:oops: we need a smilie that bows, humbly of course!
thank you all for the kind words, my mom really likes it when I tell her all my friends think she's wonderful for helping me, she's old and feeble.

You are Both

***HEROES OF THE REALM***

Kathy and Mom:
Congrats! You both are super quilter heros! I'm so glad you were able to save the quilt but I'm also VERY glad you shared your pain with us...it surely will prevent the rest of us from "feeling" our own pain through ignorance and the clothes dryer. Thank you for sharing.

Feathers

Kathy...I don't think my last post came out quite how I meant it. I in NO WAY meant to infer you were ignorant...I meant that any of us could have used the dryer on wool the same as you did out of ignorance but now, thanks to you, we know better and won't repeat your painful mistake. Is that better???? :oops: :oops:

Feathers

oh Feathers, I knew what you meant silly girl!
I do hope everybody reads this and remembers that a recomendation is not always just a suggestion!

I'm so glad that you were able to save this beautiful quilt. What a labor of love! And, I think we will all benefit from learning from your "mistake" of using the wool batting!!!!!!!
~Joan

Kathy, you and Mom did a marvelous job of unquilting and rescued a gorgeous quilt top in the process.

Every quilt has a story and this quilt has heroes!

Thank you for sharing your experiences with us. This was quite the learning curve for all of us :!:

Tim, it is good to see you posting once again. We missed you.
Yup, I would have cried and stomped and screamed -- had this happened to me. I also would have drawn on some of the vocabulary from my retired Navy seadog who spent most of his career with the USMC.

Piecefully yorus,
Kay Susan

Interested to know also. I have a couple alpaca/wool blend and Alpaca/Cotton blend bats I want to use some day (on quilts meant for cold weather). I would hate to put them into a quilt and have them explode.

tim in san jose

Oh my, what a roller coaster of a story. I sincerely applaud your efforts and the quilt is absolutely beautiful. (I probably would have given up) I admire you for sticking with it and getting it "right". Hope you heal quickly from your CT surgery and can get back to quilt making soon.

Missed this story until today. Your quilt is beautiful and if it had been me, ir would still be in a heap somewhere all by itself! Great job on the requilting. I bet your Dad loved it. Your lesson will be remembered by all of us! Thanks for that at least!

What a happy/sad/happy story!! So glad it came out great in the end--beautiful quilt!!!

Oh goodness--what a great save--a patient awesome save. :D

Beautiful quilt and what a great save. It taught me a lesson on batting for sure.

Well Bless you and your Mom....what an ordeal......sure glad it has all worked out for you NOW.....I kinda liked that puffy look.....sure would have been warm! :-)

OMG, I think I would cry!! It's no easy task taking it apart either, I know, I've done it before.

I use a razor blade and just barely tap the thread and it rips out much faster.

I didn't see this until today. What an absolutely beautiful quilt. My stomach dropped when I saw the post-dryer pics. I would have cried...and honestly, I would have done something you didn't....I would have thrown it out or burned it. I don't think I would have had the guts to unquilt it and requilt it.

You can't even tell in the finished pics that it ever had a problem in the first place. You did a really amazing job!


p.s. I also think it's great Tim's back. I think we all missed him.

Oh, I missed the early part on this thread! What a beautiful quilt! My heart sank when I saw the after dryer pics. Who would have thought that would happen? Thank you for sharing your pain...we all feel for you and I'm sooo proud of you and your Mom for tackling that project (and I'm sure she is NOT feeble)

How sad,,,after all that work...

Your quilt is gorgeous.

Your Positive Attitude had a lot to do with the success you had repairing

your Father in Law's quilt plus having your wonderful Mom to help you.

If that had happened to me I think I would have made a mud pile in the

back yard and stomped the quilt to death!!!!!

You must have a great deal of patience, and it certainly paid off!!!

Beautiful quilt and I admire both of you for your patience and perserverance[sp] to get it taken care of. Kudos!!

Oh man...... CRINGE...... I'm so glad you saved it tho..... Its GORGOUS :D

Thanks for posting this about the wool batting. Your quilt turned out gorgeous -- your father should be so touched that you loved him enough to do this TWICE!!!
I have been considering using a wool batting- now if I buy one, I may experiment with it first to see what happens.
Cheryl

My heart just sunk ........for you..........but now I see after much work and love you have it worked out. I am sure he will love it!

What a bummer! I'm so sorry for your loss of so much time and energy but I'll bet that only makes the receiver of the quilt (your dad?) LOVE IT MORE . Good job and a terrific learning experience for you and for all of us. Thank you.

One hell of a story! Good job!

Oh wow, I think I would have balled my eyes out and then started all over lol. I am glad it turned out good in the end it is beautifull!

I think I would have tossed it. You definitely get the patience award!

Oh my! You have much more patience than I. The dog would have gotten that quilt!
Great save, Way to go!

omg, if that was my quilt, you'd hear me screaming even if you were in hiding.
are you sending a picture of the 'after' to the company, explaining that this is what happens when they don't give explicit instructions.

and wool batting is so pricey, you'd think they'd let you know how to handle it.

thank goodness you made that fantastic save. it really is a beauty, like all your work.

I really missed a lot of news over the last year. This quilt has absolutely convinced me I want to make an Irish Chain, I won't use wool bat. Thank you for sharing that and thank you to whoever brought this forward for me to read it.

I've missed ya, gf!
Hugs,
Sharon

I think I'll make myself a lap quilt with the wool batt so I can hand quilt it again. It was like quilting in warm butter! I'll just have to wash in cold and DON"T put it in the dryer.
Thanks for all the compliments, and I couldn't have done it witout my mother's help to unquilt it.

well, this piece is already shrunk down. do it one more time and you're probably home free. washed and dryer-dried wood wool is he softest thing ever.

i had some scratchy army blankets and i washed them in hot water. i had nothing to lose, they were that bad. then i used fabric softener and into the dryer they went. did this 2x and went to town. wow! if they could fluff up then anything can. and they never shrunk? shrank? again.

so give it another go-round.

Your quilt is beautiful. I so admire your persistence. If that happened to me, my dogs would have a new quilt! I love the way the wool batting makes the quilt drape and feel. I learned from experience that the more densely the quilting, the less the shrinkage. I washed mine and put it in the dryer on permanent press for just a few minutes and then on air dry. There was just a little puckering - just looked like an old quilt.

I am glad this thread has come up again---it is still a gorgeous quilt!

And we can all learn a lesson from your wool batting story.

Beautiful quilt!
The wool felted with the agitation of the washing and drying.
I'm glad you were able to get it fixed, even if it took a long time to do.

Good grief, the very idea of picking out the quilting makes me think of rolling on the floor, shrieking, kicking and waving my arms. Not pretty.

Your name should be in the dictionary right next to patience.

That quilt is beautiful enough to warrant the work.

b.zang, that was quite a picture! I guess I'll never ask you to do that job for me!

When I saw what happened to your finished quilt I wilted in despair for you and all your beautiful work....but, never say never to a quilter. Look what you and your mom did. Hooray for your persistence - the outcome was worth every undone and redone stitch. It's gorgeous! Congratulations!

YIKES!!!! What now????

WOW :shock: I missed this the first time around!!
Kathy, it is so awesome that you chose to pick out the quilting and that your Mom helped you :D:D:D
I am so happy that this story had such a wonderful ending!!!
I bet your FIL still gets teary eyed from looking at this beauty :D:D:D