On Sunday I got my new iron, a Rowenta. This is the model I got. At Christmas I got into a discussion about irons with my cousin, who is also a quilter. She absolutely swears by her Rowenta and strongly suggested I get one after hearing me moan about the issues I was having with my old iron. She and her husband were in Florida for a couple of months over the winter and picked one up for me there. It’s amazing that, even with the exchange rate as bad as it has been lately, the iron was still markedly less in the U.S. than it would be here — almost $60 less.

Daphne was excited too.


She had to get up close and have a real good look at that wonderful sole plate.

Then she had to test out how it moved. As she hadn’t been in the martini shaker like she was last summer, she was quite capable of taking the iron for a spin.

Daphne wasn’t the only one who wanted to test the new Rowenta! I did too and — well, it’s incredible. Amazing. I cannot get over the difference this iron makes. The amount of steam is wonderful. It just glides over fabric. I had a few pieces of cotton that needed ironing. They were done in half the time it would have taken with my old iron. I love the fact one can actually see the water line — big difference from the old iron. Even where the water is poured in is fabulously well designed. It’s not going to be a chore pouring water in when I want steam. And the best part? It gets hot. Not like my old iron that did not get hot enough and really wasn’t effective unless I was using steam. This is exactly what I want in an iron — steam or no steam, it works like a charm!

I also had one of the Tropical Punch blocks to press. Done in half the time. I love the point on the end of the iron – makes it so easy to get in and press the intersections on the backs of blocks. Next on my list is one of the Rowenta ironing boards which have shown up lately in a department store here. I love the width of those!

It was an absolutely gorgeous weekend. Sunday we met friends for coffee. It was a fabulous, fantastic spring day. Brilliant sunshine, air that had that incredible fresh feeling of spring and, while it was cool, there’s no winter bite to the air at all! We are still having relatively cold nights, but to have days like this is such a treat after a long, cold winter.

The cats, on the other hand, didn’t find a new iron all that exciting. Lester snoozed.

While Smudge gave us another “find the kitty’s head” puzzle to sort out.