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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 $$ goes. There are several options - 3, 5 or more diopters, different models, etc. I'm completely unfamiliar with these. Does anyone have any experience with these kinds of lights? Any info would be greatly appreciated. Thank you! Stephanie |
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#2
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Dazor lights/magnifiers
I'd like to hear opinions too. IME the best aid to free motion
quilting is a good foot. Instinct tells me that if everything was magnified, it would just make my quilting tighter and denser, not necessarily a good thing. I get my best results when I can move into the "zone". There's a rhythm that takes over and sort of produces the design without focusing too much on details. You definitely need a really good light, but I'm not sure that a magnifier would help much. Roberta in D On Thu, 17 Nov 2011 22:29:12 -0800 (PST), Steph wrote: Hello, I read consistently but don't post a lot, dropping in to say hi and ask a question! My Mom is thinking of getting a lighted magnifier. She saw someone using one a quilting show and it looks like it would really help her as she's learning free motion quilting. It's not an insignificant purchase as far as $$ 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 |
#3
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Dazor lights/magnifiers
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 |
#4
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Dazor lights/magnifiers
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 |
#5
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Dazor lights/magnifiers
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 |
#6
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Dazor lights/magnifiers
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 |
#7
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Dazor lights/magnifiers
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 |
#8
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Dazor lights/magnifiers
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. |
#9
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Dazor lights/magnifiers
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. |
#10
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Dazor lights/magnifiers
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 |
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