My Mom Needs A Beam N Read Because…
April 26, 2011 at 4:38 pm 93 comments
Yessiree, it’s time for a little contest. In your comment below, tell me why your mother needs a Beam N Read for Mother’s Day and what she could use it for. I’m looking for creativity as well as practical applications for this amazing light. One winner will be selected from all the comments made to this blog post BEFORE midnight May 1st. The winner will receive a Beam N Read light.
If you get my blogs emailed to you, comments made by smacking the reply tab on your email program don’t count. You have to actually click on the word COMMENT and post your comment to this blog.
Moms, Mommies, Ma-Mas, and Mothers of all persuasion are eligible. Offspring are not required, so if you don’t have kids, but you have a goldfish that calls you Mommy and he/she has absolutely no keyboard skills, you can enter for them (for you). In the spirit of fairness Dads, Daddies, and Pa-pas can enter also.
Ami Simms
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Entry filed under: Gifts For Quilters. Tags: .
1. Maria | April 26, 2011 at 5:02 pm
My auntie Maria is writing this for me ’cause my Mommy won’t let me type when she is reading her email. My Mommy is amazing! It’s not just that she can read email and send some back, either.
See, my Mommy has these two skinny sticks and a ball of yarn that I’m not allowed to play with. She looks at a piece of paper and wiggles the sticks around, and a sweater falls out the bottom! It’s so cool! I like to watch the sweater grow while I keep her feet warm by breathing on them. She is always fidgeting though, because the light on the pole over her shoulder doesn’t reach the sticks and the paper at the same time. She has to put the sticks down and pick up the paper and turn to the side and hold it close to her face, then put the paper down and pick up the sticks again. Sometimes she has to turn around in her chair and move the light-on-the-pole. That is why I breathe on her feet instead of putting my chin on them, she fidgets too much to make a good chin rest. It would be really neat if she had a light that would hold itself up so she could always see what she the paper tells her she is supposed to be doing, and see the growing sweater at the same time. Then I could put my chin on her feet, and she would be warm and bright at the same time!
-From Keydoe the Akita
2. Margaret Lee | April 30, 2011 at 5:22 pm
To #1 Akita,
Precious and Funny. My cat completely understands.
To # 38,
Funny. But, I have to know how 10 animals have 176 nails, even, if I read this right, and one animal has three legs. The math doesn’t work out.
3. Margaret Lee | April 30, 2011 at 5:23 pm
I meant the last comment to Wanda, #39
4. Marilyn | April 26, 2011 at 5:13 pm
Oh my how my mom could use this light. She wears bifocal contact lenses, but is always grabbing her readers because she says the light where she is working is not bright enough. If she is wearing her glasses, she looks ridiculous with her readers propped on her nose in front of her glasses. She is doing hand embroidery for some quilt blocks and I’m so tired of having to tell her whether her colors are correct since the light is too dim. Curious I can give her guidance in the same dim light! My second reason she needs the Beam and Read is so she can better help me with my Pysics and Calculus homework. Again, she uses the dim light complaint to stall, and then spends too much time searching for the readers (though they are always handy when the embroidery comes out). By the time she sits down to help, I can have it almost done myself! The final reason the Beam and Reads would help her out is because my last unit in Physics deals with optics and light waves. With this little tool, I see all kinds of extra credit coming our (ok, my) way with a project relating the light’s intensity to my Mom’s ability to read clearly and quickly, and thus being a more effective Physics homework helper, which will guarantee adding a half letter grade to my semester’s grade. Who knows, this little handy light could be the reason my summer ACT score jumps enough to get me into the college of my dreams, which Mom keeps saying can’t come soon enough. God bless her for wanting me to fulfill my dreams.
