I have also given up on steam irons and finally bought the dry iron from Vermont Country Store. I often use Best Press so this does the trick. And it does not turn itself off, which can be good or bad. LOL I have 3 other irons, all steam irons, and all leak. My favorite 'cheap' iron is a Black and Decker, but even that started to leak too.

FWIW, quite a few well known quilters (Pat Sloan, Judy Laquadara and others) do love the Digital Velocity. It is not cheap, but supposedly does not leak. And it has an override of the turn off timer, so you can set it to stay on if you'd like. I have never used one, but have read good reviews of these from quilters online.

Thanks, Rita! Funny thing, though, this quilt guild has quilt hangers with fabric at the tops of the frames, so they pin the quilts up for shows and the fair. So it has no sleeve! I finally got the rod up in quilt room last weekend, and now have to sew on a sleeve. A 110" sleeve! In 4 parts, because of the size of the quilt and brackets needed to hold up the rod. I think sewing on sleeves is my least favorite thing to do on a quilt.

Dawn
In beautiful Northwest Montana

Dawn, what's that lovely looking quilt behind you? I kept meaning to ask and kept forgetting

Don't answer that, I just found the post where you said that you won it in a raffle and it's a Judy Neimeyer quilt. It looks really lovely. Lucky you.

No, I don't iron plush towels, or much of anything else either, except quilt fabric. I have an older steam iron that I use if I absolutely have to. I do paper piece a lot, though, and really like the fairly sharp point on the Vermont iron and the fact that it gets "hotter"(is that a word?!) than my steam iron.

I have bought expensive and cheap irons and I do not notice a difference. The steam is still contrary and only comes out when it wants to - usually when I stand it upright again after pressing something As for ironing towels? Well I find that when I have finished ironing all my lingerie, socks, nylons, my husbands 'smalls' and socks, all my table cloths and napkins and the drapes well I just don't have the time to worry about towels, or shirts or bed linen or .....please feel free to add something yourself When I bought my latest travel iron my sons only comment was "for somebody who doesn't iron anything you sure buy a lot of irons"!

I've decided that I will just be going through irons frequently. I figure that my iron is turned on as long in a year as a non-quilter's iron will be on in a lifetime, so that's just a part of my quilting expenses. I really like using steam rather than a dry iron with a spray bottle, so I'll just keep going as I have. Of course, if I hear that someone has found the perfect steam iron, I'll be getting one of those for myself immediately! To try to take some of the stress off of my steam iron, I also keep my old leaky steam iron and just use that one for dry applications, never putting water in the old iron. That way I have a dry iron for things like paper-piecing and applique and can use the newer iron (that might leak a little when it's on its last legs) whenever water is okay. And I watch for sales on irons so I can buy a new iron at a cheaper price before it becomes critical. Right now, I have a "digital" iron that I bought on sale at Joann's waiting in the wings for my Oliso to finish dying before I break it out. The new iron claims to last longer because it automatically monitors the steam, only turning that on when the iron has become hot enough and things like that. But I won't know how good it really is until my Oliso dies.....

Nancy

bar7700 wrote:
Looks good, but two things came to mind. While reading about it I was wondering how many of you actually "iron your plush towels" as stated? :shock: (Or any towels, for that matter!) And, what happens when I want to use Steam-A-Seam? My iron was cheap and I got what I paid for! It has a mind of it's own and steams only when it feels like it, and not when I want it to. So, I will be watching this thread, too!

Dawn
In beautiful Norhtwest Montana

Barbara's recommendation from Vermont Country Store is the iron I've used for the last three years. It is wonderful, gets very hot, and because there are no steam holes, doesn't mark the fabric. Great product and not expensive.

Dry Iron and a squirt bottle full of water is the answer.

http://www.vermontcountrystore.com/store/jump/productDetail/For_The_Home/Household_Solutions/Laundry_&_Storage/Dry_Iron/42277;jsessionid=BA84F472D61C4C8140292FA892621EF4.vcs-app-02-p-app2

Or you could do what Ricky suggested. He says that all irons become incontinent so the thing to do is not to use the steam but have a spritzer bottle beside the iron and use as and when necessary. I go through irons at a ridiculous rate because I can have them on for long periods of time while I am piecing. Yesterday I bought the dinkiest little travel iron that has a jet steam button so most of the time it is dry except when you press the button. It was only €11 but I really like it because it is small, has a folding handle and that shot of steam is just perfect.

bean53 wrote:

Read your instructions. When I put even just a little too much water in mine it leaks too, so I pour out whatever water is left and I carefully measure to refill.

Has anyone found an iron that doesn't leak? I am so frustrated - both my Rowenta and my Eliso leak - it's maddening.