On Sep 16, 2004, at 7:55, Jennifer Audsley wrote:
How useful is a specific light source/illuminator, especially at night? Do many of you use one? I attempt (vbg) needlelace, 95% of which is done in the evenings after the small people are abed.
As Steph has pointed out, it's a matter of personal preference. For bobbin lace, I don't use a "dedicated" light, with or without a magnifier, no mater how fine the thread or how close the pins. I've tried, and it only irritated me, for a variety of reasons. A magnifier and a lamp - both very cute - have been added to a pile of other "misguided" tools.
With needlelace it's likely to be different. I use my Dazor (older version, with the 3 parallel bulbs above the magnifying lens, bought second hand years ago) all the time for finishing off the pillow (working the threads in, where necessary) and for mounting my lace onto fabric. And, before I made lace, I used to make miniature needlepoint, and used it all the time for that purpose, even though my eyes, at 34-39 weren't all that bad (they've always been fairly bad; they're only worse now <g>). Miniature needlepoint was what I'd bought the lamp for, and it answered splendidly. I also used it, happily, for miniature crochet and knitting.
It's an independently standing (floor) lamp, BTW, which was the only thing I considered then, and still would now. Somehow, just imagining a clamp on, or a table (a la the little OTT lights) lamp, seems to give me the headache :) Getting it into a position where it does the most good, without overheating me or the lace I'm working on, without restricting my freedom of movement...
But, as Clay'd said, it's *vital* to rest your eyes frequently when using a light with a magnifier (or even just a magnifier). You have to take your eyes off your work every 10-15 minutes for long enough (up to one minute) and let them roam around the world that's not specially illuminated and distorted as to size. I found that I paid for being too absorbed in the work with mega headaches (another thing that's plagued me since I was 7)
--- Tamara P Duvall http://lorien.emufarm.org/~tpd Lexington, Virginia, USA (Formerly of Warsaw, Poland) Healthy US through The No-CARB Diet: no C-heney, no A-shcroft, no R-umsfeld, no B-ush.
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