I don't own a ham either, Alaska Sunshine. Just today I needed to press a seam open in a rather difficult area of one of the totes I am making. I rolled up a large towel and it worked perfectly. This is not the first time I have done that!!! There are several things I do to compensate for things I don't have, I am from German heritage also and was born in the U.S. in 1940. War time made a shortage of a lot of things. Just recently I related to my youngest brother how my grandfather took a washer and a screw to "patch" a hole in a kettle used from heating water dailey for washing dishes, baths, etc. We have also been cleaning out our mother's house and have made comments that the older generations did not have to be taught about recycling. They recycled just about everything. We found lots and lots of white plastic bleach bottles which had had the top cut away making a great storage container for stuff which was under her sink and even in her pantry. I use to do that and was reminded that I still should.