Tag: Tools

An iron is critical, so a few months ago when my Oliso stopped working, I had to do something.

I have a backup iron, but it isn’t stellar. Getting water into is a pain, it doesn’t get hot enough, etc., etc. Still, it is fine for when I need to sew and my ‘good’ iron isn’t working.

I did some informal research. I found that a lot of people don’t put water in their irons, but just use a mister. I knew that wasn’t going to work for me (old habits die hard), so I looked at information from people who used water in their irons,

I still have a Reliable** on my list. Mary really recommends it. However, I wasn’t ready to spend $199 on an iron at this time. Eventually, I decided to go with a Tefal**.  One comment I got on it was that the commenter still had the same one she had for 15 years and she put water in it.

I like this iron. It glides very smoothly. It heats up quickly, has good steam and isn’t difficult to put water in.

One thing that really bugs me about irons is that you have to hold the iron at an odd angle to pour water into it. My backup iron is really bad with this ‘feature’. The Oliso was great. The Tefal is in the middle. If I am careful, I don’t have to hold the iron at all to add water.

So here we are. I have had this iron for about a month. Let’s see how fast I destroy it! 😉

**N. B. : Obviously, you should shop at local quilt shops and small businesses. However, if you are too busy or can’t find what you need there, I use Amazon affiliate links and may be paid for your purchase of an item when you click on an item’s link in my post. There is no additional cost to you for clicking or purchasing items I recommend. I appreciate your clicks and purchases as it helps support this blog.

Remember a couple of months ago when my Oliso started blurping black gunk? Well, fortunately, that didn’t happen again, but the switch to turn the steam on and off did break. That meant almost no steam. There was some residual steam from the water in the tank being hot, but no real steam . 🙁

I contacted them again and this time they wanted me to send a video of the problem. I guess this is the era we live in now. I know I sound like an old fogey, but really. My description was good. NO STEAM.

Fortunately, the issue was verified very quickly and I got another new Oliso.

I think I have said that I love that the Olisos don’t stand up, that they sit flat on the ironing board. It isn’t enough to get me to buy another Oliso. I think I have sent four of them back. I didn’t have to pay for the postage, mostly, but it is inconvenient.

Now I have been using the new Oliso and it smells like a new iron. I hope I am not breathing something toxic. 🙁

I bought an ironing board cover** in March 2023 from Amazon. Not even a year later and there is a big hole in it. My Oliso works fine, but I do tend to set it in the same place all the time. Still, I put an iron board cover on my ironing board so stuff like this won’t happen.

I am super unhappy with my Oliso right at the moment.

It blurped black gunk on to my brand new ironing board cover.  🙁

I spent a few days religiously using a pressing cloth and trying to get all the gunk out of the iron. The gunk spewing seems to have stopped, but I am still irritated. I am really glad it didn’t blurp all over any piecing.

The iron also has some weird stuff on the bottom and no, I wasn’t using any fusible. I really like Iron Off** and use it immediately if I get anything on my iron. I don’t know where this came from. It appeared after the black gunk, so I am sure they are related.

Now I am using my backup iron while I work through the steps that Oliso has given me.

Oliso says clean it with white vinegar. I can’t do that because I am allergic to it. I have asked a friend to do it for me, but that requires some coordination. I might be done with Oliso irons. I think this is the 3rd one I have had. I really like not standing it up on the end, but I seem to have a lot of trouble with them.

**N. B. : Obviously, you should shop at local quilt shops and small businesses. However, if you are too busy or can’t find what you need there, I use Amazon affiliate links and may be paid for your purchase of an item when you click on an item’s link in my post. There is no additional cost to you for clicking or purchasing items I recommend. I appreciate your clicks and purchases as it helps support this blog.

A few weeks ago I talked about the Sew Tite Magnums**. I finally broke down and bought some. I thought my opportunity to use them had past because I had sewn the two halves of the La Passacaglia together.

Lately, as mentioned, I have been working on the Half Hexie Star quilt. I have large section to add in and started on it on Saturday night. As I struggled to keep the four stars in place so I could anchor then sew them, I remembered the Sew Tite Magnums. I tried them out and they work really well!

I think the length really helps to keep the layers of paper and fabric in place. It was much easier to anchor the four half hexie stars on which I was working into place using the Sew Tite Magnums.

Lindsay warned me that they are hard to peel apart. She was not wrong! Still they worth the trouble and the cost. They are not cheap, which is why I don’t have dozens of them.

**Obviously, you should shop at local quilt shops and small businesses. However, if you are too busy or can’t find what you need there, I use Amazon affiliate links and may be paid for your purchase of an item when you click on an item’s link in my post. There is no additional cost to you for clicking or purchasing items I recommend. I appreciate your clicks and purchases as it helps support this blog.

When Oliso came out withe a turquoise model right at the time I needed to replace my old Oliso, I hopped on the bandwagon.

The supply chain problems have affected me in various ways. I mentioned the bookcases for my workroom refresh. The iron has been delayed for months, but finally arrived last week.

Oliso actually air freighted some of the irons because of the delays and mine was one.

I can’t tell you how happy I am to have the consistent steam, the up and down feature and the longer ‘on’ time. Of course not having to set it upright is great, too. Not knocking the iron off my ironing board is a bonus. I really like these irons.