light bar?

[Lottie]

The Gammill has a very nice overhead light bar, does APQS offer something similar?

[Darlene Epp]

While I agree that the overhead light bars "look" great, in my experience (over 8 years), I think you can have TOO much light. Most of the time I'm using alternate forms of lighting, and often have some of my overhead lights turned off.

I use the black light a lot for SID and outlining, and also "side" lighting with just an "under the counter" kitchen flourescent fixture spanning my rollers. I can adjust the light source this way and get good shadowing when I'm quilting. I find a lot of overhead lighting washes out the shadowing and makes my job a lot harder. I also experience more eye strain when there is too much overhead light.

Just my opinion, but the money for those overhead lights would be better spent elsewhere. If you don't have the hydraulic lift, that would be a good place to make the investment instead of so much overhead lighting.

[TinaCollins]

I soooo agree!! The over-head light bar, in my humble opinion, is just a flashly gadget that has little practical value. However, I do love my hydraulic lift table!!!

My husband (Brad) is an electrician. When we built this house, Brad had 10 of his electrician buddies over to do all the wiring. I have almost 100 recessed lights in my ceilings, not to mention phone/internet/satellite connections in at least 2 different locations in every room of the house, along with surround-sound speakers throughout!! My house actually looks like an airport runway if all the lights are turned on at once!! The kids and I just laugh and call it "Binford System" (BS for short;))... you know, from Tim Allen's old "Tool Time" sit-com where he just HAD to modify and add more power to everything he bought??? (Imagine male gruntng noises in the background) LOL!!LOL!!

I often turn off my overhead lights and use side-lighting to quilt by, and I do love using a black-light too!! I thought I would literally go blind a few times when I matched the thread so well that I couldn't see where I was quilting, and more overhead light only made it worse! The black-light allows to me see where I am going, as well as where I have been!!

[Lottie]

Darlene and Tina,

I'm sold on the hydraulic lift! And it sounds like a black light is on my list as well

Thanks so much for your thoughts,

[TinaCollins]

Whoops! Dyslexic Quilter here...

as copied from my post above..."The black-light allows TO ME see where I am going, as well as where I have been!!"

Switch around those two words... "The black-light allows ME TO see where I am going, as well as where I have been!!

Sorry about that... and I am not a perfect speller either!! (LOL!!)

Charlotte,

I have to admit that I rarely stand to quilt anymore since I have had an hydraulic table.... OH MY GAWSH!!- I LOVE BEING ABLE TO QUILT SITTING DOWN!!! Now I will raise the table when doing the fast and furious overall quilting and lower it back down when I am doing intricate custom/heirloom work. I am wondering how I ever managed to do this as a business before owning a hydraulic table???? I move my table height around for each particular type of quilting work all the time. I need my eyes to be closer to the quilt top surface for intense work and farther away for larger design work. It's sweet to be able to bring the table to a height exactly where I want it with the mere flip of a switch!! I can quilt for hours and hours without getting muscle fatigue and/or soreness in my legs and back. It is a wonderful thing!!