A few weeks ago, I was sent a Beam N Read light to try. I hate to admit, but I actually need this light myself and found it most useful when doing some hand stitching recently. My eyes are older than I’d like to admit!
In my studio, I have pretty good focus lighting that I use, but it sure is nice being able to sit in the living room with the puppy and have the Beam N Read light on to help me see the tiny whip stitches for my hexie quilt. I’ll do a more complete blog post about this quilt one of these days. It’s my relaxing quilt that I only get a few minutes here and there to work on.
The Beam N Read light I was sent has 6 LED bulbs in it. I have the option of using it at full strength with all 6 lights on, or with only 3 lights on, at a time. Additionally, there are two filters available that can be attached in front of the lights. The red one is for maintaining night vision and the orange filter produces a softer light. For reading, I’d probably want the softer orange filter.
There’s a clip available on the light to add the included magnify glass too… not me yet! You can see how it works in the photo on the right.
The light has an elastic band on it that you can adjust so that the light is sitting at the level you want it at. For me, I need the light to be pretty high as I stitch without my glasses on and fairly close to me. It’s band is an elastic so that you can slip it over your head. I do think the elastic could be improved with a softer one or even have the elastic encased in fabric for added comfort. But really, it’s a minor complaint. The elastic seemed to me to be strong enough to hold the light in the position I wanted, so that’s very good.
The light is very centre-focussed, so if you’re on a plane you won’t be disturbing your sleeping neighbours. There are also three angle positions for the light. So, in addition to having the flexibility with the elastic for height, you can change the focus of the light’s angle too. Most helpful! You can sort of see in the photo below how the light’s focus is very narrow as not to extend too far and disturb other, yet its focus is wide enough to be used for embroidery and quilting.
Visit the Beam N Read web site for more information on its uses and the different products available.
I was hoping to entice Milo into wearing the light so that I could find his poopies easier in the dark. He’s too busy napping, so I’ll have to try again another day.
Give-Away
I have one Beam N Read light to give away to my readers. All you need to do to enter the give-away is leave a comment below answering the following: If you won, would you keep the light for yourself or give it away to someone else? If you’re keeping the light for yourself or giving it someone else, why? What do you, or they, need the light for?
Winner will be randomly selected November 26th.
Congratulations to the winner:
Please check your inbox for an email from me.
I would give it to my mom. She loves to do hand embroidery but her eyesight has gotten bad and she can’t seem to get the lamp adjusted just right. She would be so thrilled! And so would I. Thanks!
I would definitely keep for myself. I’d love this for hand quilting and cross stitch!
What a great idea. If I won the Beam and Read I would keep it my self. Reason being, I am not getting any younger, so the eye sight is slowly deteriorating, and I some times find it hard to see stitching to unpick and other small things when quilting. Even matching up points on hard to focus fabric. Also when I read I find some print extremely hard to read as it is so tiny.
Great idea for any one.
I would keep it for myself! We have a summer cottage and we leave after work on Friday. It gets dark about 1/2 way through the trip and I have to put away my knitting or handwork. I could stitch all the way there!
I would keep it for myself because I love to read in bed. It would also be a gift for my husband because he needs to sleep instead of having my lamp shine in his eyes. Thanks for the chance!
If I won this light I would keep it at my home, but several people would benefit by being able to use it. I sew with several groups of quilters almost every week. We are all getting older and our eyesight is changing. We use several different brands of machines and none of them have lighting that is really good. Also indoor lighting is not really good for hand stitching either. I think this light would be good for either machine or hand work and not get in the way like a desk lamp or have to be adjusted continually like a floor lamp does. The only problem I see would be the ladies all wanting to use it at the same time. Thank You
If I was lucky enough to win the Beam & Read, I would keep it for myself. I would use it to pick out those tiny stitches when I make a mistake in quilting or piecing and need to “un-sew”. It would also come in handy for using to jot down those quilt ideas that wake me up in the middle of the night, without bothering my DH. Thanks for the generous giveaway! Happy Thanksgiving to you & yours!
