New Iron

Here is my newest purchase....a Reliable Velocity Iron.

I have gotten so frustrated with all of the irons I have purchased the last few years.  Seams like they don't last long before they die or else they start spitting or leaking water spots all over anything I want to press.  Years ago I purchased an expensive Rowenta Iron which I loved at first but the temperature dial came off after a few months so I sent it in to be fixed...cost over $10 for shipping each way.  When the iron arrived home it worked for a couple of days then the new dial fell off.  I just couldn't see sending it in again when it was so pricey.  The next Rowenta iron was less expensive but started spitting dirty water a few months after I got it so gave it up.  These irons were not cheap either which was so disappointing.  I followed the guidelines on the type of water to use in them too so know that wasn't the problem.

I decided after those two experiences with expensive irons I would just buy cheap, and I mean cheap irons. I would get them at around $10-$12 and if they started spitting in a year or so I wouldn't feel bad. Some even leaked water which wasn't good either.

This latest iron I have had for a while is a Shark and it has been pretty good but after reading Judy Laquidara's Patchwork Times blog on this Reliable Velocity iron I decided to purchase one for myself. It is not an inexpensive iron but liked the idea of a steam generator so the water can't drip out the holes. So far I love it, love it, LOVE IT!

Last night I ironed a 100% cotton shirt that John has that I just hate. It is always a wrinkled mess and hard to iron every time it is laundered. I have had to resort to starch to get the wrinkles out because when I say wrinkled I mean wrinkles that are almost set into the fabric. I used this iron and no starch and it was perfect. I didn't have to go over and over areas to get the wrinkles out either.

The iron is a little heavy but if it does the job I will not mind. As you can see from the photos the sole of the iron is larger than the Shark iron too. It is taller because of the steam generator also.
Here is the information that was on the side of the box in case you are interested. I will let you know if this iron konks out on me or if I have problems but think I am finally going to love my iron.

Have a great day!
Lynn

Little Autumn Mums

Couldn't get the binding done yesterday so decided to show the quilt with the shading done with out it's binding.  The shading I did is pretty subtle but it makes the designs show and the purple flower is a little better than before.   I love Frieda Anderson's hand dyed fabrics that we got as part of the class fee for this wallhanging.  The shadings of one color into another are just beautiful.

Happy Quilting,
Lynn

Shaded Flowers

I used the Prismacolor colored pencils on the three flowers too. I figured if I used them on the purple one I had better use them on the other two a little two or they might look funny. Here is what they look like now and the way they looked before. New photos with the shading done are on the right.  The pink and teal don't have much change but in person they look a little more shaded on the tips. The lighting was a little different on the photos too so it really isn't a very good comparison.  I used a light pencil and shaded a little to the inside of the petals too.  As you can see the purple one has the biggest change.  Not sure this is the final look but sure is better than the way they were at first.

Now on to the binding.
Happy Quilting,
Lynn

Uh, Oh...Designs Don't Show!

What I was afraid of has come true...the vine and leaf designs do not show with the busy bubble quilting surrounding them. The threads are too close to the same value and the patterns I used are busy in the background and the stem and leaves so what I get is mush!

I decided to go over all the quilting lines with a heavier green thread and hoped that would help...not too much difference with it either.  The photo on the right is after I quilted with the new green thread...see it still looks like mush.

To save this quilt this called for a new technique... for me anyway. I got out my Prismacolor colored pencils and started shading the edges of the quilted leaves and stems....what a difference it has made.  I blended them with my finger and an eraser.

I used several shades of green and yellow plus a little red on the darker edge of the leaves and stems. They don't pop off the quilt but you can see them - kind of shadow like.

Since this quilt will not ever be washed I am not going to worry about setting the pencils with some kind of medium. Don't have anything on hand that would work anyway.

I really like the way it turned out.  Now I can see the quilted vine and leaves and the shading is just the right amount to make them show up.  Think I will try them on the flowers a bit too and maybe I can get that purple one to show up more. 

Happy Quilting,
Lynn