Take #6?

My Christmas present came in the mail a couple of days ago.  I've been eagerly awaiting it's arrival.  It's a new iron, a Digital Velocity V100.  I consider myself sort of a connoisseur of irons.  This is at least my 6th new iron since I've started quilting (which was only 7 or 8 years ago).  It's not that I've picked bad irons.  I've actually bought some wonderful (and expensive) irons over the years.  At one point I had an Oliso iron; you know the one that raises and lowers automatically.  It was a pretty good iron.  Nice steam and easy to use.  It lasted about a year.

Most recently I've been using a Rowenta iron (made in Germany).  It's been a great iron as well.  It's has awesome steam capabilities and is a very, very heavy iron.  Some people might not like that feature, but I personally love the extra weight.  Between that and the steam, I find my seams lie flatter and my quilting is just overall better.  Again this one lasted almost a year before it too started to leak.

I understand that leaking or spitting is a common complaint among iron owners.  I've been careful to use the right kind of water (purified in this case) and to care for it as the directions state.  In my case, it's not the manufacturers fault that mine start leaking.  Actually, this is the real culprit...

David on my sewing machine

He's a 22 lb behemoth who has repeatedly knocked over my ironing board (and hence my iron).  Of course, I can't place all the blame on him.  Some of it belongs to this one...

Jack

As well as this one...

Moses

The only one I can't blame is Sam and that's because she can't jump that high.  My Rowenta still works pretty well, but I can only fill it a third full or it starts pouring water out on my fabric.  So I'm constantly filling it.  It also doesn't seem to stay as hot as it used to.  I considered buying another Rowenta, but read some awesome reviews about the Digital Velocity irons from here and here.

I wouldn't have considered buying another expensive iron if it weren't for the new ironing board I have.  My dear husband built it for me for my last birthday.  In the 7 months I've had it, the cats haven't even come close to knocking it over.  This baby is as steady as a rock.

My 'New' Ironing Board

I'm so confident that it's solved my problem that I've invested in what I hope will be my final iron (or at least for many, many years to come).

Digital Velocity V100 Iron

I bought my iron from Kelly Jackson at I Have A Notion.  I have to stop for a moment and just say what amazing customer service she has.  She matched a cheaper price I found elsewhere, shipped it immediately and included several extras in the package.  She's just an all around pleasure to deal with!

So back to the iron...  I carefully read the instructions before using it.  I knew ahead of time that this one recommended using distilled water (something they say not to use in a Rowenta), so I bought a couple of jugs in preparation.  This iron holds 1.8 cups of water, so much more than any other iron I've ever had.

Water jug for the iron

I didn't have anything in particular to work on, so I made a label for a quilt.  I have to say it was a pleasure to iron with.  My points came out really sharp in no small part due to the pressing.

Winter Wonderland Label

Overall, I'm very impressed with it.  Although not as heavy as my Rowenta, it has enough weight to press seams flat.  It also generates a lot of steam and I love that I didn't have to refill it even once.  Time will tell how it holds up, but so far I'm very happy with my investment.

Until later...

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. 

Hebrews 13:8 (NLT)