June Blocks and Iron Drama
This month for do. Good Stitches Becky asked us to make Bell Wave blocks. She wanted us to each choose a color and then make 2 blocks in that color, one with a lighter value and one with a darker value. I chose yellow. This should be a really fun quilt.
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In addition to working on these I have been taking the kids to swimming lessons, going to the fair, and somehow being entirely more busy than I was during the school year. I thought this was supposed to be summer vacation?
I have also been struggling to find a replacement iron after I dropped my Singer Expert Finish onto the ground. It did not survive.
I liked the Singer iron okay, but didn't love it so I have wanted to replace it with something better. After some suggestions on Instagram I bought an Oliso which I really liked until it stopped working after 5 minutes. I would consider trying this iron again since so many people seem to love it, but it's an expensive iron for 5 minutes of work!
Next I tried a Rowenta which I bought for $70 at Costco. I really liked this iron for about a week, even though it was a little too heavy, but it chose a really unfortunate time to start spitting and I am not interested in dealing with that issue.
So now I have placed an order for a much less expensive Black and Decker iron which has very good reviews. Hopefully the third time's the charm!
Do you have an iron you love? I may be needing another suggestion soon!
That B&D is the same one I've had for 7 years, it was a wedding gift. I hope yours lasts at least that long!
ReplyDeleteI have the B&D iron as a backup iron and I like it. Always works. What I love is my Rowenta pressure steam station. Have read a lot of good/bad reviews. Quality control at Rowenta seems to be the problem, not the iron itself. This system is fantastic. Have had mine for a year and no problems. Pricey: $139 at Bed,Bath, and Beyond with a coupon but if it lasts two years the cost would be about the same as any other iron. I love the fact that this iron does not turn off, always ready to press, and the amount of steam is incredible. I have the older model which needs to cool before you can refill it, but have never run out of steam even after a day of pressing.
ReplyDeleteI have experiences some iron woes this year as well. My old reliable proctor silex iron died after a fall. In panicked desperation I bought an off brand iron from Walgreens. I hate that iron. So I did a ton of research and finally decided to try the a Shark GI468 iron (which happened to be on sale at the time.) I love it! I have had the Shark for about 3 months and am really happy with it. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteIron manufacturers should start paying attention to what is said about them in the virtual marketplace. I have read so many negative posts in the past year about expensive, supposed high quality irons that I see a definite trend! I agree with the statement that quality control seems to be a factor. Same iron, same price point, same time purchased, one person says it is wonderful, the other person says how it died prematurely. This pertains to Oliso and Rowenta. Not good chatter to have out there.
ReplyDeleteI have used the Black and Decker iron for a year now, after reading the good Amazon reviews, too. At the same time I also bought the "Kennedy Home Collection" ironing board cover. Ironing became less "enemy" more "frenemy" with these two additions to my sewing room. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteI sure hope you don't need a new iron anytime soon! I have a T-Fal Ultraglide Diffusion that I've been using for about a year and I really like it.
ReplyDeleteI have a Panasonic iron that I love. It has auto shut off, a cord reel and a slightly curved soleplate so there are no creases at the edges. I've used it for 4 years with no problems whatsoever. However, I'm a dry ironer. No water in the iron - I use a spray bottle. This is where the problems always occur.
ReplyDeleteRosemary B here
ReplyDeleteI don't use the steam setting ever.
I hate spitting
I have a Rowenta I got from Bed Bath and Beyond
I think it was about $70.
It's okay
I gets nice and hot and turns off when I forget whew I am glad for that
I love your blocks. Yellow is nice!
I use a Panasonic cordless iron. I used it with steam at first and then started dry ironing and I don't remember why. The steam wasn't a problem and it does press better with it than using a spray bottle. This iron doesn't get as hot as some but I can forgive almost anything if I don't have to fight with the cord. I really hate cords.
