More Checker Distributor 63 Anniversary Open House

I have been knee deep in my Power Suit Challenge art quilt and actually forgot to post yesterday....so without further ado....back to Checker's Open House.

Edyta Sitar, Laundry Basket Quilts, was as beautiful and pleasant as always during the Open House.

She has a new book coming out, Reasons for Quilts.  She had a few copies and they sold out fast!!

Edyta's designs are timeless and I think that is why so many of her patterns and books appeal to so many quilters.  I have been fortunate enough to hear Edyta speak on a few occasions and one of the reasons I really enjoy her lectures is because she focuses on relationships and events as themes for her quilts. Friendship Triangles and Friendship Strips and Scraps are a great example of relationship quilting because quilters are encouraged to share triangles, strips and scraps to make quilts with those swapped fabrics. 

 Shelly Stokes, Cedar Canyon Textiles, came in from Minnesota (you have to say that with the accent :) and she brought with her some fun rubbing plates, stencils and of course Paintstiks.

Paintstiks are so much fun...and believe it or not...easy to use.  Since I don't' draw, stencils and rubbing plates give me a boost for creating fun and interesting patterns on fabric.  I bet you are wondering why on earth there is a vegetable peeler in this photo.  The peeler works great for taking off the outer seal on the Paintsticks.

I love the sunflower quilt Shelly had hanging in her booth....check it out.....isn't it beautiful, bright and cheerful?

Nick Coman, Dragonfly Threads, had some fun and colorful....or should I say "de-colorful" inks to share at the Checker Open House.  Unfortunately I was so focused on the Handi-Iron he brought from Kandi Corp that I did not even take his photo....how rude is that?  Sorry Nick!!! 

 Nick co-authored, Fabric Color Magic, with Abby Riba and it is one very cool book if I don't say so myself.  The book is about stamping, stenciling and brushing on fabrics.  Lots of photos and step by step instructions so even a beginner can actually complete the projects.

 This is de-Colourant and Nick explained exactly how it works.  I had read about de-Colourant in magazines and still didn't understand exactly what it is used for. 

 Here you can see Nick had used a stencil and made a leaf on this black fabric.  The color was dull until he heat set it and then it really popped nicely.

Do you know what de-Colourant does?  Get this....it removes/de-colors the pigment in the fabric and replaces the area with ink and the ink is colored.  If you are like me you are thinking....what is the difference between that and fabric paint or Paintstiks...right?

 The difference is you don't feel any thing at all on the fabric.  It is like the batik fabrics where you don't feel the designs....they are just part of the fabric.  Cool ay?  I think so.

 Look how pretty this notebook cover is....some de-Colourant, thread and a few beads and now Nick has one spanky notebook/journal.

Nick gave me a pretty good explanation and education during the Open House.  He and Shelly Stokes from Cedar Canyon Textiles were using some of the same stencils and collaborating which I think is really neat.

There is more to come....so stay tuned!

Raise Your E-Notion IQ - Kandi's Handi-Iron Product Review

If it's Wednesday then it is time to Raise Your E-Notion IQ here at IHAN.  Am I the only one who thought today was Wednesday?  Honestly....I was so focused on the Yellow Monster that I didn't even realize Wednesday was yesterday.  So...lets pretend today is Wednesday...just for the time that you are reading this post :)

I was introduced to Kandi's Handi-Iron while at the Checker Distributor Open House this past Sunday.  I thought it looked interesting....definitely worth a product review so I bought one.

 

 

 

Nick Coman (Dragonfly Threads), the guy who was demonstrating the iron for Kandi Corp at the Open House, told me the iron gets up to 425 degrees (linen setting).  I thought that was impressive and I also liked the handle design, the weight (10 oz) and the fact that it is 110/120V and 220/240V by just turning a dial. All you girls in AU will be thrilled about that! Just use your adapter and you are good to go.

This is what Kandi's Handi-Iron looks like out of the box.

The piece that looks like a nose guard for the iron slips off and guess what?

You just slip it under the black clip and that is the handle for the iron.  Cool ay? 

 

After I plugged it in, I turned the dial to linen (of course) but I realized I didn't know where the indicator was for setting the temperature  Upon closer inspection, I found it....see the arrow and the line in the photo above....smack dab in the center of the iron...yep that's the one....that is the arrow that tells you where to stop the dial for your settings. 

