On Being Exhausted

8.09.2012


I came home the other day to find that Ben had washed this quilt with a tapestry that his mom had brought back from India and that the tapestry had bled all over my handmade quilt (in his defense, his mom had said that she had already washed the tapestry and used a color-catching sheet).  Needless to say, I was not a happy camper when I saw my quilt on the laundry room floor with blotches of red all over it.  And I was less happy when a couple capfuls of synthrapol and two hot washes didn't solve the problem as it had last time.  And so as we were heading to bed that night Ben turned to me and asked "are you mad?" to which I answered "honestly, I'm too exhausted to be mad."

Who knew that my returning to work would work out so well for Ben.

14 comments:

  1. Anonymous9.8.12

    Aw, that sounds tough. Hang in there, lady.

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  2. Oh no!! I feel your pain, I have washed quilts with bleedy items that ruin them. I was going to suggest the synthrapol, but sounds like you already know how to try to fix it. I have had a little luck letting some oxy-clean stain gel soak into the dye before washing again. And being too exhausted to be upset is the worst!
    :( I hope things take a turn for the better soon!

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  3. try hot water mixed with oxyclean (i've have luck with the powdered type, haven't tried the gel) and let it soak overnight. it's works best if the stained item hasn't dried already. repeat soakings until the stain is out (scrub oxyclean into the stain with a clean toothbrush if it's a really tough stain) and then wash like normal.

    i recently washed a new yellow shirt in with a load of whites and light colors, and the yellow bled all over my FAVORITE white t-shirt. i was so mad!!! luckily, the oxyclean worked and it's as good as new, not a spot of yellow! (and oxyclean is not bleach, so it shouldn't harm the other colors of your quilt) Good Luck!

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  4. he is a lucky man but he should probably buy you some new fabric to make up for it though. he should probably buy me some too, just for good measure!

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  5. Aww, the poor guy! He probably feels as badly as you (almost!) Good luck with your handmade beauty - maybe one more wash will do the trick, and some line drying in the sun?

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  6. Argh! Maybe he was trying to make sure he never had to do the washing again!

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  7. Amaze! I've seen it get blue pen out of a blazer that had already been washed. I use Amaze all the time to get berry stains out of April's clothes. So frustrating when things like that happen.

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  8. :( Sorry about the quilt...guys are clueless sometimes, eh?

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  9. Anonymous9.8.12

    Poor guy - I hope he can make it up to you somehow - so frustrating though. I usually opt for throwing it in the bin straight away and trying not to think about it.

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  10. That last line is the best ever. But I hate it for your quilt.

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  11. Oh :( Can I make you - and probably Ben - feel a little better with a horror story of my own? Years ago we had a wool woven rug on the floor which was actually I think a priceless kilim that my parents had as a wall hanging for years but no longer wanted, and Andy got really drunk while I was away one time and threw up on it, then put it in the washing machine and all the colours bled. He knew he'd done bad and took it to a professional rug cleaner and they did their best but it was never the same and is still shamefully rolled up in a cupboard. (He'd be so aghast if he knew I wrote this story onto the internet!)
    I'm very sorry about your quilt, and the exhaustion. At least you know the stain is not red wine vomit!

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  12. Anonymous12.8.12

    well, I'll pop Ben one for that.
    Will that make you feel better?
    You're too tired but I still have a little energy left this evening.
    XO
    ; )

    C

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  13. Anonymous22.8.12

    So sad. I still have my dad's beautiful quilt, made out of deco scraps by an old aunt 70 years ago, that has a giant orange permanent ink stain left by the uncapped pen I left on the bed when I was 8 or so... Man did I get in trouble. But in the end, my mom gave me the quilt because I was the one who ruined it.

    A textile seller at an antique show told me that she soaks stained things in oxyclean or borax and she's even left them soaking for three weeks, if that's what it took...

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