Product Review: EcoluxLighting

I had to make myself stop fiddling with the top and get on with it. Yesterday morning, I pin basted the quilt layers. Then I spent some time cleaning up my sewing area. I had to dig out George from under all the clutter that collects over time.

Still unwilling to actually quilt something, I rationalized that I needed to really clean my table top around George. I even used (gasp!) a spray cleaner. Just so you know, I’m not known for my housekeeping skills. Thankfully, sweet hubby owned a janitorial company for many years, and he does all the house work. Isn’t he wonderful?

It’s been a long time since I’ve paid any attention to George, so we spent a few minutes getting reacquainted. I oiled it and quilted a bit on a scrap to get the tension right. Then I took a very deep breath and started quilting over all the black outlines. It’s amazing how intimidating machine quilting can be when you haven’t done it in a while. I feel really rusty, but I’m trying to stop being overly critical of myself. You know, that voice that is continually telling you it’s not good enough? Pointing out every mistake? I am actively making every effort to totally ignore and drown out that voice.

Since I haven’t been quilting on George nearly enough, I decided to start working on the easier areas. The pink dress seemed like a good candidate. I used a light and a dark pink thread for that. Then I moved on to the white areas like the shoes, hats, and tights.

I did one other thing yesterday morning before I started quilting. Last October, I installed an EcoluxLighting LED strip on my Janome, and I loved the difference it made. I had purchased one for George, too, but I had not installed it yet. During my earlier clean-up-the-studio-before-you-quilt phase, I finally put it on. I love light! It seems like my eyes need more and more of it as I get older. I have overhead shop lights, so without the extra LED strip, I am always working in a shadow. These lights are worth every penny.