Iron recommendation

It's difficult to find, but the best bet is an old iron that still works. The old ones were heavier and got hotter, and didn't have steam. If she dampens the clothes, it's more even anyway. If you have no luck, Vermont Country Store has one that might fill the bill.

That one looks quite good, of course it beats the price of this one:

This is just like the one I inherited from my granny, but had to replace it with this model due to risky wiring (after 50 odd years of use, understandable). I'm very happy with it, now I'm just looking for a decent ironing board. Not one of those expanded metal ones. Wood, you know... As for the weight - it weighs 1.3 kg, that should be about 2.8 lbs, heavy enough for me, at most times at least. Anyway, I'm not sure if they sell outside the EU, so you might be well off with the one Joanne recommends (although I don't really trust China-made goods, but that's an entirely different story). HTH, U.

I know Rowenta irons are sold in the US, as well. One DD has one and swears it is the best she's had. Emily

I went through several Black and Decker and/or GE irons over the past 60+ years. I finally bit the bullet and paid over $100.00 for a Rowenta about 15 years ago, IIRC. The Rowenta DE 92.1 Professional is the BEST iron I have every owned, bar none. It has a good weight, large reservoir, great amounts of steam, and *never* spits, leaks or sputters (well at least never did until I cleaned it and broke a seal, but I was able to repair it). It also DOES NOT have the auto-shut-off feature most new "nanny" irons have, so when I'm sewing all day long it's always ready the minute I need to press open a seam or whatever. If I could find another like it (made in Germany BTW) I would buy one to have as back-stock.

NAYY,

Beverly

I find the nanny feature annoying while I'm sewing. I'm always rushing over to restart my iron when it beeps that it is shutting itself off. Unfortunately, I also learned by experience that I am one of the people who need it.

Early in my college years, I had been sewing late into the night and had finally gone to bed. When I woke up, I immediately went back to my sewing machine to continue on the project. As I sat at the machine and stretched my arms behind me, I felt the cold sewing scissors that I had left on the ironing board overnight. As the back of my hand rested against the scissors, I suddenly realized that it was really my hot iron. I had left it on overnight. After a quarter of a century the scars have faded, but I haven't risked owning an iron without the annoying auto-shut-off again.

--Betsy