn’t ready to consider that yet. I mulled. I stewed. I started a new composition. I finished machine quilting another smaller work. I made the decision to boldly go on and proceed quilting the piece, hoping it would all wash out in the end. But somehow I could never get back to work on the project.
Finally, after two months, I presented my problem to my on-line fabric dying group. I have to admit that I was a bit ashamed to have this problem. Obviously I had not processed my fabric properly. I had two different fabrics bleeding excess dye. But denying reality never changes reality. So I humbly posted my pictures and asked for help. To my surprise my dye instructor answered immediately (love you Carol Soderlund!), but she said the same thing my friend had said two months earlier. She pointed out I had one of the hardest problems having the bleeding dark purples next to the lightest of fabrics. Most likely the dye stains would not wash out in the end. And I knew there were other areas where those same fabrics would also bleed during my final wash after all my machine quilting was done. The problem would only grow.
It was time for me to squarely face the facts. The best solution was to ripe out the 18 hours of machine quilting. Take out all of the hand basting (another week’s work), and then take apart the actual quilt top to remove both the stained pieces, and the fabrics that were bleeding.
Luckily, thanks to Nancy Crow (adore you too Nancy!), this is not the first time I have ripped out the basting on a major composition and reworked the pieced top. For those of you who are not quilt makers, hand basting a large quilt top is one of my least favorite tasks in the whole quilt making process. Honestly the thought of having to rebaste this large piece was why I was so reluctant to do what needed to be done. But I knew I could do it, because I have done it before. It just took me two months to accept that this was the best solution. My husband encouraged me. He assured me the composition is a strong piece and worth the effort.
So I spent two days ripping out small machine quilting stitches. Once I made this decision and moved forward on the piece, I felt deeply relieved. Yes, it would take significantly more time to finish this piece, but this way I know I can fix the issues.
The quilted area as seen from the back. Dye stains are visible here too.
I used a seam ripper on the back thread and cut every 4th stitch. Then I pull out the long thread on the front side of the quilt top.
So where are you stuck? What is keeping you from moving forward? Sometimes the best way forward involves taking a step backward.