Dazor lights/magnifiers

Hello,

I read consistently but don't post a lot, dropping in to say hi and
ask a question!

My Mom is thinking of getting a lighted magnifier. She saw someone
using one a quilting show and it looks like it would really help her
as she's learning free motion quilting. It's not an insignificant
purchase as far as $$ goes. There are several options - 3, 5 or more
diopters, different models, etc. I'm completely unfamiliar with
these.

Does anyone have any experience with these kinds of lights? Any info
would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

Stephanie

I'd like to hear opinions too. IME the best aid to free motion
quilting is a good foot.

Instinct tells me that if everything was magnified, it would just make
my quilting tighter and denser, not necessarily a good thing. I get my
best results when I can move into the "zone". There's a rhythm that
takes over and sort of produces the design without focusing too much
on details.

You definitely need a really good light, but I'm not sure that a
magnifier would help much.
Roberta in D

On Thu, 17 Nov 2011 22:29:12 -0800 (PST), Steph
wrote:

Hello,

I read consistently but don't post a lot, dropping in to say hi and
ask a question!

My Mom is thinking of getting a lighted magnifier. She saw someone
using one a quilting show and it looks like it would really help her
as she's learning free motion quilting. It's not an insignificant
purchase as far as $$ goes. There are several options - 3, 5 or more
diopters, different models, etc. I'm completely unfamiliar with
these.

Does anyone have any experience with these kinds of lights? Any info
would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

Stephanie

On 18/11/2011 11:02, Roberta wrote:
I'd like to hear opinions too. IME the best aid to free motion
quilting is a good foot.

Out of interest Roberta which is your favourite foot for FMQ?

Lizzy

Oh boy! Lights. My favorite things. Standing beside my SM are two. One
is a hefty, heavy swing-arm circle sort of magnifying light; don't know it's
name. Another is an Ott floor lamp. Mr. Esther says he won't be surprised
when I find a way to drag a light pole from the highway into the sewing
room.
The magnifying one wouldn't be much use for free-motion quilting. You
really do need to see a larger area than that one can give. When I'm doing
tight stitching such as putting a buttonhole on a size preemie daygown I do
swing it over.
The Ott (or another of the same sort) can be tilted and moved so as to
show the puffs and valleys of FM; I'm thinking that would be a better
machine quilting tool.
Price? I'd guess both of those treasures are about 15 years old. It
seems like the bulbs in both have been replaced once. So. To average out
their helpfulness, especially for tired eyes, priceless!
Anybody seen a street light at a good price? Polly
"Lizzy Taylor" wrote in message
...
On 18/11/2011 11:02, Roberta wrote:
I'd like to hear opinions too. IME the best aid to free motion
quilting is a good foot.

Out of interest Roberta which is your favourite foot for FMQ?

Lizzy

The best foot for free-motion quilting? There's just not a 'one-size fits
all' for that question. Actually, I don't think 'one-size fits all'
anything ever fit any body.
My favorite is a metal circle with a spring on its shank(?) . I by-pass
the one with the opening in the front (sort of looks like a horseshoe). Now
and then it would poke its open toe into a stitch and cause a little mayhem.
Bernina gave us one that is a clear plastic sort of rectangle; it sits
ignored.
At first, I used what I think was called a Big Foot. Broke a couple
before I realized that I didn't like them anyway. The light would reflect
from it and bounce into my eyes which was rather annoying and it hid where
I'd been and where I was going. IMHO - of course. Polly

Nothing fancy! I actually prefer the ordinary small darning foot that
came standard with my Pfaff. There was also a Big foot with a larger
opening, but the smaller one seems to make a nicer stitch. Also, the
bigger one made it harder to see behind the shank to move backwards.
Roberta in D

"Lizzy Taylor" wrote in message
...
On 18/11/2011 11:02, Roberta wrote:
I'd like to hear opinions too. IME the best aid to free motion
quilting is a good foot.

Out of interest Roberta which is your favourite foot for FMQ?

