tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8769048173809484225.post7734791432561296860..comments2023-09-19T10:22:18.312-04:00Comments on The Bitchy Stitcher: Damon and Pythias and all those other Greek chappiesMeganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04848601503102752338noreply@blogger.comBlogger50125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8769048173809484225.post-67987442185818393922011-02-25T00:33:26.894-05:002011-02-25T00:33:26.894-05:00re Rats. Well one day a few years ago I was going ...re Rats. Well one day a few years ago I was going down stairs and I saw a rat walking into my sewing room! (Back door was open and it walked right in! We had some annoying messy neigbours at the time, left rubbish in their yard and it attracted rats) I ran upstairs and grabbed cat, threw cat into the sewing room, ran upstairs again and rang husband and told him he HAD to come home. (lucky is only 10 minutes away)He came and he and cat cornered it and it was finished off with a cricket bat! But not after a lot of running up and down stairs (as sewing room has no door and we couldn't contain it!) And a HELL of a lot of SCREAMING from me every time rat turned my way. The bastard Rat jumped into one of my fabric baskets to hide in the middle of this (of course it was the pre-cut 5 inch square basket, that was fun washing-NOT). After all this my husband returned to work in a new clean shirt (too sweaty after all that!) So I rang my nice neighbour to explain screaming etc and husband leaving in a clean shirt. I thought she might have thought he had murdered me, I was screaming sooo much. And you know what she never heard a thing???? SO I hate rats!Leighnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8769048173809484225.post-82331039792833226202011-02-21T13:17:23.739-05:002011-02-21T13:17:23.739-05:00I have just discovered this blog and I can't.s...I have just discovered this blog and I can't.stop.laughing! My husband's trying to sleep and we have a small house, so I'm trying not to laugh out loud.<br /><br />The only thing I've prewashed is some fabric from the 50s and 60s cause I don't know where it's been for the last half century.<br /><br />Irons. I'm still using a fairly cheap model from 17 years ago that my grandma got me when I went away to college. The steam quit working in it a long time ago and I'm finally using Mary Ellen's Best Press. When my bottle runs out I will make my own spray starch.<br /><br />The next iron I get can be used or new, doesn't have to steam, needs to get HOT and I want it heavier than the one I've got now. But I'll probably wait till this one dies. No steam holes? Definitely want that. Didn't know they made solid plate irons.<br /><br />Back to pre-washing. I did read recently that pre washing anything that is going to be used for applique makes it SOOOOOO much easier.Rookie Bebehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04163551960786415059noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8769048173809484225.post-34004685238331970802011-02-07T14:24:58.929-05:002011-02-07T14:24:58.929-05:00Hey, textile manufacturers have rats, too -- and n...Hey, textile manufacturers have rats, too -- and nasty chemicals to kill them! There's a lot that goes on in those factories BEFORE the plastic goes on that we can't even imagine!KateKwiltzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17155485457058205111noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8769048173809484225.post-74249224442914273262011-02-05T18:43:46.823-05:002011-02-05T18:43:46.823-05:00ooo Irons... well I USE to only buy Rowentas.. but...ooo Irons... well I USE to only buy Rowentas.. but after spending over 100 on 2 different irons in less than 2 years... hell if it heats up and has some steam.. it will work! So now I am an any iron wil do phase of my life... I could buy fabric with the left over money!Dawn Hendrixhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12553782197133216081noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8769048173809484225.post-3220412877128561572011-02-05T11:37:27.603-05:002011-02-05T11:37:27.603-05:00I can't find any other area to post this, but ...I can't find any other area to post this, but thought you would love it. My husband was assigning names to the accounts that come in through paypal. He asked me about "The fat quarter shop"...was this for weight loss?<br /><br />I almost peed myself laughing!Beth Pnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8769048173809484225.post-90731938929574885662011-02-05T10:45:28.499-05:002011-02-05T10:45:28.499-05:00OMGosh!! HAHAHAHAHAHA this post had my laughing ou...OMGosh!! HAHAHAHAHAHA this post had my laughing out loud twice. Totally belly laughing... and still giggling. I am that person looking for something with my right hand while holding said object in my left... and "organizing" but then forgetting I organized it *or rather finally put something away* (I'm a pile person).<br /><br />The only iron I've truly been impressed by was some super duper iron on steroids that a friend has. It cost her something like $200 & is attached to some contraption that reminds me of a vacuum canister, but maybe it's the water tank? That thing can IRON. But I'm waaay too cheap to spend that kind of money on an iron. Besides it'd take up too much space, or because I'd have fabric & all kinds of crap piled all around it, I'd set the house on fire.... and since I Iive in a 200+ year old house, we'd all be burnt toast in about 2 minutes.Denise L. Gregoryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01448243985138675570noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8769048173809484225.post-13438166402351835652011-02-03T20:56:32.407-05:002011-02-03T20:56:32.407-05:00I think its a conspiracy.