I would love to win this light and I would keep it to use myself. I would especially like it for hand quilting but I know it would be great for knitting or reading. If I’m not the lucky winner then it’s for sure going on my Wish List. Thank you for the opportunity.
If I win, I will keep it for our Home…will share w/hubby…. I wil use when crocheting at night, or hand stitchin’…..light is poor in here at night.
Thanks for chance to win your Drawing! :)
I would keep it for myself. I gave Mom one last year and bad son that I am, I want to take it back (but I haven’t) I am trying to be good (so tell Santa!!!)
I would keep it so I could use it for hand work in the evenings. My lighting in the living room (where I love to sit) is just not good enough for my old eyes to see in dim light.
I would keep it for myself. I love to sit and stitch and read while everyone else is watching TV. It would be great to have a light like that, that focuses right on my stitching or my book. Thanks for the chance! :0)
Gosh, this would be wonderful to have. I only have one working eye so light is always an issue. DH has difficulty due to glaucoma so he’d love it too. Thanks for a lovely giveaway!
Wow, I didn’t know they had filters! That is so neat!
I would love to have this for when I am walking to the bus stop in the winter. Since it is dark out and there aren’t many street lights, it would come in handy!
Thanks for the review and the chance!
The last photo with your hairy but cute model made me decide to enter….giggle….too cute.
Oh wow, could my old eyes benefit from this light. I like to hand stitch at night and have a hard time seeing my stitches. Would also be a great reading light. Good luck to all, (but hope Its me) grin
Oh, gosh, I have to admit it – I’d be selfish! I can think of ssssssooooo many uses!! Reverse sewing (cataracts make that chore soooo difficult!), any hand sewing task, reading a map in the dark…and, yes, the inevitable poopie pickup!
We are on the road right now, and have just come back from the shower house. The good part is that we can see so many stars. The good part is that we did NOT fall in the pond! How’d we do that? As long as we stayed on the gravel road, we crunched…we stopped crunching once, and I knew we were on the grass! How much easier would the Beam N Read light have made that journey??
Thanks for such a good review & giveaway!
I would definitely give to my mom. She is trying to cross stitch me a piece and is having a hard time seeing it.
I would keep it because I’m the granny and great-granny and have eyes to go with the titles. I would certainly help me with my mega quilt projects.
I admit I’d keep it for myself. I think the light would be great help to see what I was doing.
I love my Beam n Read light! I would give it to a friend, who does lots of hand work, for Christmas. Thank you for the great giveaway
I would give it to my grandmother, who knits and does wool needlepoint (she is the only person I know who has completed an entire set of seat cushions–eight or ten, I think! Beautiful bargello pattern).
A tip for Milo: we have a small battery light attached to our dog’s harness so we can find the black pug more easily in the dark. Maybe that would help you track where he is spending the most time. ;) It’s a press on/press off kind of light, like you’d get as a safety light or a bike.
Keep it! Well, OK, I’d share it with my mom once in a while. Stitching and other close detail work, such as working on our sewing machines. Thanks for the giveaway. Give your puppy a pat from me!
I would keep it myself. Those small stitches are getting harder to see every year. Thanks for the opportunity on a great draw
Thank you so much for this opportunity to win this awesome item. I am afraid I would keep this for myself because my eyes are not as good as they used to be and when we travel to the young marrieds in our family, they do not have good light to sew by. So I could use it at home and traveling. I need the light for appliqué and doing samplers . I believe I might could use it for reading, too! Awesome! Thanks again for your give away.
I’d be selfish and keep it for myself- it’d be great for reading in bed without disturbing my hubby
I could use one for myself to use for embroidery. My eyes need the help.
If I won, I’d keep it, as my eyes are probably older than yours, and it would help with hand stitching.
That is the best description of the beam and read so far that I’ve seen. I’m even more interested in it now. I’d keep the light for myself, since I need more light. I need bifocals (but won’t get them) and I have to take my glasses off to do close up work. The magnifying part sounds great, too. I figure that my hubby will steal it from me, since he complains that he needs lots more light to read by now that he has bifocals. If I win, and if this lives up to its hype, I’m sure I’d have to purchase a 2nd one pretty quickly, so that I’d get to use one myself. Thanks for the chance.