ReplyDeleteI just bought a Sunbeam for less than $20. I've never owned an iron that doesn't start leaking at some point, so I can't see spending a lot on one anymore.
ReplyDeletelovely blocks. Hope your iron drama will end well with a new iron. I also had Oliso, it worked for about 1\2 a year and then suddenly started burning everything in sight :(
ReplyDeleteI have an old fashioned dry iron, just like one my mother taught me to iron with when I was four. I love to iron still. You can get it online at Home Depot or the Vermont country store for about $30.00. I have had it for four years now. I have four other irons in the closet that I hate, including a $130.00 Rowenta. I can iron better with my finger ......
ReplyDeleteI LOVE my Sunbeam Steam Master! I think my Mom got it for me from JoAnns a number of years ago. Recently, I had an issue with the cord and a loose wire so I bought a new iron at WalMart (not knowing the huge differences there could be in irons) and it was horrible! It just wasn't hot enough to get to get those nice flat pressed seams. So my husband fixed the cord on my Sunbeam (he's so handy that way) and I'm in happy iron land again.
ReplyDeleteI just won a Reliable iron. It too is an expensive iron. I have fibromyalgia and find the iron heavy for me. On the other hand, it sure makes pressing very nice. I haven't used steam yet. The reviews say it does not leak, etc. I can tell you that I entered my first two entries in my guild's quilt show in early June. A lady who is now 91 make a double wedding ring quilt 2 years ago for me and my now deceased husband. She made it in 3 weeks on a treadle sewing machine - king size!!!! I did the binding and had it professionally quilted. She won an Honorable Mention!! I used my new iron to press each of them to get them ready for the show. I received "Very Good" on each quilt for being show ready - pressed, no animal hairs, etc. So, I was elated. I was thrilled because I have two cats and I laid a clean sheet under my ironing board to cover the possible hair of any kind on the carpet and used a large lint roller on them. As I said I find it heavy and my arm muscles are weak and I can still use it and it does a great job. I haven't tried it yet - there is a feature of this particular model that you can turn off the auto shutoff. Sometimes I don't get to pressing on the iron's timeframe. If you have any questions, please let me know and I hope the third time is the charm.
ReplyDeleteIrons? My personal rule is cheap is best. That way I can replace it whenever it dies and dies they do. I have however paid for a dimple non-steam no holes simple good heat no shut off iron from the Vermont General Store. NAYY PS I use a spray bottle when steam is needed. It works for me and the iron is still going strong.
ReplyDeleteI'm still using the $10 iron I bought at Heck's when I was in college in the mid-80s. It works fine. It's survived several moves, all kinds of rough handling, and my daughter has dropped it a couple of times. I've made tons of quilts, including several first-place winners and one Best of Show. Who needs an expensive iron?
ReplyDeleteI'm SUPER happy with the Sunbeam steam master from Costco! It's $30 and works great. I bought 4 of them for our shop classroom too. I have used the steam but usually I use Best Press or Flatter (even half best press and half water works great. :)
ReplyDeleteIrons suck. That is all.
ReplyDeleteI have a Black & Decker something-or-other that is great! I think it was about $70 regular price but I got it half price. It's heavy, hot, and just works really well. Hopefully you'll do well with yours.
ReplyDeleteBee blocks are lovely. Looks like a fun design.
I have ongoing iron issues. I'm on my 3rd rowenta and so far so good. Loved the previous tho eventually they started spitting. I really don't have time or energy to tend to an iron's special needs. I just want it good and hot, not too heavy, and I really do use steam. I tend to drop them - ? - so I assume for one reason or another this will be a constant cycle for me.... ;-/ I may try B&D next time!
ReplyDeleteLove my Black and Decker. It's my second one in about 20 yrs. Love it.:)
ReplyDeleteI have a cheap Sunbeam, it's lasted for 3 years with no issues and it was well rated from consumer reports (my mom did the research!). I think the cheaper the better, they get dropped to much for me to get something expensive.
ReplyDelete