Originally Posted by earthwalker
I try and work in blocks...turning the iron off in between. My iron doesn't shut off automatically, but beeps madly if you leave it for any length of time. I have the iron set up in the laundry room and usually sew on the dining room table, so hop up and stretch between "jobs" and if the iron takes a bit to warm up, its time to put the kettle on.
Does anyone use those mini irons? I have been tempted to splash out and buy one, but they are expensive and I think I may be inclined to forget it's there and give myself a nasty burn.
Because I finger press, only, when I'm building a quilt top, I use a mini iron when I'm finished just to do all the seam allowances before I use a big iron to press the whole quilt. I got my mini several years ago at half price. This was when it was a new product and before all the fancy tips/accessories came with it. I'm quite happy with the basic one I have and there is no substitute for it when I need to do all those tiny seam allowances that are going in all directions. I would not advise setting that mini down and leaving it while it's on. If mine is turned on, I am using it. It has a little holder where you prop the hot iron, but I also have a ceramic floor tile that I set the holder and the iron on. The holder by itself is almost useless, unless they've improved on it since I got mine.