I don’t think I’ve mentioned this here publicly. I have vision issues as a result of not taking care of my diabetes. I have a great doctor and he is working closely with me to get the problem solved.
Because of this I struggle with seeing the thread while quilting and where I’ve been unless I use a contrasting thread. This isn’t necessarily bad but I do get asked why I use high contrast colors and sometimes, frankly, it feels a little judgemental.
Somewhere over the course of the past two years I put a call out on a facebook group asking for ideas and help. Someone mentioned watching a Jamie Wallen video about side light. Also, I set out to get glasses that were for mid range vision only.
I went to Home Depot and bought a battery operated light and a board. The boyfriend taped it to the board so I could see if it worked. It was a failed experiment for me. I didn’t understand I’d have to turn off other lights.
This past week I found my light and decided to give it another try. Here are some pictures to illustrate.
My machine, overhead and ceiling fan light are on. Notice the shadow.
Here I turned off the machine light.
Here I turned on the sidelight and ceiling fan light is still on.
In the picture the contrast is better than to the naked eye.
Here I turned off the ceiling fan light. What an amazing difference.
Here is my little contraption. The boyfriend put screws on the side of the board to mount it properly.
The quilting you see in the pic was accomplished with my light. I have my glasses in hand and I’m ready to go!
Got any more tips for me? Hope someone finds this useful.
Swooze
3 comments:
I have bad eyesight also, but not because of diabetes. I am nearsighted and I got my first pair of glasses before I was five because I couldn't see the board at school and couldn't see a car coming down the street! I should have had them years earlier, but I guess I had adapted so well to not being able to see that my Mom just thought I was clumsy! Working on computers for years hasn't helped the eyesight either. When I was quilting those blue boy quilts in a medium/light blue thread, it was always a relief when I got to the dark fabrics because I could see the thread so much easier. I fool around all the time with my lighting when I have a hard time seeing and your solution is brilliant! Thanks so much for sharing! I quilt on a home machine so the set up you have won't work for me, but the solution of good side light is an idea that I will work with and see what I can come up with. I have an Ott light that I might be able to gerryrig to get that side light.
DH put one of Jamie's side lights together for me, too. It really helps.
OMG! You are a genius! Great job Ray, I love that you were involved. Carpentry skills are so valuable in a mate.
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