Vision Magnification - A Necessary Evil

Vision is a crazy thing - you don't think much about it until it starts to fail. I've been wearing eyeglasses for most of my life, so I don't think at all about grabbing a set first thing in the morning. I don't have major corrections for my eyeglasses, but I still need to wear one or another set just to function in my daily life of reading, driving, and operating the cash register at work. I'm quite sure many of you are in the same boat. We need our glasses to read, to drive, and to watch television or movies. As a crafter and an artist, I'd be totally lost without glasses enabling me to see the details I need to. Although I have eyeglasses, several years ago I realized I needed additional help with close-up sight. 

DH uses a clip-on, flip-up magnifying lens like this when
we attend shows like the American Craft Council Show
in the Spring. It's just enough magnification to allow
him to look at items more closely. 

There are a lot of varieties of magnification augmentation available to people, taking vision one step farther (or closer, in this case) than just standard bi-focal glasses. Let's start out with the easiest one. When we attend craft shows and places where we want a detailed look, DH often will stick a set of flip down magnifiers into his pocket. These are handy little aids, just that small addition that can mean so much. They are subtle too, perfect for public venues. 

I own two of these and keep one for home and the other
for the shop. A lot of times, this is all of the magnification
I need to look carefully at a repair or examine a setting. 

One step up from this are flip up headband assists such as the Optivisor. This features an adjustable headband that offers several different snap-in lenses offering different focal lengths. For years this was my choice when working at the jewelry bench, and I still have one at home and another at my bench at the shop for times when I need to quickly look at something with greater magnification. My main choice these days, however, is ... 

My basic set of CraftOptics telescopes look just like
this. The actual eyeglass part is made to your
prescription (I had my shortest focal length set
in the bottom half and my mid-length for the top).
The telescope portion can be pushed up and
away from the eyeglasses when needed. 

... my CraftOptics Telescopes. They are the most expensive option, but absolute best choice. Wearing these I look a bit like some bug-eyed alien, but they are the most wonderful, and one of the most essential tools in my arsenal. I was unable to wear them for the past few years because their basic lense is my personal eyeglass prescription and my prescription was very out of date. But when I got my updated eye exam earlier this year, I set out to update all of my glasses, and the final pair to get updated were my CraftOptics. 

The Dream Beam battery-powered light pushes into
the telescope framework. The battery pack has a clip
and can be attached to a waistband or belt. The
light directs a powerful LED spotlight directly where
you are looking, making vision even easier. 

I got my updated set back late last week and started wearing them again on Tuesday. What a RELIEF! I can see again. It cuts my time on a project down to a reasonable length because I'm not wasting time looking for the holes in the beads or the thread path. My friend Lisa Pavelka had talked me into adding the "Dream Beam" light to my Telescopes a few years ago and it was a great decision. Now I can see properly and light falls right where I need it. 

We all look a bit like aliens when we're wearing our CraftOptics
Telescopes with the Dream Beam, here shown in a side view.
Having the ability to see our work clearly, however, is worth a
few strange looks. I love my CraftOptics and am so happy to
have them back at the correct prescription once again. 

Tools are essential. Good hammers for carpenters, great socket sets for car mechanics, and for people like myself who revel in making things from extremely small and shiny components, good quality vision augmenters. CraftOptics Telescope glasses aren't inexpensive, but they are worth every penny. Now I can be happy creating my art and doing repairs for my customers once again. Yeah - they're worth every cent. Have a great Thursday as we swing into another heat wave. Stay hydrated and body aware. I'll be back tomorrow. 

Beads, Words and Cabana Boys - What's Not to Like?

I'm flying by the seat of my pants on my challenge beading project, but I'm also recognizing that many years of working within this media (and a fair amount of basic luck) are allowing the pieces to fall together beautifully at this stage. I'm joining three independently made beaded cords together into a larger one. Each cord uses a different stitch, the third one a stitch of my own device, and somehow, with some miracle, they actually are lining up and are easy to join together. I'm breathing a serious sigh of relief here. My clock is ticking and I haven't even started the much more difficult and challenging dimensional sculptural piece that will be added to these cords.

I love working with small seed beads. This lovely little beaded
hummingbird would be fun to make and not very time consuming. 

Every night I'm getting home from work and pulling out my beadwork. I won't be doing that tonight because the Face Off Finale will be tonight, so I won't get anything beaded. But as I mentioned above, the deadline is breathing down my neck. I might bring my work to the shop with me today and push for a couple of hours of work before I start the day.

I wear CraftOptics magnifiers when I bead. I call them my alien eyes. I blame the
purchase directly on my friend Lisa Pavelka (left) who caught my arm at the Bead & Button
show two years ago and told me that I had to get myself a pair because she loved hers
so much. When I found that they work on top of your personal prescription lenses, I was
sold. My health insurance paid for them and I was seeing the beads again. I treated myself
to the "Dream Beam" light last year. It attaches to the bridge and shines directly
on the beadwork. Heaven! However, I lay all blame totally at Lisa's feet. Thanks Lisa! 

Also, NaNo starts on Saturday and I'm going to be diving into my daily word count with a vengeance since I know my time will be pulled in so many directions. So here's the deal with my NaNo schedule...

NaNo is the only time I allow word count to take over my life. In order
to write 50,000 words on my schedule in less than a month, I have
to be very conscious of my word count. I have learned, however, some
very basic rules: (1) DON"T EDIT and (2) JUST WRITE. Revisions, polishing,
etc all come later. It actually works, and I'm always amazed at
what I've written when I look it over in December. 

As in previous years, my word count comes first. I'll be putting on my headphones and working on my novel as soon as I get up in the morning. That will leave my blog for second and catching up on my emails (with the exception of product orders that HAVE to come first) after that. There will probably be some days when I either don't have a blog post or only have a single picture and a quick sentence. Other days will fall into place beautifully. I've walked this road before and I know how I have to make it work, but rest assured, I'll be trying my very best to have something up on my blog every day, even it if is minimal.

I'll be chasing goals all November and trying to get a lot done. Blog posts, although
important, have to come third on my morning list. I'll still be posting, though.
Don't give up on me. 

Other things will be pushed aside, however. But ... this beadwork challenge comes due in early November and can't be pushed at all. So, I have to get as much of this completed by Saturday as I possibly can. I need more hours in my days!

Cabana boy, drinks with tropical fruits and small umbrellas, a beach...
maybe I could write there instead on here where I need to rake leaves and
winterize my home? 

That said, I hope everyone reading has a great Tuesday. Know of a nice beach where I can hide out for a year? Or two? Or many - LOL? Cabana boys and tropical drinks are mandatory...