Seeing the light

I should have bought a daylight lamp two years ago, when we first moved to the UK. But little did I know then how much the lack of sunlight would affect my ability to stitch, particularly when it comes to finer work like hand embroidery.


Well, those dark days are now firmly in the past. My Daylight Twin Fluorescent with two – yes two – 15W daylight tubes has become the most coveted of my possessions. Its super-adjustable arm (it’d win a game of Twister hands down) and table clamp rather than space-hogging base are great design features. Put simply, it just works.

I’m not a night owl by any stretch of the imagination. But when I got the urge to “just quickly embroider that bit there” well after 9pm one night, it was a revelation to be able to flick a switch and do so – without having to unpick my floss squiggle the next day.

And I didn’t have to stop sewing on my machine or risk bloodshot eyes when what daylight we had faded at the end of a rather dismal Saturday recently. A quick flick and my entire work surface was flooded in natural light. I only stopped when the nagging kink in my back – the one only those who use a sewing machine can relate to – rendered sewing unpleasant.

I’m not punting any particular brand here, just the concept of a daylight lamp or bulb. If you live far from the equator and are subjected to dark and gloomy winters, you need one of these. It’ll alienate you from your loved ones and deprive you of sleep – I guarantee it.

Show and tell

A lot of you have downloaded my free Jacobean Leaves and Bloomin' Marvellous patterns, and I can't help but wonder what you've been doing with them. Would you be willing to share your interpretation of the designs? Actually, why limit it to the free patterns – would you be willing to share your version of any of my designs?

I use flickr, so I'm wondering if it would be a good idea to create a group to which you could post your work based on my designs. Or is that a tad egotistical? Let me know if you have a better idea and if there are enough of you willing to post photos to such a group (I wouldn't want it to be a sad little group that fades into obscurity due to a lack of interest).

A keen interest in creativity with a needle and thread, and good old-fashioned curiosity are my reasons for wanting to see how you've used the designs. So let me know if and how you're keen to share your work, and I'll get something set up if that's the way things go.

Bloomin’ Marvellous : 4

A new bloom for a new year…


Download the pattern here.