IRONS

 Quilters have a love/hate relationship with irons. We use one every day we sew, for some of us, that's all day, every day. 

It needs to be hot. It needs to work. It needs to not stick. I need it to shut off automatically so I don't burn my house down.

Until recently, this was my every day iron, Black & Decker Classic. It's heavy, I liked that. It got hot and stayed hot while I was using it and it shut off automatically in case I forgot to turn off the switch to the power cord:

This iron died. Well, actually, it became hellacious. It was working all morning, just fine. I went to use it, a few minutes after the last time I used it, and it was so  HOT it scorched the fabric and melted the thread. The smell of those two things was bad. I immediately unplugged it. It was HOT. 

My husband said the thermostat must have quit. How long had I  had it? I dug out the instruction booklet on which I wrote the date purchased: February 10, 2020, and the price $29.99.  I also bought extra coverage for up to 4 years from the Amazon "protection" company--that cost $3.99. 

I NEVER get 4 years from an iron so it seemed a safe bet the "protection" would be needed. 

It was a simple process to file a claim online. Within less than a minute I received a text saying the $29.99 was being refunded and a return address label was attached. I printed the label, boxed it up, and shipped the dead iron back. They just got it and I'm now waiting for the $29.99. 

In the meantime, I got out my "backup" iron, a Rowenta I never loved but it still works so it gets put to use when an iron dies and I haven't replaced it yet:

My other "go-to" iron I use a lot is this cute little Steamfast. I use it when making circles or bias stems with starch or sizing as it is a breeze to clean the soleplate with a warm washcloth. I have been making lots of circles and stems so I keep it handy:

Time to replace the iron that just died. I figured I liked the Black & Decker Classic, so I would simply "Order it Again". The price now, 3 years later? $43.50. The cost of the "protection"? $8.99. So, no, time for a different iron.

Here is what should be coming in a few days. It's lighter than the Classic and is 1200 watts vs. 1100 watts. It's so cheap, they don't offer "protection", $16.99. 

As long as I get two years from it and it doesn't get super HOT unexpectedly, I'll be happy.

One thing to NOTE: I NEVER put water in an iron. That's the fastest way to kill it. I keep a squirt bottle of water beside the iron when needed for "steam". And Magic Sizing is a favorite. Also Best Press because it smells good. But never water in the iron, no, I just don't do that.

What is your current favorite iron?

Let's quilt.

Barbara