Lizzy

On Fri, 18 Nov 2011 08:36:33 -0600, Polly Esther wrote
(in article ):

The best foot for free-motion quilting? There's just not a 'one-size fits
all' for that question. Actually, I don't think 'one-size fits all'
anything ever fit any body.
My favorite is a metal circle with a spring on its shank(?) . I by-pass
the one with the opening in the front (sort of looks like a horseshoe). Now
and then it would poke its open toe into a stitch and cause a little mayhem.
Bernina gave us one that is a clear plastic sort of rectangle; it sits
ignored.
At first, I used what I think was called a Big Foot. Broke a couple
before I realized that I didn't like them anyway. The light would reflect
from it and bounce into my eyes which was rather annoying and it hid where
I'd been and where I was going. IMHO - of course. Polly


And unlike Polly, I love the horseshoe shaped foot for FM quilting on my
Viking Designer 1. I have a plastic foot similar to the Big Foot that just
gets ignored.

There best foot is the one you like best.

Maureen

My floor lamp is old -- maybe around 30 years now -- and I wouldn't give it
up for anything. It has a long swing-arm with a rectangular magnifier about
3.5 x 6 inches with a light above the glass. I use it for cross-stitch so I
can move the lamp/magnifying lens just inches over the surface I'm working
on. Makes it sooooo nice to be able to do very small (24 to inch) work.
But to use it over the sewing machine? Nope. It would be much too bulky
and get in the way. Perhaps the smaller desk lamp with magnifier? I saw a
magnifier in one of the catalogs that sticks to the front of the machine
just above the needle area and extends out. That looked like it would work
but don't know about how well it magnifies; maybe someone here can tell you.
But you'd still need a light. And one of those "bendable" lights that stick
to the left side of the machine and flex over the sewing area looks
appealing too. And together, both of these items would be significantly
less than the costly mag lights I think.

I just thought of one thing I did on the machine where a magnifier was
great: redwork embroidery!
Roberta in D

On Fri, 18 Nov 2011 10:11:44 -0500, "KT in Mich"
wrote:

My floor lamp is old -- maybe around 30 years now -- and I wouldn't give it
up for anything. It has a long swing-arm with a rectangular magnifier about
3.5 x 6 inches with a light above the glass. I use it for cross-stitch so I
can move the lamp/magnifying lens just inches over the surface I'm working
on. Makes it sooooo nice to be able to do very small (24 to inch) work.
But to use it over the sewing machine? Nope. It would be much too bulky
and get in the way. Perhaps the smaller desk lamp with magnifier? I saw a
magnifier in one of the catalogs that sticks to the front of the machine
just above the needle area and extends out. That looked like it would work
but don't know about how well it magnifies; maybe someone here can tell you.
But you'd still need a light. And one of those "bendable" lights that stick
to the left side of the machine and flex over the sewing area looks
appealing too. And together, both of these items would be significantly
less than the costly mag lights I think.

On 18/11/2011 10:11 AM, KT in Mich wrote:
My floor lamp is old -- maybe around 30 years now -- and I wouldn't give
it up for anything. It has a long swing-arm with a rectangular magnifier
about 3.5 x 6 inches with a light above the glass. I use it for
cross-stitch so I can move the lamp/magnifying lens just inches over the
surface I'm working on. Makes it sooooo nice to be able to do very small
(24 to inch) work. But to use it over the sewing machine? Nope. It would
be much too bulky and get in the way. Perhaps the smaller desk lamp with
magnifier? I saw a magnifier in one of the catalogs that sticks to the
front of the machine just above the needle area and extends out. That
looked like it would work but don't know about how well it magnifies;
maybe someone here can tell you. But you'd still need a light. And one
of those "bendable" lights that stick to the left side of the machine
and flex over the sewing area looks appealing too. And together, both of
these items would be significantly less than the costly mag lights I think.


Brighter is better for seeing what I'm doing at the SM so I use a floor
Ott light that I can pull up close. I like the floor model because it
doesn't take up valuable table space. And to magnify I use inexpensive
magnifiers that clip on to my glasses (I found them at WalMart in the
craft section). If you don't wear glasses perhaps inexpensive reading
glasses would be an equivalent.

HTH
Allison