The rat poop reason is ...I think its a conspiracy.<br /><br />The rat poop reason is the Fabric Washer Alliance's last arguments of arguments to get all us hold outs to finally agree with them.<br /><br />I say what doesn't kill you makes you stronger.<br /><br />Oh, and I'd rather not think about poop in or on anything. If I did, I would never eat anything out or in my own home, drink anything, buy anything....<br /><br />You get the picture.<br /><br />Irons? The cheapest one. I routinely drop mine and abuse it in other ways. The expensive ones break just as easy. I used a $50 one for about a year before it stopped working. I replaced it with a $11 Walmart special. I'll keep you posted. The only annoying thing about this one is that it has this annoying red blinking light that is on all the time after it automatically shuts off. I would unplug it, but I'm too lazy to reach down so I just turn it around. If anything burns out soon, I hope it's that damn light.Tizziehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13708881789811522401noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8769048173809484225.post-52731689499188810012011-02-03T12:22:55.915-05:002011-02-03T12:22:55.915-05:00I have a pretty big iron grave yard....I've ha...I have a pretty big iron grave yard....I've had cheap - so cheap that the thing didn't even get hot - then I've had the cheap but good....with no steam, but it was so light that I kept accidentally knocking it off my ironing board and it broke to peices...I bought another other exactly like it and it came to the same early end. I would have bought another one like it but I couldn't find that iron again I've had more pricey irons that had steam and after a while the steam left terrible stains on my work....Yuck...that was when I stopped using steam and started using a spray bottle with water. All my irons have died early deaths no matter the price/quality....now I have a really heavy iron that automatically switches off whenever I go over the the ironing board to iron something but it has lasted longer than any iron I've had yet. I have friend with a really really old beautifully chromed iron and it gets wicked hot and I lust for her iron. If I was a real criminal I'd sneak over to her house and kill her just to get my hands on her iron. But I really like this woman and she is a great friend so I guess I'll have to let her live, for now.....Mariellahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16631515410479341434noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8769048173809484225.post-59199916210261492952011-02-02T20:36:36.158-05:002011-02-02T20:36:36.158-05:00After reading every single comment before mine I f...After reading every single comment before mine I forgot the question, but remembered the rats. yuuck. I buy old irons at yard sales and second hand stores. They get plenty hot, throw out lots of steam if they are steam irons and last forever. Bernieberniehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10923729611416714773noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8769048173809484225.post-69236931235786452182011-02-02T15:52:52.337-05:002011-02-02T15:52:52.337-05:00Had an expensive iron and it was a piece of crap. ...Had an expensive iron and it was a piece of crap. I don't steam much, but anytime I tried to add water so I could steam, it leaked all over the ironing board. It never really got very hot either. Have a cheap iron now and I couldn't be happier. I've recently become a Mary Ellen's Best Press convert.Annhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11459779875749189838noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8769048173809484225.post-62578925401461295112011-02-02T10:30:32.350-05:002011-02-02T10:30:32.350-05:00Slash fiction is this internet phenomenon where pe...Slash fiction is this internet phenomenon where people who are fans of a particular TV show or movie or novel write their own fiction about two (or maybe more, but usually two) of the characters. The thing is, it is traditionally two characters of the same sex and the fiction is naughty, naughty, naughty. I think it got its start, or at least its notoriety, when people started writing slash fiction about Kirk and Spock. Together. <br /><br />The link is to a slash fic piece that someone wrote about Jeeves and Wooster, and the Damon and Pythias line comes from the end of that story. Because I have no shame or soul and actually read it.<br /><br />You can read the Wikipedia entry here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slash_fictionMeganhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04848601503102752338noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8769048173809484225.post-34765192375085402772011-02-02T00:19:50.562-05:002011-02-02T00:19:50.562-05:00Cheap iron! In fact, I think it was $7 from Walmar...Cheap iron! In fact, I think it was $7 from Walmart. The expensive irons all seem to have automatic shut-offs and the most annoying thing imaginable is to get up from sewing to press your blocks and you have a cold iron!Jillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10339155061593654307noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8769048173809484225.post-14430578891854401052011-02-01T21:53:24.853-05:002011-02-01T21:53:24.853-05:00Deborah says:
