I’m thinking that in January I’d like to start a block of the month quilt, where each block represents a different month. Kind of like that 3D Sunbonnet Sue quilt I showed a couple posts back from the quilt show. Does anyone know of any quilt patterns like that?
Yesterday I decided to finally bite the bullet and get a new iron. I didn’t want to drive all the way out to JoAnn’s, so I went to Walmart and Bed Bath and Beyond. I was underwhelmed at the selection. I didn’t like any of them, but I really needed one, so I just got the cheapest one they had to tide me over until I find the one I really want.
I got a Shark Versatile for $15. It’s the one on the left. The dark blue one on the right is my old one, and I had no idea how small it was until I got the new one home. The Shark is also much heavier, and has a couple more feet of length on the power cord, which I like. I didn’t think I was asking too much when I went looking. I want one that gets really hot, and doesn’t have auto off. If I have to have auto off, I want something really long, like an hour. Of all the irons I saw yesterday, every single one had auto off of 8 or 15 minutes. All the Rowenta’s cut off at 8 minutes. 8 minutes?! My iron would never be hot when I needed it. I leave my iron on for hours at a time because I sew some, then iron some, then sew some, and iron some. I can’t imagine how frustrating it would be to have my iron cut off and then have to wait for it to reheat every time I needed it. My old one didn’t have auto off at all. I just unplugged it when I was done. I understand that it’s a safety feature, but seriously. Do they make them with long or no auto off anymore?
The soleplate on the new one is much bigger, which I think I’ll like. I’ve heard a non-stick soleplate is good, but I’ve never had a problem with stainless steel. I never use steam so I don’t care about all the steam bells and whistles. I don’t need all that fancy digital stuff they have now. I just want it to get really hot and not cut off on me. Is that too much to ask?
Moving on, I got my red and aqua swap blocks back in the mail yesterday. I’m excited to get started on them, but I think I need to finish up a few other projects before I dive into these.
AND, look at this fantastic fabric I got in the mail…
It looks a lot like my own work table. There’s the buttons spread around, the Olfa rotary cutter. And don’t forget the seam ripper, it’s in there too. This would be a good “I Spy” picture. I got this print on etsy at Lucky Kaeru Fabrics. If you click on the picture it should get bigger, and you can see all the details better.
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That sewing room fabric is amazingly realistic. I think I’d be trying to pick up the rotary cutter or safety pins without realizing it.
My iron cuts off after 15 minutes but I just shake it and it heat backs up fairly quickly. Have you ever watched your electric meter when the iron is on? It is an energy hog!! At least mine have always been.
I’ve never bought an iron that cost more than $20.00 cause all those features intimidate me. I mainly use it for sewing with a shirt pressing about 2 to 3 times a year when the boys pull their dress shirts out for some activity or other. I’ve found that irons generally last me about 5 years before they just quit.
Wow…what a great fabric…I actually couldn’t figure it out at first.
As far as an iron…I kinda feel ‘bigger is NOT better’. My Panasonic recently broke and instead of buying one…I had the freebie cordless from Oreck vacumns…but I use it with the cord. The darn thing is so heavy…and the plate is BIG that I find it hard to press small seams…all I require is STEAM…light weight and prefer the smaller plate…OH and the teflon coating is wonderful…for me…cause the stainless would always get stained if I used starch.
Anyway, that’s my 2 cents for today!
I’m with Teresa – just buy the cheap irons. I have an expensive one, because I thought it would be better than a less expensive one. No, I hate it because it doesn’t get hot enough and it shuts off too soon. I usually resort to using my ancient travel iron which doesn’t shut off. I also like the smaller travel one for working with small pieces.
I love the red and aqua! And, that sewing room fabric! Wow! It took me a little while to realize those notions weren’t real.
I have an iron that doesn’t shut off at all, but I always plug it out myself after I used it. Just like Teresa says: Irons use a terrible lot of energy, and because of the costs and the thought about using energy sparely (is that a word?). I iron everything, so use it a lot, not only during sewing, and I always plug it out. I have to say I don’t mind waiting a little while for it to heat up again. It does take only a few seconds and besides that, I kind of like those moments during sewing. A moment of stepping back, looking at what I did so far and gathering my thoughts again.
Fun to see how everyone is different in there sewing and ironing style
i just love that fabric – may have to pop over to etsy!
xx
Mine has an auto off, but it is like it goes in to “hold”. I just tip it and it heats back up fairly quickly. I have just gotten used to taking a quick break to cut apart the pieces that are chained together, change laundry, get more ice in my water, use the bathroom, or whatever. I like my teflon base to keep the wonder-under from sticking when I use it.
I am glad to hear that you finally found an iron that will work for you. That is the most important part.
I don’t have any quilt patterns that have a different block for every month. I’d try a google thing if no one else has any ideas.
Cath
Interesting comments on irons… I’ll chime in and say that my favorite iron is one that we got as a wedding present–almost 33 years ago! It’s a plain old GE, and it does not have auto turn off. I bought an Oliso a couple years ago and I really like it, but for ironing fabrics and quilting, not clothing (cuz it’s too heavy). The auto turnoff irons do seem to re-heat fairly quickly. It’s not like they go totally cold. Good luck. You might find an older, non auto turnoff iron at a garage sale, although you wouldn’t know how much of a disaster it is that they are getting rid of it. At least it would be cheap!
Pat Sloan has a really cute block of the month called Folk Art America that I enjoyed doing and enjoy having.
http://patsloan.biz/foldartamerica.aspx
My old iron too gave up the ghost and I too was underwhelmed by what’s out there. I ended up with a cheapie (just like you!) to tide me over only my cheapie has the teflon sole plate. Don’t do it! I hate the teflon. It is not smoother and does not glide. But it was only a $9 iron so not much lost.