Oh, I am pretty selfish when it comes to new ‘tech’ things. I would keep it for myself. That magnifier would sure come in handy, too.
Now that I stopped giggling about you wanting Milo to try it so you could find his ‘poopies’ in the dark….I would love to have this light for myself…eyes aren’t what they used to be and I now need more light to read by and sew (especially binding). Thanks for the review and the sweet giveaway!
I would definitely keep this for myself! Too many years of fine needlework have taken their toll, and now my house is littered with clip on magnifying glasses (not very successful) and task lights (not very stylish or decorative). A single portable product such as this one could help me get rid of the clutter. Thanks for the great giveaway opportunity.
I would selfishly keep for myself because I am the only one in my group who sews, knits, crotchets, quilts, and embroiders BUT I do all of these things to make gifts for my family and friends. And anyway, my birthday is next week!
I bought one for my Dad last year. If I’m lucky enough to win, I’ll keep it for myself. I have vision issues (including a form of glaucoma), and I need help in doing handwork. Thanks for the giveaway.
I would probably give it to my sister who does a lot of needlework. Of course, I’d have to try it out myself first. It my be too good to give away.
If I am luck enough to win, I’d be so happy to keep it for myself. I do hand applique and now that the time has changed it is really dark in my house much earlier than in the summer. My eyes need all the help they can get. Thanks for sharing.
I could use one of those. Our living room lighting is terrible for knitting.
This is unbelievable. I have been searching for a light exactly like this for when I work on my Hexie quilt or do bindings. I have never seen one in the stores though. I’m afraid I would have to keep this prize if I won. I use a flashlight now but it is almost impossible to get it to stay in the perfect position. Thanks for the opportunity to win one of these lights.
Thanks for the opportunity. I would keep it for myself. I do a lot of sewing and am dealing with cataracts so lighting has become critical to keep up with my passion for fabric and its many uses. I love sewing for my grandchildren, but it has become more challenging. Again, thanks for the drawing.
I’d give the Beam N Read light to my sister. She loves to do counted cross-stitch but they like to keep their house dimly lit, I don’t know how she can see well enough to do the stitching. Definitely not an after dark activity for her but I bet having a light like this one would change that! Thank you for the chance to win. :)
I could totally use that light! Thanks for the giveaway, Michelle!
Since I have taken up hand applique and I am getting old, I would keep it for myself!
If I won the light, I would keep it for myself and use it when I cross stitch. I never have enough light when I stitch.
If I were the lucky winner, I would definitely keep the light for myself. I read a lot and do quite a bit of hand sewing such as embroidery and applique, but the light in our living room is not as bright as I would like. I would definitely put this to good use. I think it would also be nice for riding in the car. Thanks!
I would keep the light, but if my husband needed to borrow it, that might be OK!! I need a better lamp at my sewing machine, so this might work just fine!! Thanks for doing the give-a-away!
I would keep it for myself. I love doing handwork, and I have such a hard time seeing to do it lately! I think that light would be very helpful.
I would keep this for myself, Michelle! The reading glasses just don’t always do the job. Especially on dark things. I have an LED light strip under my sewing machine (courtesy of my son) and sure can use this one for handwork!
Looks like a great light. I’d be forced to keep it for myself. When Hubby and I watch TV, I usually like to work on something to keep my hands busy, hubby likes the lights off in the family room and the light behind us in the kitchen on. Not conducive to hand work. This would be great. I have an LED light blub in my reading lamp clipped to my side of the head board and boy does it make reading easier. I was worried that a 40 watt equivalent wouldn’t be bright enough. Boy, was I wrong.
I would have to keep it for myself. I have been wanting to get back to my cross stitching while watching TV and this would be perfect for it. If the elastic needs some help for comfort I would need to make a quilted cozy for the strap – just because it would fun to have another project in the works.
I would keep the light for myself. I find now that I need more focused light for needlework and reading. Also my husband like to watch TV in the dark and I’ve had a hard time finding a light that doesn’t get in his eyes while I stitch
I’d give it to….ME. Reading and quilting are my two favorite activities!