And what to Damon and Pythias have ...Deborah says:<br /><br />And what to Damon and Pythias have to do with irons?<br /><br />Am I missing something else?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8769048173809484225.post-80800868750484829312011-02-01T21:52:26.322-05:002011-02-01T21:52:26.322-05:00Deborah says:
Well, the first iron I had lasted a...Deborah says:<br /><br />Well, the first iron I had lasted a good 20 years or so. Of course, I only used it once or twice a year, but still...<br /><br />Now I have an iron that I guess I got at Target or Bed, Bath, and Beyond. It gets hot and it steams without spitting or leaking. I'm hoping it lasts more than 2 years...I was thinking that those short lived irons were kind of wimpy, but I do use this iron a lot more than the other one...<br /><br />So, yes, steam it is!<br /><br />I, too, love Jeeves and Wooster (and Frye and Laurie). I clicked on the link because I have absolutely no idea what slash fiction is, but was freaked out at the "Are you over 18?" question. Rat poop? No problem. But answering a question that could result in my being sucked into the pits of HELL? I'm not sure about that.<br /><br />Please enlighten me....I've led a pretty sheltered life. (I was one of the people who thought a blunt was a blunt object.)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8769048173809484225.post-83968011161783948092011-02-01T19:30:25.132-05:002011-02-01T19:30:25.132-05:00Both. All. I have 3 irons: a cheap, old crappy one...Both. All. I have 3 irons: a cheap, old crappy one that leaks all over everything if I put water into it so I use it dry for ironing seams on larger blocks - no steam here as I learnt the hard way that steam bloody hurts with my fingers so close to the iron holding open the seams; an expensive one (which I got half price since I don't do expensive anything) with steam in abundance to iron all my fabric lovely and flat before cutting; and my mini clover iron (no steam) for ironing small seams on more complicated blocks and small fiddly applique bits. I don't usually have any problems with seams not laying flat if I don't use steam - maybe the residual rat poop (I don't prewash) helps here. And I don't starch anything. If I wanted my fabric to stand up stiff I'll put some hair gel on it.Mary-Annehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09313342691245886399noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8769048173809484225.post-90828790181845982512011-02-01T17:29:59.825-05:002011-02-01T17:29:59.825-05:00Your stories really make me laugh! Hope the kids ...Your stories really make me laugh! Hope the kids are feeling better, or at least well enough that you sent them to school so you could get a break... <br /><br />On the iron issue - I cry every time i think of my favorite iron (not really, but this needed dramatic effect...) I had my grandmother's iron since she died in early 1989. Loved that damned heavy thing! It didn't spit or drip (like ornery pot roasts). And it got HOT!<br /><br />Then my dog knocked over the ironing board (2009). She lived and the iron died.<br /><br />Replaced it with an Oliso, that last 2 years and died of unknown natural causes - a couple days after returning from a quilting retreat and a week after the warrantee ran out. They gave me a credit foward the "better model," but made me buy the extended warrantee. I do like it - mostly that it sits flat instead of on its end - but I don't dare take it to another retreat! The family also knows to - NOT MESS WITH MY IRON!Ima Bagladyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10185578829930280198noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8769048173809484225.post-66426863348868583312011-02-01T12:49:22.200-05:002011-02-01T12:49:22.200-05:00Thrift store or yard sale. Never use steam, I actu...Thrift store or yard sale. Never use steam, I actually prefer an iron that isn't capable of steaming, but haven't found one in a long time. <br />Prewash everything, including presoaking the batting. Don't give me that "I don't prewash because I want it to crinkle up like Grandmas quilts when it's washed" crap either - every one of my quilts has crinkled up when it's washed. <br /><br />Pamela in SOMdAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8769048173809484225.post-14925157445960193412011-02-01T11:12:59.330-05:002011-02-01T11:12:59.330-05:00I killed an expensive Rowenta…kind of proud of tha...I killed an