My Birthday Present!! A Charcoal Iron

This is what I got from my husband for my birthday!! How cool is that??!!

Definition

• The charcoal iron is an ancestor to the modern electric iron. While today's irons use electricity to heat their metal bases and to generate steam, charcoal irons were heated by smoldering coals which were taken from a fire and placed inside a box on the top of the iron. The lid of the box had a handle which allowed people to hold the hot iron as they ran it over clothing, smoothing out wrinkles.

This iron is HEAVY!! Women must have been very strong to have used one of these!!! Seriously!!!!

Now I have two irons in my collection, both from my husband :^)

The iron on the left is a flat or sad iron. Sad irons, also called flat irons or smoothing irons, are shaped pieces of metal that are flat and polished on one side and have a handle attached to the other, created for the purpose of de-wrinkling fabric. “Sad” is an Old English word for “solid,” and the term “sad iron” is often used to distinguish the largest and heaviest of flat irons, usually 5 to 9 pounds.

The forebears to modern electric irons, these flat irons are often triangular or come to a point to make it easier to iron around buttons. The heft of a sad iron would help it hold heat, as well as to press the fabric flat. To protect fabric and surfaces from singeing, sad irons often came with metal trivetsto rest on, and these are often-beautiful, intricate, and collectible examples of metalwork that were made in a myriad of designs.

The earliest metal flat irons were forged by blacksmiths in the Middle Ages. These were heated on an open fire or a stove, and the metal handles had to be grasped with a thick potholder, rag, or glove. Women had to be careful not to track soot or ash on the clothing they were ironing.

I think my family would have been referred to as the family of Wrinkles, because there is no way I would have enjoyed working with either of these irons :^) And I am serious!!

And this is where they reside, next to my favorite piecing machine and small pressing station!! I have one of my sister's paintings, and my mom's vase that I grew up with. A very inspirational space indeed!!

I think I'll stick with my little iron on the left :^)
Happy Quilting, Take care and keep those scissors sharp!!! Martha