Tool Talk

Well, I'm sneaking in under the wire here for my National Craft Month post for today. I said I might do some product reviews and there's no better place to start than with one of my favorite, can't live without, tools. What I'm referring to is my Tensor Spectrum light. Much to my dismay, as I'm getting older my eyes are getting, well, let's say they're not what they used to be. Used to be I could sit and paint for hours (yes, I can paint - and I'm not talking about walls, although I've been know to do that too - I digress....). But all that detail work, while I still enjoy doing it, tires my eyes very easily.

I have found that lighting is a key element in cutting down on that tiredness - at least for me. I had seen advertisements for OTT lights and had seen them in Michael's, but to me, they were rather expensive at the time. Then, lo and behold (does anyone say that anymore?) I saw something on QVC that promised to do all the things that those lights at Mike's did but cheaper. Now, I'm not a QVC junkie, but I have been known to drop in on their programming now and again. I saw the light (I crack myself up!) - a Today's Special Value - for $18, plus shipping and tax and all that, but it was still well below the pricier version at Michael's or in the magazines. So I went ahead and ordered it, and let me tell you that it was one of the best impulse buys that I've made.

The light is a desk top model and it folds up quite nicely, and besides shedding extra light where needed, it has the added benefit of showing the correct colors of the materials that I'm working with. Now, you may not think that that's important, but you can't always rely on room lighting to make the correct choice in choosing colors that go well together. It's like shopping for clothing in a store and buying that perfect red t-shirt and getting it outside and it's not red, it's either too orangy or to purply and not at all what you were looking for.

And, I have to tell you that my family is notorious for handing me a pair of dark pants to be hemmed, or a uniform that needs a patch, or something else that has to be mended just before they go to bed and letting me know that, of course, they need it for the next morning. Did you ever try to thread a needle with black thread and put a hem in black pants after sundown? I still don't appreciate those last minute requests, but at least now they're not quite as painful!

I liked this light so much that I got a floor model from the Christmas Tree Shop that I have next to the couch in my living room - where I sit when I'm not crafting - and it makes reading the paper or a book or magazine a whole lot more comfortable. In fact, my husband has been known to be found sitting next to that lamp and reading the paper.

So, since I'm raving about this light I went and looked it up on QVC, and well, they don't have that model anymore - sorry. But they do have item H97155 which is the closest to what I have. It's a Tensor Natural Daylight Flexible Gooseneck 29" task lamp and it goes for $31.25 (still cheaper than Mike's) - if you're interested.