I finished quilting my dd's winter quilt, which I thought turned out nice, that is, until I washed it!I used The Tuscany Collection 100% wool batting by Hobbs. It is developed with Harriet Hargraves for "Discriminating Quilters". It specifically states that it "is made with the very best super wash wool, which eliminates most or all of the shrinkage. It is then carded and resin bonded to help retard bearding." Now keep that in mind for the next photo.
I purposely did not re-size the photo because I wanted you to see the results.After completing the binding, I put it in the washing machine. When I pulled it out, it was covered with balls of wool - beading. Where in the heck did it come out of? Okay, so I stick it in the dryer thinking that it's going to take that stuff off. It did some of it, but not all of it. I did use the "cotton picker" for a bit and gave up!
Notice the beading, the shrinkage? It was dried on low heat. After seeing the results, I decided to read the instructions, "it is recommended to dry this quilt flat. When drying flat, block and square the quilt on an absorbent surface, such as towels. The use of a fan oscillating over the surface will speed up the drying process considerable". Now, who has the space to leave a quilt in the middle of the room to dry? Not me! Oh, and let's not forget the towels and oscillating fan. I wish this had been written on the front of the package and not on the reverse where I have no access, unless I rip open the packaging and turn the paper around! I am fuming....!!!!!!! I'm thinking that quilt needs to be picked and redone! I think the expression "I'm spitting bullets" is appropriate here! lol
What infuriates me the most is that I have another quilt using Hobbs wool batting, not the Tuscany Collection, that hasn't been washed yet because I still need to quilt the inner border. Anyone have room for me to dry a quilt?
On a much happier note, I shall be leaving Thursday morning for a bus trip with my guild, Champlain Valley Quiltler's Guild, to see the Pennsylvania National Quilt Extravaganza XV show in Harrisburgh, Pennsylvania. Friday will be spent at the show. Saturday, we'll be shop hopping all day. Many of the places I have never been! Sunday we'll be leaving for home. I'm really looking forward to this. I've never been to a show in PA. I'm making sure I bring my camera! ;o) I'm telling you, this year I have been the travelling quilting fool! lol
Hope you are all having a wonderful week! Thanks for stopping by!
Note: The issue was not with the batting but with my inexperience using a longarm. I had the quilt much to taut on the longarm. Once I washed the quilt, the quilt top sprung back to its original size forcing the batting to migrate out of the quilt. Lesson learned!
27 comments:
Oh, I am so sorry to read of this. I just don't know what I would do. I would be so heart broken.
Drat Carole, I'm so sorry this happened to your dd's beautiful quilt. Maybe put it aside until next week after your Quilt Trip (sounds fabulous btw)and look at it then. Looking forward to seeing your pics of your trip and your goodies. QGB
Oh Carole...darn, darn, darn. I'm with you, all that info should have been in plain sight. What a shame.
I have to miss that quilt show...
& I have to be careful with the quilts that have wool batting - I haven't finished the binding on eone of them & the other is being hand quilted....
Thats a bumier!
I'll keep that in mind when shopping for the batting for DH quilt.
Boy what a bummer about the quilt batting. All that work and now this. The thought of all that picking stitches out though makes my fingers sore already. The quilt show sounds fun and a good way to forget about the quilt for a while.
OMG!! I'm right there along with you on the fuming and likely feeling ill to have done all of that work to have this happen! Also with regards to washing, blocking, drying quilt....this is how the big winners in quilt shows prepare quilts for display so reading that did not surprise me. Obviously they have the room to do this. I've delayed the arrival of my machine this weekend because I'm worried about Hanna....just not a chance worth taking. I've got another two weeks to wait and hopefully the weather will look better! Have a great time at the quilt show...that should help take your mind off of this muck up. eh? Hugs!
