Perfect for Pressing

There are a lot of things happening in my world right now...I am model stitching new releases, I am sewing up a storm (some commissioned work, some personal pieces, and some Etsy items), I am working on a fancy new look for my BRD website, and I am hammering out several large deadlines.

This past weekend, I was quite busy in my studio, working on several sewing projects...including a birthday gift for a dear friend. She is a dog lover, just like me, so I used some fun cotton quilting prints to make her a pincushion. The top is a broken dishes quilt block using Max & Whiskers by BasicGrey for Moda...and the bottom is an adorable dog bone print (Man's Best Friend designed for Exclusively Quilters). I pinned on a wool felt heart and added some decorative pins for a special touch...just a small surprise to brighten her birthday!

My old iron...

But, there is a little more to the story...after getting all the shapes cut for the pincushion and the initial piecing done, I went to my trusty old Oliso TG800 iron to do a little pressing...and when I turned it on, nothing happened...it had completely died. Now, I can't say that I am surprised, as Travis had bought me this iron in early 2006 and I pretty much have it running for hours every single day - I am not sure what the average life of an iron is, but after using this one daily for 8 years, I feel like it held up REALLY well - I'm mean, let's face it, I am extemely hard on an iron! I had known for a couple months that it was on it's last leg, as it was acting a little quirky, but I was pretty much devastated when it refused to turn on. My husband happened to be out running errands and I called and asked him to pick me up a cheap iron, just to get by until I had a chance to get a new Oliso. Well, to my surprise, he returned home with a new Oliso Pro (TG1600) - woohoo! - a newer fancier model designed for quilters and sewers - I was so excited - giddy, really...I know, I know, it's only an iron, but this is a top-of the-line iron for a quilter and when you use it daily, all the extra perks with this model make a HUGE difference. He called it my early birthday gift...and although I think birthday gifts should be "pretty, not practical", I will happily accept this one! Right away, I could see improvements and changes...like a longer cord - my old model had an 8' cord, but the new one has a 12' cord - so much better! Another thing I am happy about - the stay on time is quite a bit longer - my older iron shut-off after 8 minutes of no use...the new one shuts-off after 30 minutes of no use - so much better when quilting! I know an iron is really personal preference and there are good and bad reviews about every single model out there - but after the great experience I had with my first Oliso, I am just thrilled to have a new one...and I am hoping it will last at least 8 years (or more!)...

So with my fancy new yellow iron heated up and ready to go, I am off to press a pile of quilt blocks with a big smile on my face...it is truly the little things that bring me happiness!