I was working on my next moda bake shop quilt- a twin size- when the idea struck me to use my mom's old serger to sew up the raw edges of the binding. I'd read about people doing it before, but it never before occurred to actually do that now that I had a serger of my very own.
So I zigzagged around the edges (avoiding the corners...not knowing how that would go over). I didn't think much of it. I started hand stitching to the other side.
Now a big quilt takes a while to bind by hand, and every night when I decide to call it quits, my ritual is to lay the quilt I am binding out on the floor so I can get a good luck at my progress. This quilt was no different. When I finished the first night of binding, I lay the quilt on the floor to revel in my own progress. This time (much to my husband's aggravation), I left the quilt right there in the floor. The next morning I went to tidy up and I saw it: a GIANT spot of dog pee..right there in the quilt. My dog has some mystery disease which apparently only affects MY quality of life and he can't be bothered to pee on our very cleanable tile floor or our wood floors when the urge hits (which is frequently). Nope, he likes a "grass texture" according to the vet (read: things that are way hard to clean).
Anyway, what to do? Do I wait until it dries? Do I spot wash the pee stain only? Do I finish binding it really quickly so I can wash it really quickly? Then I saw my new serged binding and I ran and threw the entire quilt in the wash without so much as a care. Stroke-of-genius. Talk about timing. And that's how I got out of my worst binding bind!
Have you ever had a stain disaster on your works-in-progress???
Anyway, what to do? Do I wait until it dries? Do I spot wash the pee stain only? Do I finish binding it really quickly so I can wash it really quickly? Then I saw my new serged binding and I ran and threw the entire quilt in the wash without so much as a care. Stroke-of-genius. Talk about timing. And that's how I got out of my worst binding bind!
Have you ever had a stain disaster on your works-in-progress???
I gasped when I read this! I've never had anything that bad, but I have spilled Diet Coke and chocolate on a quilt I was working on. I just figured it broke them in early.
ReplyDeletetime to get one of those potty mats they sell on TV that are like grass mats I think!
ReplyDeleteLucky girl! My heart dropped when I read about the pee spot. I'm always so afraid that will happen to my own quilts. {Bad kitties} How serendipitious!
ReplyDeleteI have had the exact same thing happen, except I didn't have the quilt serged.
ReplyDeleteMy daughter has moved out of the house so I have taken over her room as my new sewing room. She loved having a "garden" room so the carpet on the floor is green and thick. I think you know the rest of the story.
Spaghetti sauce, on a commission quilt, that hadn't even been quilted yet. Gotta love having a toddler! Tide stain pen got it right out, I was so relieved! I'm glad you were able to get your problem taken care of so easily!
ReplyDeleteHand wash and spot treat, then bind as fast as humanly possible! At least, that's what I usually do. But I might just have to attempt this serged binding thing... I've got a giant dog and a boy in the house. Nothing's safe. The KID peed on a quilt the other day!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad other people have pets that try to impedede the quilting process too! Good thing you serged the edges :)
ReplyDeleteYikes!! I'm glad all is well. Whew!
ReplyDelete'''at puppy kindergarten, the suggestion for "pee spots" that are not the dogs are to treat them with white vinegar. That way the dog thinks of the "white vinegar" smell as belonging to the owner and therefore will be off limits to the "pee-er"... Im still trying to impress Lily with the "white vinegar is MY space and don't pee on it" concept... I don't know if that would work for my grand dog or not... (my whole house smells like a giant pickle jar)!!!!!
ReplyDeleteOh my. I. Am speechless.
ReplyDeleteYikes! I'm so glad you got it out! Any shrieking involved on your part? I would have been doing major shrieking!
ReplyDeleteEeek! Think that's convinced me never to get a dog lol. Thank Singer for sergers though :oD
ReplyDeleteOh I'm familiar with this issue (and #2 on quilts too!)...unfortunately. I went away for work and for some reason my 90lb. dog at the time decided to pee on my bed. My roommates somehow didn't notice and I was gone for two weeks! It reeked in my room and they didn't notice? I smelt it before I even got in my room. Not only did it stain the quilt, but it soaked into the MATTRESS! It was only a year old so I natures miracled the bed multiple times and finally after several weeks of cleaning, drying, etc. it was usable. I washed the quilt with stain remover and it was fine (it was a cream colored background anyway), but the bed was and still is stained. It is really fun every time I move and people look at me. I tell them I swear it wasn't me, but I'm sure they think I'm using the dog as an excuse. Natures miracle is a necessity if you have a dog that pees on things and I learned my lesson and always have a waterproof mattress cover on all of our beds. I'm glad your problem turned out okay! Owning animals can be frustrating sometimes, but their love and devotion is totally worth it!
ReplyDeletemy dogs walk over the hardwoods to the carpet to pee or get sick. drives me nuts. I got chocolate on a quilt I was hand quilting. Eek! I dabbed it with a damp cloth, and it came out. Yipee! Good for you to serge your quilt.
ReplyDelete