Handy Press Mini Iron

This year for Christmas my mom got me a Handy Press Mini Iron from Joann's.  It's really tiny and doesn't use steam.  I liked it for ironing small seams open.  It doesn't get overly hot, so for the larger seams I was working on it was a bit of a pain.  

On the other hand, it was really light.  That's a plus too.  But I found due to it's small surface it took a bit longer.  It also takes longer to heat up.

You may notice the John Deere flannel.  I learned last year during the Bonnie Hunter Mystery Quilt that ironing on flannels helps prevent fabric from stretching.  I was at a friend's house yesterday and I forgot to take my flannel along.  I could tell the difference. 

Just look at how the flannel sticks to the pieces so they can't move.

In comparison, the regular ironing surface....not as straight, not as pulled flat.

The one thing that annoyed me on this iron?  The cord is a bit clunky.  It's okay for small things, but I think my larger mini iron is going to come back out at times too.  My husband asked me, "How many mini irons do you have?"  Well....there's still one more in the basement.  LOL.

I hope you get to quilt today!
Suzy

Leftovers....a Dilemna

So....I have all these triangles left over from Four Dazzlers.  What to do with them?  Well, the first thing is to count how many I have.  I did so.  73.  A nice number to work with.  I doodled some (of course!) and came up with this basic idea:

And then I started pinning and sewing.  Yes, I pin obsessively.  It works for me.  No, you don't have to.  Like I said, it works for ME.  Do what works for YOU.

Here's a tip on cutting apart chain piecing.  I use a seam ripper and use the ball end that way you won't nick your ironing board. 

You can also see a rather obnoxious flannel print.  I put that on top of my ironing board because the pieces stick to it and hold in place really well without distorting.  This is new to me.  It's something I learned during Bonnie Hunter's On Ringo Lake Mystery Quilt this year.  It's fantastic for triangles because they don't warp when ironing!

More on Saturday!

I hope you get to quilt today!
Suzy