I need advice from someone who crochets
I have come into possession of 144 7" granny squares. The crocheting seems to be very well done, they are all the same size and the stitches are consistent. The squares just need to be attached to each other and then a border added around it. Here's my problem - they came from a home of a smoker. They reek of cigarette smoke. They are in a zipper clear plastic bedding type bag and you can still smell them. There is no way I'll be able to put them together without coughing up a lung (asthma). Can I soak/wash them as they are, or would it turn into a disaster? Also can anyone suggest what to use to get the smoke smell out of them, I don't know when she started them or got them to this stage of completion. I do know their home had 2 serious smokers living in it. Thank you in advance for any and all ideas, if I can't get the smoke smell out of them I'm going to have to pass this UFO along to someone else to finish.