When people ask questions, at times I think all of you might like the answers as well. That’s when I answer the question here on the blog.
Today I was hoping maybe on of you blog readers could help answer this from Gail.
“I found you online and was hoping you could help me with a problem. I have a quilt I made when I first got my embroidery machine. I have it hung on my wall in the spare bedroom and have included a photo of the problem block.”
“The problem is that some time ago I was making my own room deodoriser (which I don’t do anymore) and have noticed that there are what look to be oil stains on one of the blocks. I think I must have accidentally sprayed the deodoriser on the quilt, and as it included fragrant oil, I’m assuming this is what the stain is. Do you have any advice as to how I can remove these stains without damaging the quilt? The stains have been there for some time now I think and the only good thing (if there is one) is that it is never handled and appears to be on only one block. I have read that Dawn dishwashing liquid could work, but we don’t have it in Australia. Somebody said that Fairy, which is sold here is the same.”
Does anyone have any suggestions for Gail? If you do, please leave a comment in the comment section and she’ll read them there.
I’d also like to give you a little follow up on this quilt…
It was published in this edition of Pre-cut Patchwork.
The premise of the quilt was that I took leftover itty bitty pieces for a previous quilt, and sewed the pieces together into slabs. Then cut them to make 3 1/2″ based pieces to make a block.
Each of those individual fabrics was a tiny scraps I sewed together.
Well when I wrote about the quilt HERE, I mentioned that Forward Media the owners of the magazine had filed bankruptcy and we were never paid for the use of the quilt. We were supposed to get $350 for the right for it.
Well…
Until last week, we had heard nothing from them. We figured it was a lost cause and we refused to submit anything to Quiltmaker, For the Love of Quilting or McCall’s Quilting as all of those magazines were published by the same company. We didn’t want to risk non-payment again.
Last week they contacted me and said they feel bad and want to make it right with the people they didn’t pay. I signed a new contract and was told to expect payment in 14 days. Um…YES! I’m still holding my breath but will admit that it does sound promising.
With the blog it’s very easy to pick and choose what I write about. The company frustrated me at the time and I felt it was right to let you all know. If the company did collapse, I wanted you to know before you bought a three year subscription to the magazine. If you were a designer who hadn’t worked with them recently, I wanted you to know not to submit something as you to might get burned. As frustrated as I was with the company for non-payment, I could easily not tell you about their correcting the non-payment and contacting me….but I would not do that. Everyone makes mistakes and deserves a second chance. We applaud Forward Media for trying to make things right.
If we do come up with a design we feel would be right for one of the publications Forward Media oversees, we will submit it to them for consideration.
If you held back support of the magazines because of our experience, we hope you too will extend to them a second chance.
I would spray the stains with water and put baking soda on it and let it dry…brush off and see if it disappears
I would do a combination of the dish washing soap available in her part of the country and add some peroxide to in – equal parts of each. I have been using this a lot for stains and it works well. I would just do that block and rinse it with water and see if it works. No need to wash the whole quilt. Let it air dry. You might want to test on another piece of material first to be sure it works. Reviews I have seen on this procedure say it even works even
after you have washed and dried items.
Ivory soap and baking soda works for me. Also Oxyclean works well.
I know the Dawn dish soap works as a friend of mine buys vintage linens and turns them into gorgeous art quilts. If you try using Fairy I would recommend her procedure. Mix the Dawn with warm water immerse item and leave for 12 to 24 hours. Check water periodically and change if soiled. This works for grease stains, cigerette smoke stains, ect. My other suggestion is Oxy Stain Stick. This is a blue colored gel. I’ve used it when a bite of lettuce with vinagrette has gotten away from me and landed on my chest. It usually works. One word of caution it may require washing the item twice to get the stain remover out of the cloth.
Thanks for letting us know about the magazine owners making good on your deal, Jo. I hope the check really IS in the mail!!
You couldnt make a living writing magazine quilt patterns could you? You would have to design 2 a week to get close -and then obviously payment happens in their time.
Good luck with getting payment for the last one.
I’m in Australia, and I was told some time ago that Fairy is a good substitute. I’ve found this to be good: I keep it in the laundry , and use it to pre-treat oil/grease stains. I rub it in full strength on the spot with my fingers (as directed by Shannon Lush in her “Spotless” books), then launder in warm water. I also add a slosh of vinegar to the rinse cycle to neutralise any detergent residue. I hope this helps with all your laundering
Pauline in South Australia
That’s great of them to contact you and I hope you get your money. It’s nice to see a company try to make things right. You’re doing the right thing by posting the attempt at resolution. Let us know if it actually happens.
Try working a little toothpaste into the oil spot and let it completely dry. Use an old clean toothbrush to brush out the dried toothpaste. Wash gently to get any residue out.
For the stain on your quilt you could try making a paste of water and cornstarch and put that on and let it air dry (make sure it is very dry) then brush off the powder that the paste made.Make the paste quite thick about like toothpaste.
Dawn is available at Costco in Australia
I’ve had good luck with Dawn soap. Also Hydrogen Peroxide works well too. And like another mentioned, vinegar in the rinse water. Vinegar besides neutralizing odor is a natural fabric softener and even cleans your machine inside! That’s all I use for fabric softener now, white vinegar!
I’ve used Retro Clean on vintage quilts, pillowcases, etc. It takes out the brownest, ugliest stains. I’ve had good luck with it. Even on old yellowed pillowcases…which I think some of those stains are oily. It does not fade any of the colors. It might have to soak for a while, and they even suggest putting in the sun as it soaks. I don’t know if the stain on the quilt would be the same as old stains on a vintage piece. But I’ve been happy with the product.
Dry cornstarch will help get the oil out. Just rub it in and let it sit for a while. I do this a couple of times. Then brush off and wash gently. The dry cornstarch absorbs the oil. My sister in law is a chemist and told me how to do this.
Sprinkle baby powder on the oily stain, rub it in and let it sit over night. Wash with Dawn detergent. I have had good luck with this even with stains that have been there a while.
Murphy’s soap is also good for laundary stains , if you read on the bottle.
I keep it along with dawn soap, peroxide, alcohol (is good for ink marks)
And Onxy clean spray. I like the Onxy clean powder for my whites.
The company you mentioned had went bankrupt (which is why you didn’t get paid) and now they are no longer the owners as it has been sold to Peak Media, an entirely different company. They new company is making quite a few changes and even eliminating some of the magazines. Hopefully this new company will be better than the previous one and of course they are the ones who will be paying you. Just thought you should know that you are not giving the old company a second chance, but rather a first chance with the new company and some caring people who still work there.
I use any of the blue dish soaps. Even Walmart brand and they all work for me. I have used on jet grease from my son’s AF uniform and it works well. Good luck. Glad to hear that you got paid Jo. It was nice of you to let everyone know it has been resolved. I am always leery buying mag subscriptions any more. So many are going out of business.