Light Show

Do you struggle with bad lighting in your studio / sewing room?  Is sewing on black fabric with black thread your headache-inducing worst nightmare?  Do you refuse to spend $30-40 hard earned dollars for a stick-on light for your sewing machine?

If you answered YES to any of the above – read on!

I can’t take credit for this solution but I will gladly pass it on now that I have bought one for myself.

I first read/heard about these lamps from Bonnie Hunter at Quiltville.com (Thanks, Bonnie!).  I live near and travel past and Ikea or two occasionally.  But it never seemed to think about the light when I was in the area.  Until Saturday!

Saturday was a particularly cold (45 degrees), cloudy, rainy, grey early Fall day. It was also the day my Mom’s family was getting together for a family dinner since some West Coast relatives were in town.  I had time, I had the need (winter’s coming – dark early in the day winter) and I was driving right by Ikea on the way to dinner.

Of course, going to Ikea late in the afternoon on an icky Saturday, when everyone and their brother is out with the family trying to keep everyone entertained, is near suicidal.  Fortitude and the knowledge of how to get in, quickly find exactly what I was looking for & get out was key to a successful mission. 

Ikea’s JANSJÖ light to the rescue!  

It has a HEAVY, read: stable, base.  It doesn't get hot. It has nice bright but not glaring light.  

It is bendable. It comes in fun colors – Wine red, Turquoise, Copper, Black, & White.  It has a tail so you don’t have to worry about batteries. It assembles in minutes.

AND it’s $9.99!!!

I got the wine red (go figure).

Here is my Singer workhorse with overhead lights on as well as the machine’s light.

Here is the exact same set up with the Ikea light turned on.

It is also available in a full size Clip On version which I don’t think I have a use for right now.

And they now have a mini size USB version for $4.99, which also came home with me.

I should be all set to handle the coming winter evenings in the studio, light-wise, at least.