expensive Rowenta…kind of proud of that. After that, I have kept to cheaper… um...value oriented irons but they must have a stainless steel sole plate. None of that non-stick crap sole plate. I subscribe to the Ricky Tim’s viewpoint that all irons become incontinent so best not to feed them water. In lieu of a steaming iron I use a spray bottle of water and an unhealthy love for starch…lots of starch.Marynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8769048173809484225.post-48387651074194038052011-02-01T10:33:26.378-05:002011-02-01T10:33:26.378-05:00I've had several irons, usually the cheaper mo...I've had several irons, usually the cheaper model, and they just didn't get hot enough. I found my mother's 60 year old dry iron that I now use. I might use spray starch, the kind you dilute, when pressing and this system works fine for me. BTW - the iron is a Dominion, the company that my mom worked at that many years ago.<br />cindyAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8769048173809484225.post-60709702053461245322011-02-01T09:18:48.440-05:002011-02-01T09:18:48.440-05:00I'm an iron abuser. I've had expensive ir...I'm an iron abuser. I've had expensive irons and cheap irons. After repeatedly knocking them to the ground and breaking something plastic that will not allow the iron to sit up properly, I'm sticking with cheap. Then I don't mind so much when I break it.<br /><br />Adding water to an iron means you're going to have to clean that sucker one day. And even the most expensive iron will leak when filled with water. I use a water bottle to spritz now - no iron cleaning necessary and no leaking.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8769048173809484225.post-39669606368923705332011-02-01T09:13:37.075-05:002011-02-01T09:13:37.075-05:00I cannot get over how much I learn from your blog....I cannot get over how much I learn from your blog. Ships have rats. Huh, who knew?<br />Cheap iron, no steam, occasionally a spritz with water. Always prewash to eliminate excess dye AND rat poop.helen-maryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11506340327425115624noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8769048173809484225.post-19810338345567449852011-02-01T02:16:41.670-05:002011-02-01T02:16:41.670-05:00I love my Rowenta. It's the second one I have ...I love my Rowenta. It's the second one I have had, gave my first away when I bought the new one and it is still going strong in it's new home. Steam? yes please and lots of it when I ask for it. No piddling about with little anemic bursts. When I turn the steam off I want it OFF. My iron does that quite nicely thankyouverymuch.<br />Rat poop....I will pass on the rats and the poop thanks! The bolts of fabric do come wrapped in plastic to the warehouse and because I buy my fabric after it has been beautifully displayed at my LQS I don't worry about contamination from the rascally rats. :0)Diannehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08285581918856735064noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8769048173809484225.post-20712234508711123342011-01-31T23:31:30.347-05:002011-01-31T23:31:30.347-05:00My iron is the not-so-expensive-auto-shut-off kind...My iron is the not-so-expensive-auto-shut-off kind. I don't use the steam in the iron, but I do have a spray bottle for those stubborn wrinkles & seams.<br /><br />Works for me!quiltzyxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08847188443140845514noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8769048173809484225.post-14198512266431197182011-01-31T23:08:37.792-05:002011-01-31T23:08:37.792-05:00I'm sorry, I know your post is really about ir...I'm sorry, I know your post is really about irons and rat poop, but I can't get past the fact that there's J&W slash fiction out there. I love me some Fry & Laurie, but I just can't envision... nuff said.Mary Katenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8769048173809484225.post-42818886069837064642011-01-31T22:20:39.863-05:002011-01-31T22:20:39.863-05:00Cheap. Just because I'm dutch. If I ever am ...Cheap. Just because I'm dutch. If I ever am tempted to spend my month's income on an iron, please, please, please take me out behind the shed and sh00t me for being stupid. My current iron cost me about $10 at Walmart a few years ago. (actually, a lot of years ago, my kid is 10 and I bought it when I was sewing stuff for his nursery.)It was working just fine until the last time I answered a poll on irons. The very next day, I tripped over the damn cord and it hit the floor. It broke a chunk of plastic off the point, but it still holds water. Now that the point of the sole plate sticks out without its little plastic hoodie, it actually works better for opening up a seam, to press it with STEAM. And lots of it.Teresahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05374651954382654005noreply@blogger.com