What about those battery operated lights that you can get in places like Ikea? My son has an obsession with them - keeps buying them for his tree-house. I have one that's like a long strip light which works great.

Here is a link to see the Ott light: http://www.ottlite.com/p-72-axiom-desk-lamp-discontinued.aspx
and I now see that my very old model is discontinued, but I assume the newer models don't get hot either.

Here is the way I have used my Sew Steady Extension Table and my Ott light as a make-shift light box for many, many years:

Oh Rita! I love your yellow background with the blue flowers. I agree that when you get more red in there, the blue will be perfect!
This will indeed be a little piece of summer for you.
Kathy

Thanks Karen - I like the blue too but I will wait until I have everything else done before rip them off and put the darker ones on. Can you post a photo of the Quilt of Valour? Rita.

I'm working on a quilt of valor this weekend. It's coming along pretty good so far.

Reetzbobeetz wrote: I think it's beautiful but I really love yellow and blue together.

makesgeese wrote: I don't know about Ott lights, I was just thinking about a regular bedside angle poise lamp, and they can get warm and I was considering about the book and how long the lamp was switched on for, it all depends on what you have indoors that could be pushed into a slightly different use, as Margo says Quilters are a resourceful bunch, and anything has to be easier than using a vertical window.

Thanks Lottie, you are good with photoshop! It's a great way of seeing the alternatives isn't it? I do like the lines along the petals as well. I was just looking at the alternatives myself and trying to decide if a different blue batik that I have might not be better. I am going to finish everything else first though and see how it is.

Rita, it's beautiful; i like the blue flowers, but if they were a bit darker they might have a bit more of a punch.
how about adding a few dark blue lines (stamens or whatever), or taking a paintbrush and some fabric paint to add a little more definition to the petals...

here are two versions modified with a few brush-strokes in fotoshop...
i'm not too keen on this one

like this much better


but before trying anything - i would definitely finish the other flowers and petals, once those dark blues and reds are in there - the light blue of the flowers might just be the "light" that's needed...

have fun and good luck with catching that sun

makesgeese wrote:
Barbara, please don't feel guilty!! Quilters are traditionally a resourceful bunch! And I don't think of a light box as part of the quilting industry, but more a support industry!
Save that money for FABRIC!!

I like my Sew Steady table to take to classes because it gives me more room to work than the extension tables that come with my machines.
I think that the actual steadiness depends on how sturdy the table is that everything sits on.
Sewing on a heavy folding table is great. Sewing on a card table...not so much.

Thanks Barbara. Maybe I will leave the blue flowers after all. I just taped the pattern which I photocopied and increased by 400% to my window, taped the fabric on top and traced it that way. But actually it is very hard on the neck and hands and next time I will use my glass extension table for my Pfaff with a light under it. The other thing I would do is to make the outlines simpler so that there are less pencil marks to cover up .

Margo and Rosemary...so I don't have to feel I am not doing my share to support the quilting industry if I don't buy a light box?
It is okay to use my Ott light under my large acrylic extension table for my sewing machine?
Rosemary? You made me worry about the heat from the light...I don't want to damage my table. Maybe I should just get a piece of glass and use that, like you suggested.

Margo? Is the Sew Steady really steady when you sew?

Thanks for the suggestions,
Barbara

Margo wrote:
Margo! Yes. That's the one! Thank you! It is a beautiful store...light filled and well organized. Bolts of fabric, spools of thread. And it has a great sale room...and a little sofa in the book section...great shop! Thank goodness that the West Barnstable location is not closing...so I don't have to leave on vacation now...in my pj's...

Or you could get a piece of perspex or glass out of a large picture frame (bought from a thrift or Dollar store) and prop it up on 2 piles of books and place a side lamp under it (taking care of heat from the bulb).