Iron Stories

So. My iron stopped steaming when I pushed the burst of steam thing. And it was leaking sometimes and it was really annoying. Mostly it was the no steam that pushed me to buy a new one.

But first, there is more to the story (What you say? How could anything be more exciting than needing a new iron? Slow down there Nellie!)

Upon mentioning this to my friend, and later to the saleswoman at Macy's, both told me that my old iron (note, it is maybe 2 years old at most) probably was clogged because I didn't use distilled water (though I did use filtered water).

On my way home from Macy's with my new iron, I stop at Target and buy 2 gallons of distilled water. I get home and open my new Rowenta (BTW, how geeky is this that I am so excited to finally own a Rowenta! My old iron was a Sunbeam) and start reading the manual.

Not once, not twice, not three times (I got tired of reading), in the manual DO NOT USE DISTILLED WATER, Rowenta irons are made to use with tap water. Over and over again.

But wait, THERE'S MORE!

I find the manual to my Sunbeam, which doesn't ever mention what kind of water but does state that it has an anti-calcium (i.e. hard water) filter built into it. And, it says to occasionally flush the iron with water and a tsp of salt.

Perhaps I could have just cleaned it out?

Oh no. Nobody is taking my Rowenta away now. (BTW, I bought this model based on a consumer report website)

P.S. It was on sale at Macy's (though I notice everyone has it at that price, I think it's a marketing gimmick) AND I got another 10% off, some special thing they had at Macy's.

New Fabric from FANCY TIGER

I am obsessed with fabric. I admit it. I was SUPER excited when a friend asked me to make her a quilt because I need to buy fabric!!! Seriously though, I did look at my stash but decided nothing quite fit what she wanted.

Anyway... I was working from home and took my lunch break to drive across town to visit Amber, Jaime and the other Fancy Tigerans, (including Bronwyn, the pup) and also showed them my newest quilt since I bought most of the fabrics from them.

I have loved the Monaluna fabrics all along and the Monaco is to die for, especially in person. It's organic but it also just has the greatest hand, it's very crisp and the fibers are tightly woven I think.


So then when I got home, I looked through my stash to see what solids might coordinate and lo and behold, look what matches perfectly!


Oh, and it was about time I bought this Nani Iro fabric. I've been lusting after it for awhile and it is still in the store, I can't believe it! So here it is, living in my home.

Big Quilt Finished!

I have made larger quilts but this is the first larger quilt I have free-motion quilted on my machine. I see now why they invented the long-arm! My back was aching after hours of sitting there manipulating the fabric but it was worth it, I love the finished product!



I used a Kaffee Fassett pattern from a book but used orange and green fabrics to match our very green bedroom walls. I used some of my stash but also used an excuse of 'needing' to shop for just few more.

The back is all one color and I used a wide white muslin so I didn't have to piece anything. Brilliant if I don't say so myself.



After photographing outside, I took an action shot:

Knit....

Now that winter is coming, I love knitted things like wool sweaters from Irish fisherman, and the like. I also love all things Nordic, wooly, cold and snowy. So when I saw this fabric, GASP, it was for me! Of course, I don't "need" any more fabric so I just got one yard of each. Not sure what I will make with it but think it would be great in a quilt square.



The company that sells it is Connecting Threads. They are SUPER reasonable price-wise and they use cotton that is grown in the U.S. which is nice for our economy. Oh and they have super cotton threads, too. They don't sell anywhere but on their website so scurry on over there and check it out while I knit me something.

Quilt Design Wall Wannabe

So I've been wanting make my own quilt wall for awhile now, then I saw Heather's post about her quilt wall and every time I went into Home Depot, I forgot what that pink board was called. Also, I didn't know if I would be able to find room for such a big 'wall' in my house.



SO, yesterday I was at Hobby Lobby and saw these big pieces of foamcore, Aha moment. Measuring 32 x 40 inches, the perfect size for my sewing area!

I brought it up, cut a piece of quilt batting to fit it and used a regular stapler to attach it to the board. I had to remove some framed art on the wall but I then just hammered the board directly into the drywall, oops. Hey, nice thing about owning your own home, you can do whatever you want.

I can actually stand pretty far away from it as well, the room is very long. I put my quilt bee squares up to try it out, pretty groovy!

Fabric Geekery: Liberty of London and Little Folks Voile

Yesterday I made a substantial investment. I purchased two yards of Liberty of London cotton lawn from my favorite local shop; Fancy Tiger but YIKERS, it's pricey! Worth a trip across the pond just to get a reasonable price.

The design I picked is called Yoshie, in charcoal. It also is sold in a cherry red color. It was designed by graphic designer Yoshie Watanabe.



Anyway, brought it home and pre-washed it, along with my Anna Maria Horner Little Folks voile yardage, which has such a similar hand. The Liberty is more densely woven and of course, the designs are iconic, though the one I bought yesterday is modern. But the weight of the fabric is so similar. I really LOVE the AMH voile and hope she and other designers continue to use it.

It washes so well, makes me want to only use these high thread count fabrics in the future. Normally when I wash quilting cotton, I have to remove it from the dryer and spend a substantial amount of time pulling the fabric apart that have become intwined in one another due to the frayed edges. Yes, I know you can pink the raw edges to avoid this but I'm too lazy. Anyway, I spend a long time cutting off the frays before drying it so they don't get tangled up again in the dryer. The Liberty and voile fabrics hardly fray at all, they are a dream to wash.

And on the topic of Liberty fabrics.... I made my first Liberty blouse back in the 80s when I lived in St. Louis. I still remember picking out the expensive fabric off a roll at a fabric shop that sold high end fabrics. I have no idea where the shirt is now but I used the scraps in a quilt and took a photo. It wasn't as tightly woven as the Tana lawn, you can kind of see that from the photo:



And lastly, I actually found a scrap of Liberty of London fabric at at thrift shop once! I used it to decorate a linen pillow cover. Now if I could only find an entire roll at the thrift shop, that would be nice. Stranger things have happened, but usually when you're not expecting them.

Rooftops Fabric Alteration

Oh my. I hit a record number of views and comments on this teeny weeny project I started for the {Urban} HOME Goods Swap! I feel like the credit really should go more to Lara Cameron of Ink and Spindle because she created the fabric, I just sewed on bits of color. (and um, it's on SALE) In my next life, I think I will come back as an Australian fabric designer, they turn out the most amazing designs!