Oh dear . . . this is not a happy situation at all. I think spitting bullets is a fairly polite way to phrase what I know I would be feeling. Hopefully a wonderful trip to the quilt show will put a little distance on it, you'll return refreshed and ready to tackle it with a new plan. *s*
I started to use Hobbs wool on my son's king quilt, read the washing / care instructions and decided to order a Matilda's wool batt. They haven't washed it yet, but I hope it does better than the Hobbs. I agree, ripping it out is the only solution. So Sorry!
This is not good. Have a great trip.
Oh crud, and couble crud with the second one in the wings! It is a beautiful quilt.
i would be furious too! dry a quilt flat? ridiculous!
I don't blame you for being upset. I know I would just be livid! I will be most careful about the battings I purchase and stick to the tried and true. Granted, I'm not the most experienced quilter in the world, to say the least, but I sure have not ever dried a quilt flat.
OMG how awful about your quilt. I would be sooooo upset too. I'm sorry that happened. It should haev been on the front in big print.
Have fun on your trip.
How sad, Carole! I think I'd try picking out the quilting on long winter evenings and re-do it--it's a beautiful quilt top.
I've never used wool batting for that reason--I'm afraid what might happen! I've heard it's wonderful though, both to quilt through and to sleep under.
As far as blocking and drying flat--I've had quilts in shows that I've blocked first and like you, I have no floor space large enough. What I've done is to block them on a large hallway wall. No fans--they seem to dry reasonable well and within several hours. You might think about trying something along those lines with the one you have nearly quilted.
Oh man, I would be steamed over this. I think I would probably pick it out and do it again. This quilt is too pretty to be angry at. I hope the bus trip picked up your spirits!
I think you have every right to be angry! I would be. Can you imagine having enough floor space to dry flat a king size quilt how would it be!
Oh, Carole, that is just such a sad story. I would have been furious as well after all of the work that you went to in the making of the quilt. I will be sure to avoid that in my future projects as the drying sounds a bit over the top. I wonder what dry cleaning would do to it.
Oh Carole this is a awful thing to happen to a quilt. I wouldn't want to pick the whole thing apart because that would make me even madder. Can you use a clothes shaver and get rid of the batting showing on top?
Have a great trip, I look forward to hearing about it.
Rats, I also have a wadded up quilt in the bottom of my closet that I washed and it looks like yours! I was reading the comments hoping someone had a never-before-heard-of fix for you that I could use! Mine is still laying there. Hope your's fares better! Good luck! No more wool for me - ever! I'm strictly cotten now.
I think I would be in tears now if I had the batting disaster you did! Hopefully the second quilt will make it okay. Thanks for letting us know!
I have to tell you that I saw a gal at our guild meeting this week with the same batting and I refered her to your blog. I hope she will read it before she begins. She hadn't heard of it before I mentioned it to her and she had not used the batting before.
Oh Carole that is sooo sad. I have a bag of Quilters Dream wool batting that I haven't used yet, I am going to have to really think it through now... thanks for the heads up. It is a beautiful quilt too...sigh.
well you are allowed to fume for a bit! I would write to the manufacturer and tell them your complaints, it's certainly valid to have those instructions on the outside of the package!! now, don't you dare pick that all apart! It looks very lovely and vintage that way, that can be your story, and you stick to it!
Where are you???????? I hope your having fun whatever your doing.
I love the new banner! You sew girl!!!
OMG, that is awful! What about after washing the other quilt, you lay it out on a bed, cover the sheets,quilt,bedspread, etc., on it with a sheet of plastic, then cover that with some towels or spreads/quilts that can go in dryer, lay the damp quilt with that wool batting on top and turn fans on it. I've dried some stuff by just spreading out on bed without those above mentioned protective items and turned ceiling fan over bed on high and let it blow. That worked pretty good. I've also laid out sheets on driveway and grass and spread quilts and other stuff out to dry. Old quilts I want to prevent from fading I'll lay a thin sheet over them. Didn't really deter the drying but did prevent sun damage.
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