Damask IS linen....unless it's rayon! UHG! Soak the linens in a non ionized soap.....can't pull the name of it out of my head....used to wash quilts....maybe a place that sells antique quilts will be able to sell you some. Make sure you never lift a wet piece by an end or edge....get under to lift....don't pull it out of the water. Fold your piece and gat a big flat pan...fill it with distilled water and that de ionized soap....mix and lay your piece in there and soak for at least 2 days.....see if your stains are coming out.....if they are lighter....soak more. For stubborn stains you may want to use a little oxygen bleach....like oxy clean....or even dab on some hydrogen peroxide....never EVER clorine! If you are seeing progress but still have stains....carefully dump the stuff out and refill with more soap and distilled water and soak more.... Then rinse and rinse and rinse. If you have a very precious piece like a wedding dress or a christening gown....rinse in distilled water....and test with litmus paper until it tests neutral. Then lift out....squeeze gently and roll in a towel....repeat until it is no linger sopping....and spread out onto a pad of towels ( gently!....those old fibers that have been soaked for days are fragile!) and put fans on it and dry it as fast as possible. If it's just an old tablecloth ...I put it into the washer after soaking and when the stains are as gone as they will get, and spin out..... Let the washer fill....move it around with your hands....then spin out....never let the washer agitate or tumble! Then spread to dry....or almost dry. Linen should be ironed very wet!...I iron my napkins and cloths straight from the washer....never iron in a crease....but iron almost dry and spread to finish.....it will be very crisp!....then when it's dry fold. This is REALLY hard to do with a big cloth!!!! Linda C

Boxers, First, let me say, I'm comforted to know I'm not the only one to experience this phenomenon! If you take the whole thing and pin it together -- does it fit? If so: It must have something to do with the sewing. When you say "long sashing strips" it sounds like you're sewing the blocks into rows and then trying to sew that to one long row of sashing? That can be much more difficult than it sounds, in my experience. If there are no cornerstones in the sashing to match up, I would just make the sashing piece super long and then sew it togehter and trim it at the end. If it's got cornerstones, I would sew it to each block individually, then sew the blocks together. But I'm confused -- it sounds like you did that? So maybe you're just talking about the top row? I'd sew the sashing to those blocks individually too, so they have sashing on 3 sides each, and then sew them together. A 4th piece of sashing on the last block of the row (for the outside). If they start going together OK and get harder to match the further you go, I'd sew them into sub sections (like 4 or 9 blocks in a square) and then sew those together. If it's all in long rows already, and you really don't want to take it apart, you might try starting in the MIDDLE of a row and sewing toward the outside. Then flipping it over and doing the same from the middle to the other end. You could do lots of pinning and/or use a walking foot for even feed. If it's any consolation, I feel you pain. I've often been so excited about my blocks, and then when I get to putting them together, it fights me every stitch of the way. You at least took time to square them up. I prefer to just complain at that point. ;-) As I sew these things together I OFTEN find myself letting out and taking in seams in the sashing to make it fit with the blocks. Once it's all together though, it doesn't seem so noticeable. Good luck. We want pics!!!

I had an appt in the neighboring town today and there's a thrift store there called Saint Vincent-De-Paul dirt cheap prices..I found a thingy, actually I don't know what it is. I haven't measured it but I'd say its a queen size sheet or fancy bed cover of some sort its for sure 100% cotton....soon as its out of the dryer I'll take a pic..Amiee wanted it..50 cents..lol...and a Rowenta steam iron 1 dollar..they say it works, I haven't tried it yet. And a very pretty set of china service for 12 complete with 2 serving bowls, creamer, sugar and gravy boat..all are in mint condition. Actually each piece was wrapped in a clean white bounty paper towel and you can tell they came from a clean home and never went thru a dishwasher. 3 dollars for the full set..I'm going to flip this set..I just seen the same set on ebay or etsy for 275..so I spent 4.75 thrifting lol

Nidnay.....do NOT put water in the iron. Put water on the cloth. Iron set to regular, not steam. All the steam will be coming from the cloth. Water in the iron is prone to rusting and/or squirting ugly stuff on your precious garments. Also, if you use a towel as your "cloth", use a tea towel, not a fluffy towel. The goal here is FLAT. And, on no account, use your favorite towels. This process is going to destroy the "cloth", by bleeding, burning, staining, mashing..... That's why you use a cotton rag to do the job.