Mourning over my shawl

[Mariposa]

I just had to write about this because I dont have anyone here at home who could sympathize with what just happened....Well my very first and only shawl was just destroyed.....I would always spot clean it when it got dirty or sent it to be dry cleaned if it was too much for me to do....Some of you already know that my hands suffer from arthritis. To re-do this shawl would take me weeks to do since I punched the holes in with one of them hole makers that we also use for leather...I feel the pain for weeks...but the results are so worth it....Now I am just devastated over my shawl...I put it in the washing machine on gentle cycle and washed it in cold water...thinking it worked for everything else...well, when I took the shawl out I discovered that the beautiful cream colored fabric was not tie died in blue.....I just burried my face in it and cried for a good 10-15 minutes....My son thought something had happened to me physically and just hugged me from behind...when I showed him my shawl, he just took it and held it in his arms....he is only 6 years old, but he felt my pain.... He knows how much time it takes to make these shawls...He has seen me make 3 of them, and knows how my hands get when I am done....
Well, I just needed some good therapy. I think writing this may have helped me a bit...

[Tsiniti]

I know a young lady who would LOVE to have a shawl that looks like it was tie died in blue! Maybe we can work a trade? She needs to learn how to make a shawl! Maybe she can make a cream colored one, with blue fringe?

[Miss_Nish]

I'm sooooo sorry about your loss. I know how you must be feeling! A lot goes into making that special something such as shawl or barrette or pouch and so on. Many hours and hard work go into every single piece of my regalia. If I lost something, I'd be crushed, too!

My mother has althritis, also. When she gets something done, even throo all the pain, she takes great pride in it. I needed mocs once and when she was all done... her hands ached for days!

I wish you all the best in making a new shawl. Can't replace the sentimental value but this one should be just as special.

Again.. soo sorry.

[midgaardserpent]

Sorry to hear of your loss Mariposa.

O:nen ki' wahi' skennen kenhak O:NEN!

[Selina]

I'm so sorry to hear about your shawl....
:(
I never dared to wash my shawl either.
It is a dark yellow with blue fringe.

I just hope you have enough strength to make a new one.
All the best!

[Mariposa]

Wow.....its so nice to see all of these replies...it made me feel a bit better....I hate to be upset over something that is of material, but you ladies understand what hard work is put into a shawl.....I just received a personal message about soaking the shawl in white vineger....I'm going to try this on a corner of the shawl, if it does not work then I will try and bleach a piece of it that is hidden underneath...and if this does not work, then I will work something out with the person who wants to practice on a tie dyed shawl.
How could I have been so stupid to stick it into a machine?:wall:
Sometimes I think I ought to just step back from being so darn clean all the time... a little dirt never hurt anyone, right?

[Mariposa]

UPDATE ON THE SHAWL!!!!!!!!!!!!!

GOOD NEWS!!!!!!!!!1 HURRAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! BREAK OUT THE FRYBREAD!!!!!!!!!
:1Party: :39: :clap: :bouncy:

I dont believe it!!!!!!!! I want to cry tears of JOY< JOY< JOY...
I did what NORTHERN DANCER told me to do with the white vinegar, I couldn't believe what I was seeing...the blue was disappearing from the white on my shawl....I cried...I could not believe my eyes..... I draped a clear plastic cover over my kitchen table then spread the shawl over it, making sure that the fringes would hang over...then I placed a tray of water and vinegar under the shawl and moved it around underneath the shall as I got every piece that was covered in blue, I saw a few spots behind and I dabbed them with some bleach and it disappeared., ...OH MY GOODNESS< IT is perfect...!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Now my kitchen floor is turquoise from wet fringe, but who cares!
Thank you Northern Dancer and everyone else who had sent me private messages about my shawl.....I thought it was so stupid at first to post such a thing, and being a grown woman and all, I felt foolish to tell you all how upset I was....But I am so glad I did, because that shawl was going to be filed in my cabinet, under G for garbage.....

[Riverwoman]

Don't feel stupid, it was something tha you cared dearly for, and you felt the loss of it. You are able to express your feelings, not a lot of people are able to do that!

I am happy that it turned out ok, and the color is gone:) I wouldn't know what to do, if anyting happned to mine. That is why I keep it safe and pray for it.

[ctryprincess]

AaaaAAaaaaaAAAAaahhh... That is soooo sweet. I'm glad it worked for you, sweetie!

[Mariposa]

Gosh if you women lived closer I'd invite ya over for cake and coffee....you are all so nice to me...Now if I could only find some woman that would want to get a bead circle going in New York City....its so lonely here in queens...:(

[dawning]

i am glad to read that your shawl came out okay. i 'll have to remeber that trick.that was the first thing anyone ever gave me was two shawls when i first started dancing. D. 1* gave them to me. one was red with red white and blue fringes and the other is white with the same colored fringes. i cherish mine also. one time i thought i had left my white one somewhere and i went crazy looking for it then i remembered where i left it. In a safe place, at my mothers.

[dancnbrd]

I'm glad your shawl got straightened out Mariposa!!! I know how you feel. Last Aug. my new shawl got damp in our house fire and the red fringe bled into the white. It's not real noticable but I am now going to try the vinegar to see if it works for me. I may not since it's been so long the color is probably set. But it's worth a try!!!:)

[Mariposa]

Oh it sure is worth the try, but also do what I did, I covered my table first with a new, clear or white plastic, then drapped the shawl over it so that the fringes do not touch anything, and just hang down.....that way if you need to spot bleach it, you can do it without having to worry about the fringe....Also remember to not get so close to the fringe if you are gonna spot bleach it because the bleach traveled on the shawl and caught the top of the knot on the fringe, but its so unoticable....