Shining A Light

When I was a young girl I could do all sorts of things without switching on a light, or even thinking about doing so, and I remember both my Mom and Dad repeating the same warning:  "let's shed a little light on the subject, you don't want to strain your eyes." Today I am thankful for every. bit. of light I can get, the brighter the better! A few years ago a friend gave me this pair of lighted tweezers*. I kept them near the sewing machine, and the longarm, they've helped a LOT with removing a stray thread here, a glob of lint there, or even occasionally threading a needle. Yesterday I used them when I threaded the lower loopers of the serger; usually a difficult task it was made worlds easier with the addition of this super handy must-have tool with the built in LED light!

I've been using the serger more and more since I got it cleaned and tuned last year; that was the best money spent! I'm consistently edging my quilt tops before loading them onto the longarm now... 

...and finishing the edges of my cross-stitch linen. 

It's been worth every penny to have that little workhorse back up and running! 

Sometimes it's the little things that make the BIGGEST difference.

What's making your life easier these days?

Life is Good!

* If you're interested, I found that these are available on Amazon, marketed for cosmetic use, at the price of 3 for $8.99! Search "lighted tweezers", keep one and give two to your friends, they'll thank you!

This Little Light...

... o' mine, I'm gonna let it shine!  This might be one of the brightest purchases I've made in a while. It's a Vivilux lamp, I bought it at MidAtlantic Quilt Festival last month. This is the desk lamp version, there's also a clamp-on and a stick-on that you can attach in the throat of your sewing machine. The beauty of these is that they're rechargeable; so, they can be used virtually anywhere; cord-free. There are three levels of illumination. I tried it out right away in the hotel room where we stayed; I fell in love with it immediately.If I were going to critique anything at all about it I would say that it is maybe just a little bit too lightweight. The gooseneck is uber-flexible and if you pull it down too low it has a tendency to tip forward on its nose. I remedied that situation when I returned home by sliding a sand-filled strawberry emery down the shaft and positioning it just behind the lamp base. That counter weight adds just enough ballast to stabilize the unit (and it's cute!🍓).

I can even pull the light straight through the throat of the machine and shine it directly on the needle while stitching. Look for these, the beauty is three-fold: the design, the ability to place the perfect degree of light exactly where it's needed and the portability. I can already tell you that this little light o' mine will be shinin' here, there and everywhere!

Life is Good!

This Little Light O' Mine...

This new, portable, light table is one of the most exciting and versatile tools to enter the sewing room in a long time. It is cordless, rechargeable, and super-lightweight. It is called the Cutterpillar Glow. I have had mine for a few months and have already used it a LOT!
For applique placement it is amazing! I used it over and over again to re-position the leaves on the border sections of my current applique project. Actually, I placed one border upside down over the light mat and placed it's opposing border strip on top of it to perfectly align the second border with the first. Score! The more that I use it the more uses I find for it! It has three light settings: low, medium and high.

Not only is its illumination valuable for applique but also for tracing embroidery designs onto linen.

But, maybe the most exciting feature of the Cutterpillar is the translucent cutting mat! Score!! If you have ever done any paper foundation piecing you know how crucial it is that you have a large enough piece underneath your foundation in the area that you're covering. Most of the time it's a guess before the piece is flipped over and you stitch (blindly) on the next line, hoping for the best; now you can see straight through, and cut right on the see-through surface! This tool eliminates that guesswork and allows you to align each piece, sized and placed properly, every time! I don't dread foundation piecing now-- I have always enjoyed the versatility of the method but shied away from its relative fussiness. No more. 

You might want to add a Cutterpillar to your Christmas list. You will love all its uses. Take a minute to watch the video in the hyperlink above. I am not associated with the company, nor do I receive any compensation for this endorsement, I am simply a fan of the product and believe that you will be too. 

This little light o' mine, I'm gonna let it shine... 

Oh, yeah!

Life is Good!

 

Twinkling Bug Jar

I would like to introduce you to M.J. (Mason Jar); he's the latest addition to the natural area just off the side porch outside the studio.  He guards the birdfeeders and the birdbath by day with his whimsical good looks and bug-eyed, rustic charm; but it's after dark that M.J. really goes to work!  Equipped with a solar collector inside his lid, which powers a rechargeable battery, the tiny string of LED lights twinkle for hours on end after the sun goes down. M.J. was a gift from Mr. Goodneedle's cousin and her husband, who visited with us earlier this month. I was hopeful that he would prove a deterrent to the ravenous deer who patrol at night to partake of our Hosta, Day Lilies and Black-Eyed Susan (you can clearly see a few of these nibbled off flowers directly behind M.J.), but so far I don't think that the deer have been fazed. Oh, well, no matter; I just love the night magic that's happening in the garden currently.  You can enjoy it too!  

Life is Good!

Resolution Assignment

Last Sunday my friend and I visited a church for their worship service not far from where we were on quilt retreat, it was the perfect stop for us on our way home. The Pastor there is, coincidentally, her sister-in-law and the former Vicar of our home church. Her Epiphany sermon was a wonderful message of light that concluded with the distribution of this message; to everyone, we were instructed that this is to be our assigned New Year's resolution. We are to look at it and repeat it every day. Today I chose to share the light with you. Will you take on the assignment too?

Life is Good!