The first time I plugged in the Handi-Iron it smoked.  Nick told me it would.  The smoke is from condensation inside the iron and it stopped after the first time I heated it up.  I'm so glad Nick told me it would smoke....I would have thought something was wrong....nope...just burning off condensation.

Next....I need some very wrinkly fabric....so I wadded up some Kona Cotton.

 

 I started ironing the very wrinkled Kona Cotton fabric....and.....

 

Wahhhh Lahhhhh....and you see....no more wrinkles. You know I was surprised and impressed.

 

Then it dawned on me that the Handi-Iron was supposed to get up to 425 degrees.  How on earth was I going to figure out how hot it gets?  I only have a thermometer that takes human body temperatures...and this iron doesn'tave a tongue to stick it under.  So I ran to the neighbors and asked if they had a cooking thermometer.  This is the best I can do folks :)

 

Here is the neighbors thermometer (used for Thanksgiving I bet) cold.

 

Then I put it up against the Handi-Iron and took pictures while the dial moved up ...remember it was on the highest setting.

 

The red dial kept going....and going....

 

and going.....

 

Before it stopped back where it started.  I realize this thermometers not intended for irons and it stops at 190 degrees....but you will notice it kept going almost back around to the 130 mark again....which says to me this iron is pretty darn hot.  My hands could tell it was pretty dog gone hot too because it was tough holding on to the thermometer (don't try this at home....this was done by a trained professional...rofl).

Then I wanted to know how hot the Handi-Iron got in comparison to my "Hot Harriet" (my old cloth cord iron made by Westinghouse that I know gets very hot).  I'm in love with "Hot Harriet" for fusing because she doesn't have any steam holes on the bottom....which means no marks (little circles) left behind on your fabrics....and you might have noticed the Handi-Iron doesn't have those either....very cool!

I'm embarrassed to show you "Hot Harriet's" behind....I'll address that issue later.

I put the thermometer up against "Hot Harriet" ...she was set to linen as well.

Up and up the red dial went.....

and it continued to go up.....

Until it stopped back where it started....just like the Handi-Iron.  That's all I needed to know.  If this 10 ounce Handi-Iron gets as hot as "Hot Harriet" then that is enough proof for me....I'll never need anything hotter.

Another feature that impressed me about the Handi-Iron is the cord....it doesn't get in the way weather you are right or left handed.  The other small irons have the cord coming out the side....those flop over on me and I've gotten burned.  Excellent engineering in my opinion.  There was no excess packaging either....I really, really, really like that!!! 

The bottom of the iron is a non-stick surface and I was told it just wipes off if you get fusible on it.  So I tested that too....

 

here is a piece of Mistyfuse on my Goddess Sheet.....

 

and now here it is stuck to the bottom of my new Handi-Iron.....not pretty.  You have to admit that no matter how careful you are....some how some way....that fusible gets on your iron...right?  Right!!  So it's a good idea to know how well the iron cleans up.

 

This is what the iron looked like after I rubbed it on the fabric.  It did not come off....it sort of rolled up a bit.  I tried to scrape it lightly with the edge of thin plastic ID badge....and it still didn't come off.

 

I didn't want to hurt the beautiful non-stick finish on my new Handi-Iron so out came my Faultless Hot Iron Cleaner (this stuff so totally rocks). 

 

Look how well it cleaned off the fusible... like brand new! :)

So I treated "Hot Harriet" to a sauna as well....don't you think she deserves it?  Look how she shines........Faultless Hot Iron Cleaner is the best iron cleaner I've ever used...bar-none...including baking soda and water.

OK back to my new Kandi's Handi-Iron review.....

I highly recommend it for travel, workshops, classes and anytime you need a light small iron.  Do you need a heated flat pallet for straightening out ribbon?  Heat up the Hot Fix Crystals?  Check this out...

I took the handle off and plugged it back in.

Then I took this wrinkled ribbon and

pulled it back and forth across the surface of the Handi-Iron.  You can see for yourself....it straightened that ribbon out toot sweet!  

I called Kandi Corp and spoke to Dave, the owner, about the warranty on the Handi-Iron.  There is a one year warranty and they pay shipping if it is defective.  You know I loved that....nothing worse than buying something...having a problem and then having to pay more money just to get it replaced.  Dave also pointed out that on Kandi Corp's website there is a place to click in the upper right hand corner and you can have a live chat if you have any questions.  

Well, I think I did a good job of running the Handi-Iron through the necessary tests....I'm giving it 2 thumbs up!!!  Money very well spent!!

Smiles,

Kelly