I would love to see a picture of your winning quilt! I was a Home Ec teacher for 25 years and always heard how wonderful Rowentas were but I could never afford one. When I retired I splurged and bought myself one from Costco. It wasn't cheap even there. It lasted only about 6 mos before it shorted out. I called and wrote to Rowenta and received no compensation what so ever. I returned it to Costco and received a replacement. It spit almost from the getgo. No more Rowentas for me, I was extremely disappointed in them. Our local quilt store told me that they use to sell Reliables, which are also pricey, but quit because no one had heard of them. I ordered a Reliable from Amazon and have been extremely happy with it. It has automatic shut off but you can disable that feature and it stays hot which I love when I am piecing.