Speed bump

I had hoped to have this small quilt finished and hanging for the holidays, but it's had to be put on hold while I put the pedal to the metal on the wedding quilt.  A queen-sized quilt takes forever to handquilt!!  The end is in sight, however.

Anyhow, a few weeks ago, I decided to prep the top and bottom borders for applique, to have them ready to pick up and go as soon as the other project is finished.  I'm dying to get back to this!!  I cut two strips of the Moda Bella Snow and sprayed them lightly with some water while waiting for the iron to heat up.  It was a sunny day and as I pressed, the sunlight was casting a dappled shadow on the fabric as it came through the shutters.  A cloud passed over the sun briefly and I noticed that the dappled pattern remained.  I blinked and leaned in closer to the fabric. 

There were definitely some splotches of discoloration...bright discoloration...but I decided that they were areas where I had sprayed the water that hadn't yet been pressed dry.  I continued.  The sun came out, the sun went in.  I squinted.  And then I realized that the fabric was defective.  My first reaction was *Phew!!  Glad I caught that before I started appliqueing!*  My second reaction was to dash over to the completed applique on the design wall and go over it with a fine tooth comb since all of its background was cut from the same piece of yardage.  Good news.  It all looked fine.

The photo above shows the splotches of undyed areas, marked with pins for easier identification.  In some lights, you can't even see them, yet in others, they pop off the fabric like they're under a black light.  I thought I'd mention it here because so many are using light background solids and, like me, probably wouldn't bother to examine the fabric before using, thinking that any imperfections would be obvious.  Fortunately, I had ordered extra of the Bella Snow so I was able to cut new border strips from the same length, after careful examination.  Another *Phew!* 

Lots more to share...a list of things waiting!  But not today.  Off to do my morning quilting...yes, there's a daily schedule.

***To clarify a bit after receiving a few comments, the splotches definitely were not attributable to possible bleaching by my water spray.  They were fairly large and well-defined, and although the remaining yardage was somewhat salvageable, there were more splotches found in areas I had not touched.  It was a manufacturer's defect.

Comments

[jane]

not sure where you live but I have had this problem if I spray my fabric with tap water that has too much bleach in it. Now, I try to spray my fabric with filtered water.

[kathie]

will be checking my fabric now too.
Glad you bought extra and had enough to use without a problem
its looking wonderful, yes keep on that schedule, you will be thrilled when its done...another week or so
Kathie

[barb]

Are you planning to send this fabric to manufacturer? I think I maybe would. Seems like it should be checked for quality before it's shipped out.
Thank goodness you noticed.
I love, love the applique design!
barb

[Thimbleanna]

Ya know....I think I have this problem too! I was cutting moda bella white (not sure which white, but white) for my nine patch and noticed little splotches. I was worried maybe I'd inadvertently done something to it in the wash, or that it was just my eyes, because as you said, sometimes it just wasn't that noticeable. Dang it! I have a LOT of that stuff. Plus, it's already all in my quilt. I'd forgotten about it, but I'll have to go back and see just how noticeable it is now. Thanks for posting!

[amy]

Hmmm...off to check the eight yards of grey that arrived yesterday...

[Laurie in Iowa]

Your quilt is gorgeous. I'm so glad you found the fabric defect before you used it!

[Anita]

Sorry to hear about the speed bumps! And godspeed on your hand quilting! But, please don't tell me how long it actually takes. I have one quilt top that I would like to hand quilt, but I already have it in my head that it is going to take the rest of my life! You aren't helping me! ;)

[Sharon]

Glad you caught it in time. I'm doing a b.o.m. and the background fabric was different in some months. After going to the store and looking at the 5 bolts of Kona Snow, all were different. I phoned and emailed mftr and they couldn't bother to respond. The shop was excellent though.

[KathieB]

The antique and aged splotchy look is OK if that's what you're going for, but is definitely not OK if pure white is in the plans. Glad you discovered this before it got into the quilt. And good luck with the manufacturer on this--maybe I'm just a pessimist but I bet they give you nothin'

[Sue G]

I had the same problem with Moda Bella. I bought an entire bolt, intending to use it as the background fabric for an applique quilt. As is my usual practice, I put the entire amount of yardage in the washing machine and proceeded to wash it -- without adding any chemicals, soap, softeners. After the wash was done, I noticed an incredible amount of uneven coloration -- large blotches of lighter-colored fabric appeared across the entire amount of yardage. I'm glad that I "learned" of the shortcomings of this particular fabric -- and I doubt that I will use any Moda Bella again until I can figure out what caused the discoloration...

[Alison Marie]

In my line of work, I have found this happens a lot with fashion fabrics in various creams and whites. It has to do with the use of optical brighteners currently used by fabric manufacturers and how they react with some cleaning products. If you get droplets of detergent on the dry cloth (or maybe even if it's wet already, but sits for a while as you load the washer), it basically pulls some off the dye out. It can also happen with spot treatments like Shout and Clorox(well, you'd expect it with Clorox.) My best work around is to make load the washer detergent first, then water, agitate some, then add clothes/cloth. (and even if you're not using detergent in a particular load, residue from a previous load can drip down from under the washer rim. Not fun if you've been dyeing in the previous load!)

[Janet]

That would be a dsiater if it was for a big project and the fabric was no longer avaialable. Thanks for reminding us to check. I hope your quilting is nearly done, what a trooper and so disciplined.

[janet]

That's too bad about the spoiled fabric!
Your applique is so beautiful - I love it!

[Deb King]

Oh dear - thanks for the warning. I am using some moda bella now so I will check carefully. Your applique piece is beautiful.

[Cascade Lily]

Oh bugger Jan! I have just ordered 5 yards of the stuff. Will check it carefully before I use it. Wonder if that's why it was on sale???? Good thing you noticed it before you used it too.

[Schnoobie]

Bummer! Glad you "spotted" it! Remaining pieces sound like fine candidates for a mottled tea-dye treatment!
Applique looks smashing , as usual!

[kelli]

That applique is absolutely fantastic. Such a great example of folk art. Love it Jan!

[Karen Beigh]

This my style of applique project!