Ott Lite

I have been cross-stitching since I was 18 years old.  I have made tons of gifts for others such as wedding samplers, baby bibs, etc. that I hope people treasure as they were intended.  I love to make things and see people's faces when they realize that it was actually hand-made and (hopefully) looks great.  Now, my grandmother really tried to teach me to crochet.  It's what she did, and she wanted me to have something feminine that I could do.  However, I just can't crochet.  I even tried it again last year and figured I was older and wiser, but even with the lessons, I was hopeless.  Cross-stitching, however, was something that I was able to teach myself, and it's something that I enjoy.  I am always amazed, however, that it also relaxes me.


When I was younger, it was no problem to stitch just about anywhere.  I had just a few supplies - basically, I bought kits and worked those and put them to the side.  My first "major" purchase was a craft bin from Michael's because I had finished kits that needed to be organized, and I was starting to purchase ahead when I saw something on sale.  Then, I purchased boxes to hold the DMC Floss, and I started to be sure that  had colors on hand.


In all of the years that I have been stitching, I have received magazines with tips and ideas, and I have met other people who passed on tips and tricks!  But now, there is Facebook!  I am armed with so much information, and I know that this need to purchase things to have "on hand" is called having a "stash."  My crafting area is now a third of the closet in my office as well as another entire portion of the room and organized and contained in fabric bins.  I've added things for the scrapbooking such as ribbons and glue for when I will create with what I made digitally, but most everything I have in my "stash" is for stitching.


In the 1990s, I started hearing about Ott Lites.  They are very expensive lights that crafters are using because there is no coloring to the bulbs. You get replicated sunlight where ever you have their product.  Initially, I saw them and started drooling, but I was in college and $200 wasn't anything extra that I really had. Then, I was married, divorced, and married again with children.  My second husband (the girls' father) was not-so-nice.  I managed to scrape some money together and purchased a floor scroll frame.  This was a HUGE purchase for me!! It was something that the ex felt was "frivolous and stupid" but it made stitching so much easier for me - I didn't have to hold the fabric in my lap and move it around.  I actually wasn't ruining the fabric as I stitched!  As much as I wanted the Ott Lite, I didn't know anyone who actually had one, and I wasn't willing to risk things making another large purchase during that marriage.  


After leaving the girls' dad, I lost most everything I owned which included the cross-stitching supplies. I had already taken the girls' birth samplers, but I made the mistake of leaving their pictures.  He did actually send the cross-stitching stand back to me, but I think it's because I had three friends who were cops who went to pick up some stuff, and he figured if he sent that along, he would look good.  In the last 5 years, I have built back up my "stash" and it's more impressive than ever.  Ken does not mind me having a stash, and that is one of the reasons we have our monthly "allowance" - we can spend our money how we want.


So, one of the Facebook groups was talking about the Ott Lite and how great it is.  I've started working on Linen which is more difficult to see, and at night, it's even harder.  Factor in that I now have astigmatism in both eyes, and I had to make a decision - what the hell am I going to do so I can keep stitching???


Voila!  The Ott Lite.  I had coupons for JoAnn's - which I'm getting to be a pro with (I haven't paid full price for anything in over a year!), and I also noticed that the lamp I wanted, which is normally $200, was on sale on the JoAnn's website for $99.99.  Nice!  So I called the local store and asked if they had one - which they did, but only one.  I put it on hold and got my ass over there as fast as possible.  Luckily, I printed out the website showing the price and then added the 25% off total purchase code that I had received on my iPad.


The store was not having the sale, but because the lamp was on sale on the website, I got it at the lower price AND I even got the 25% off total purchase because I was only using one coupon.  SCORE!!!!  So, this $200 Ott Lite only cost me $80.80 after tax.

I was so excited that I set the light up as soon as I got home.  I had already picked a location for it - um, right behind where I stitch, and I got it all placed and set up.  I went with this model because of the nickle finish which matches the rest of the house, and then I called Ken out to see my new, pretty purchase!

Ken saw it, and he liked it so much that he made the decision that this purchase could come out of the Household funds rather then my money - EVEN BETTER SCORE!  Talk about amazing, but Ken saw the difference in the light and said it would help all of us to use it.  Whoo-hoo!


I waited until the evening to really take this light for a test.  Here is what my area looks like with the regular light:

And now, here's the same area with the Ott Lite:

Holy smoke!!  Look at the difference!!!  There's just no comparison.  I was able to see the colors clearly, I was able to see the fabric better and after an hour of stitching, my eyes weren't straining and tired.  It was great!!  I was quickly able to go back and find where I had a mistake which is why I stopped the other night.  I was able to get further on the dress and no problems at all.


Oh my happiness!  There is no way that I could have gotten this Lite without Ken.  Not only would I have never been able to justify the purchase on my own (he told me to go ahead and get it since it would help so much), but then he decides the family could use this purchase and to keep my spending money for other things.  Wow!!


So, I was able to finish the one color of the dress and then the shaded part of the dress:

I love how clear it all is now.  Nothing looks "yellow" in the pictures, I didn't have to clean the pictures up - they are amazing!!  Now, the only thing I have to do is figure out how to deal with my eyes when stitching close-up and then looking further away at the television or talking to Ken or the girls.  That is still a problem, but that's it now!