Working small and irons

Here is where all the trimmings from the last post came from.  These little guys are 2″ squares which, of course, means they finish at 1 1/2″.  That is quite small for me.  Especially as there are sixteen of them in one block.  Lots of seams.

I’m having a bit of trouble getting them to press flat.  My iron starting leaking water like a tap a few weeks ago, so I have been using it dry and using a spray bottle to add a little “steam”.  It isn’t working quite as well as the steam did.  I added a bit of starch yesterday and that seemed to help a little more.

I may have to get used to the idea that buying a new iron every six months or so is just part of being such a constant quilter.  The directions for this one said to empty the water out of it every time you finish using it.  As someone who uses an iron every day, sometimes for multiple sessions a day, that is just not going to happen.  It reminds me of when I was looking online for a new ironing board cover.  They rated the covers from light use to heavy use based on how many times a month you iron.  Their idea of heavy use was 8 times a month.  Ha ha!

Someone on an email list I belong to suggested a gravity fed iron.  I hadn’t heard of those.  Apparently they have a separate water tank so water is never stored in the iron.  Something to consider for next time…

4 Comments
  • Marg
    Posted at 19:44h, 23 February Reply

    I never ever empty my iron. I have a Sunbeam with auto cut off, as I'm always forgetting to turn it off. The beeping of the alarm drives me crazy but at least it reminds me that I haven't turned it off. Ive gone through a few irons but that's because I didn't have a great ironing board, the cats would jump onto it, the board would wobble and the iron would fall off and smash. I invested in a better ironing board and haven't had that problem since.

  • Lynne
    Posted at 04:10h, 23 February Reply

    I have an automatic turn off on my iron – I rarely forget to turn it off but it's good to have.

  • Jenna
    Posted at 21:56h, 22 February Reply

    I really like my iron. It's a Sunbeam Steam-Master with Automatic Shut-Off – which is an essential feature in my opinion. With all of the running back and forth between ironing, sewing, and then parenting – I sometimes forget to turn off the iron! I've had it for at least 5 years and it still works great. And yea – I always leave the water in mine because seriously that's crazy talk emptying it out after every use.

  • Jennifer W.
    Posted at 21:18h, 22 February Reply

    For my sewing, I use one of the super super cheap irons. You know..the kind you can pick up anywhere for around 10 bucks. I never put water in mine–just use a spray bottle. Use it constantly. And it's still working just fine after 8 years. The one before that got broken by movers, but it was pretty darn old as well.

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