I have a long history with irons. I can still remember my first iron, it was a “toy” and came with a little ironing board. I say toy which is what it was meant to be, but it actually plugged into the wall and got warm. It didn’t stick around long as I recall. I was probably around 6 at the time.
Later, when I was young and had my first apartment, I purchased my first real iron. It was heavy and had great steam, though in the end the temperature settings we not reliable.
That iron was replaced with a newer one for my sewing and over the years, I made do with different irons for my quilting and sewing…and occasional clothing etc…
Around 10 years or so ago, I began using an Oliso iron, which I still love and also Reliable irons which I also really love! Some how I now have a collection of Irons that I love that should see me through my quilting career and on…
I use a lot of steam especially when I am pressing quilt backings (which I always do before loading onto the Longarm) … so an iron that has dependable steam is important to me.
I hesitate to say this but I haven’t had issues with these irons with leaks etc… I will tell you that I am a manual reader and am careful to follow the instructions for my tools. So when the manual says use distilled water I use distilled… still reading manuals some irons may call for tap or bottled water. I would say that hard water won’t be your irons friend.
I hear a lot from people who don’t like their irons due to leaking issues, so I am sharing a youtube by Karen Brown of Just Get it Done Quilting as a springboard of information. I really don’t think investing in the higher end irons is necessary but I do believe in learning how to use what you have will give you the best results.
I really like having a small iron not only for retreats or travel but for making pouches and bags the smaller ones come in really handy.
Many years ago I was at Fabricland and spotted a table of highly discounted items and this was one of them and was $5. I bought one thinking how could I go wrong… what a great little iron it’s turned out to be!
So one last thing about my irons and on my to do list… I find Minki Kim’s you tube videos relaxing to watch and so inspiring!
Wendy’s Quilting and Life 