UGH. All I can say is UGH and help!! Any ideas??
I was merrily quilting along on this quilt that has an intent and purpose and will need to be photographed for an upcoming publication and look what happened?!?!?! See the stain??
It all started like this…
I was free motion quilting this top and everything was happily going along. Night came and I stopped quilting. The next morning I am up and back at it. I am happily quilting along when I see a yellowish stain…WHAT?? Where did that come from?? I put my finger on the spot and immediately, I smelled it…that stench of a dead Japanese Beetle.
Apparently the thing had crawled between the top and batting overnight and decided to rest there. I must have ran the machine close enough to it for it to have gotten squished.
Really?? Could that really have happened?? Now how do I clean that up?? By the time I noticed it I have quite a lot of quilting done and would have to rip out lots. I didn’t know if I should rip it out to get the bug out or just leave it in….but if I leave it in, it could make a different sort of stain once I try to remove the stain that is there. UGH.
Right now the plan is to finish quilting it. Then open up the seam near the upper left corner of the red square. I should be able to get the bug out and stitch the opening back up unnoticed…but then the next question…How do I attempt to get the stain out.
I’ve always known I hated those Japanese Beetles..now I really know I do!!
Oh that stinks! I have no suggestions, but hope you get it out!
Will a Tide spot removal pen work? Friends swore by them on the trip we took last summer.
I don’t remember for sure but I think it is Tide or some brand that has a stain removal stick. I got a smudge on a label I attached to a quilt I was giving away and I used it and it took the smudge out. Good luck.
That really stinks!! Literally!
Good luck. Hope the Tide stain removal pen works.
We have always had Hometown Pest Control from Hawkeye come out and spray the outside of our house to keep those nasty beetles from invading the inside of the house. Otherwise I thought they were going to send me to the nut house. I’d vacuum them up and turn around for a minute and hundreds would be back. Not a problem any more in our new house but they were driving me crazy in the old, drafty house. We usually had them come spray the house just before harvest in the fall. You might want to consider doing that in your new house.
I agree the Tide stain stick, but be careful not to get it so wet it bleeds the red next to it.
Once the bug is out, if the stain is stubborn, you could always appliqué a new patch on and go over the quilting again. With luck the stain will come out.
The longer you leave that bug in there the worse the stain will be, and the angrier you will get at it ruining your quilt. It looks like you have a nice long seam there next to it. Just open that seam and get out all the bug parts, handsew it back up and use that Tide pen. Good Luck! Great story for any visible problems later, good example of “I just tied a knot and went on” philosophy.
I attended a talk by Halle Bone on quilt care a few years back. She swore by Biz….also, vinegar gets a lot out too. Peroxide as well, but keep it away from the red. Good luck!
I don’t know how to get the stain out but sure you can get it out. That’s awful to have that happen.
Wow. Not cool. Yep, I’d do the open-up-the-seam thing when you get done. If I were dealing with that stain, I’d probably try whatever enzyme-type stain remover I had on hand first (biz? shout? stain stick?) first, before trying any kind of stain-remover that had bleach in it. Good luck!
Believe it or not I had this exact same thing happen to me last summer! I used the same plan you have of opening the seem to get the culprit out of the quilt. Then I used Grandma’s Secret Spot Remover to get the stain out. It worked like a charm!
Just curious. Whatever us an Indian beetle ? Off to google right now ! Carolyn/france
Saliva works to get out human blood– maybe it would work on beetle blood?
Dawn mixed with peroxide…
Hi Jo,
I was told by someone that Young Living Essential Oils Thieves will take out stains. Not sure how much she used but can find out. Hope it comes out!!!
There’s a stain remover that I buy at the 99 cent store. It’s called Soil Love and comes in a green bottle. I used it to remove berry stains from a white blouse.
–CB
A drop of Dawn dish soap is like magic, and it won’t ruin the colors. If it doesn’t work, you have not ruined anything, just onto Plan B, C, or D. Good luck.
I like the Oxi-Clean spray. It works well on protein based stains. I agree that you should try to remove it as quick as possible. The longer it stays, the more the stain binds to the fabric. Good luck!
If all else fails dab some “Mean Green” on it. My husband gets into a lot of “stuff” and I haven’t found anything yet it won’t take out and it hasn’t harmed any of our garments, etc. either. You can get it at Dollar General stores and Walmart in our neck of the woods. It is the greatest thing I have ever found for getting blood out of anything. If you can’t locate any, let me know and I’ll drop some in the mail to you. Cathy in TN maggiemae@tds.net
Local fabric or quilt stores always sell Grandmother’s stain remover. I have tried it and others swear by it. Maybe someone else will chime in.
Biz I have only used, and it works wonders, when I have been able to soak the items.
You can always fine a bug and squish it in some white fabric and try to see what works best to get it out. Just a thought save trying lots of different things on the quilt. Or make a quilt sandwich and stick a bug in it and squish it then see what works. Just a thought. Either way good luck getting it out.
A solution of oxiclean dabbed onto the stain after removal of the beetle might help. Our altar guild uses it to remove wine stains and works very well. It doesn’t leave a soap residue and seems to rinse out easily.
I also think that making a quilt sandwich and squishing the same type beetle is a brilliant idea.