At QuiltCon, I had the opportunity to use Wafer Lightboxes by the Daylight Company in my paper piecing classrooms. They were a lifesaver! My sewing space at home is full of natural light so seeing through my fabric to the foundation lines is not normally a problem for me during the day time. However, it is a challenge at night and on rainy days like today. In convention centers and other classroom settings, the lighting is almost always challenging. I was so grateful to have the lightboxes in my classroom that I reached out The Daylight Company when I returned home to thank them and ask for a chance to spread the news about their product.

They sent me the Wafer Lightbox pictured above in my sewing space. It measures 12 1/2″ x 9″ and is only .3″ thick. The LED lights make it so bright that I was actually able to position fabric along the stitching line through a couple of layers.

I tested it out today using my Tell Me A Story block from my book, Intentional Piecing.  That book is all about fussy cutting and positioning your fabric just so, and often includes foundation piecing as well.  So the lightbox is a great tool for the projects in the book.  Here, I used it to center my motif in the middle of the block without the use of a plastic template.  Then I was able to use it for all the other steps in the piecing as well because it allowed me to see the piecing lines and position my fabric 1/4″ beyond.  It worked like a charm and I found it to be a timesaver.  I have lots of workarounds and tricks for fabric placement but I didn’t need to use them thanks to the light.

Here’s the result!  I was thinking of the nursery rhyme “four and twenty blackbirds baked in a pie” when I chose these fabrics.

The Daylight Company also sent me a Slimline Table Light. I wasn’t sure that I would use it, honestly. But I set it up in the side of my sewing table that also functions as a cutting table. Right now, my forty year old eyes find the sewing machine lights sufficient for sewing. However, my cutting space is kind of dark. And often colors look different in the morning light so I try not to choose colors at night. But once I set this light up, it made my entire work space brighter and the color more accurate. I highly recommend it to those of you working in dim spaces or with aging eyes. I know I will only grown to appreciate it more as my eyes continue to fail me! I am already finding myself needing my glasses more and more.  This photograph was taken with my room lights on.  That gives you an idea of how bright the light is, and natural too.

I know that all my students were very pleased to be able to use the lightboxes in class.  There were four in the classroom and they were in constant use.

It’s always great to find a new tool to make paper piecing even easier!