April News

Having 2 meetings canceled this Winter means that we have a lot of catching up to do so here's a quick reminder of things happening this month.

Sewing Days are this weekend. We will be at the Montpelier Community Center (that's what Hanover Parks and Rec is now calling our  meeting building) all day Friday and Saturday. Come sew with us one or both days.

The April meeting is Tuesday the 11th:

- the program is a trunk show by Margaret Griffiths
- membership dues are due
- there are several quilted veterans quilts in the cabinet that need volunteers to bind and label
- bring back your finished house blocks
- There's still time to consider participating in the challenge. Requirements for the first challenge are:

1. Piece a background and place an image (not abstract) on the background using any technique
2. Size to be no smaller than 8" x 8" and no larger than 24" x 36"
3. Deadline is the May meeting. More challenges on the way and you can jump in and out at any time.
4. As an incentive,, Marcy spoke to the Montpelier Center for the Arts about the idea of a "Fiber Arts Show" next year where our challenges could be displayed. They were very enthusiastic!

See you Tuesday night.....or Friday or Saturday!

Irons

Last May I took a brand new Shark iron out of the box. It heated up fine, but once it went into auto shut-off mode, the only way to get it to heat up again, was to unplug it and plug it in again. I contacted customer service and they immediately sent me a replacement iron.

That Shark iron lasted until last month. After reading on-line reviews I ordered a Black & Decker iron which was delivered on March 18. I wanted to like that iron, I really did, but it just wasn't for me. It didn't get hot enough and it didn't put out much steam. I don't always use steam, but when I do I want it to give a good amount of steam - this one didn't, so I am returning it.  

CSQ recently replaced one of our irons with a Rowenta so I read reviews about Rowenta's and decided to get the Rowenta Model #5197. 

Pictured below are the two irons: The Black & Decker on the left and the Rowenta on the right.

 

The next picture shows why the B&D didn't put out much steam.

When I compared the irons, I knew why the B&D didn't put out much steam - it only has 18 actual holes, all those other places on the bottom of the iron are dimples, that do nothing!  The Rowenta clearly stated that it has 400 holes and delivers lots of steam. (It is favored by the Fashion Industry because of the high amount of steam). The thing that will really make a difference, (I'm hoping) is the Rowenta does NOT have auto shut-off.

 

 

COMPARISON OF BLACK & DECKER and ROWENTA:

 

1500 watts                                  1725 watts

18 steam holes                            400 steam holes

Made in China                             Made in Germany

Two-year warranty                       Two-year warranty

3-way-auto shutoff                       No auto shutoff

10 ft cord                                     8 ft cord

Price $24.96                                Price $59.95 (on sale)

 

I am going to follow the manufacturer's directions and fill the water tank BEFORE plugging it in, and try to always empty it at the end of the day. (I use an iron 2-4 hours each day).

 

The Rowenta says it heats up in one minute and the Black & Decker seemed to take forever, and then it shuts off in 8 minutes!

 

One of the biggest problems with steam irons seems to be leaking - we all know about leakers. I think the leaking occurs because the iron goes into auto shut-off mode, and starts to cool down just about the time we went to press with it, and the water isn't hot enough for steam, so it dribbles out and makes us very unhappy.

 

I hope one year from now I am still using this iron and loving it.

 

Please leave your comments below, especially if you have an iron you really recommend or have additional thoughts on this topic.

 

Thanks for listening to me, now I'm going to plug that iron in and take it for a test drive. Becky