5. Sharon Williams | April 26, 2011 at 6:07 pm
My mommy needs a Beam N Read because her eyesight is getting worse and worse. She even calls my brindle boxer sister my name and I’m a fawn boxer. Now just how can you get brindle and fawn mixed up, I ask you? She doesn’t do all the handwork that she use to do either. That was more fun because she use to sit and let us sit beside her while she embroidered. Now that she doesn’t do as much embroidery, well, we have to go to bed with her to get to be by her more. Now that just isn’t fair. So please consider her name for the Beam N Read: she’ll look funny with it on, but at least we’ll get lots more love than we do now and a nice warm body to sit next to. Love, Katey (fawn) and Zoey (brindle)
6. LizA. | April 26, 2011 at 9:23 pm
Arlo, aka “the Spotted One” says that his momma needs one of these because it would be very helpful for her when she sews while watching movies. The current light she uses shines in my eyes and keeps me awake. It would also be very helpful for her to use in our vw bus when we go camping.
7. Mary Ann Karpinski | April 27, 2011 at 9:20 am
My 87 year old Mom (she’ll be 88 in June) could really use this light. She has macular degeneration in both eyes (the wet kind in one eye and dry kind in the other) but still loves to do her watercolor painting and read….and she still goes to exercise class 3 days a week. Thankfully we’ve been able to find her lots of books with large print, but this light would really help her see her books better and help her see the colors in her paintings easier. Please consider my Mom for the light. I love her dearly and want to make the rest of her life easier for her any way I can.
8. Kalli | April 27, 2011 at 9:21 am
I’m Piglet the goldfish with personality. You see everytime someone comes into the kitchen I go to the top of my bowl and blow bubbles so they’ll hear me and give me food!
This gets tiring after awhile so a Beam n Read where it will help Mom to embroider, applique and quilt it will also sit on her at just the right height to see me!!
Sincerely,
Piglet
9. Sally | April 27, 2011 at 9:23 am
Our Mom needs a Bean-n-read because she likes to read her e-book in bed. When she reads in bed, she lets us in to sleep on the bed as soon as Daddy goes to sleep. Then he won’t say “no cats on the bed!”
Hunter and Marmalade
10. Maggie Szafranski | April 27, 2011 at 9:28 am
My mom is typing this for me because my nails need to be trimmed, and I am not as good at typing as my dear late friend Madison was. My mom needs this light because then she could sit on our couch with me in her lap and read her Kindle. Lap time is very important to me, so the more of it I get, the better I feel! Thank you for being my mom’s “invisible” friend! Arf! Arf!
Scooter Szafranski
11. Peggy Nelson | April 27, 2011 at 9:28 am
My Mom needs a Beam N Read light because she’s been sick all winter and it has left her with a vision problem. She has COPD and congestive heart failure and just finished with a bout of double pnuemonia, besides having more than 3 GALLONS of fluid removed from around her lungs! She has been a quilter (piecer) with a volunteer group that makes and gives away about 130 quilts a year! I think she could benefit from having this light as she reads and still does crossword puzzles at the age of 91.
12. Debbie Harmon | April 27, 2011 at 9:30 am
My mom needs a Beam N Read because when she needs extra light (which is often, indeed!) she wears a little headlight type thing on top of her head to shine light where she needs it. All she needs is a hard hat to go along with it and she will look like a coal miner!
13. DonnaG | April 27, 2011 at 9:36 am
I could really use a Beam N Read for when we do the Nocturnal Creatures walk for Girl Scouts. It may keep me from tripping in the dark! (and becoming a first aid demonstration)
14. Charlie Petersen | April 27, 2011 at 9:41 am
Our mom needs the Beam n Read for 1) retreat at Fort Worden, where the lighting is very far away, near the ceiling, and she has a hard time working on our kitty quilts after dark; 2) knitting our kitty beds, we only have one, she needs to make another; 3) cuz she’s cool and gives us treats. Love from Lois Lane Petersen and Rocket J. Kitten Petersen
15. Lori Marcy | April 27, 2011 at 9:46 am
My mom needs a Beam N Read! My parents like to take road trips. They spend time on the road that she could use to do any handwork project. She likes to crochet, knit and embroider. This Beam N Read is the perfect portable light for her. The spot she has in her home to work on projects has been set up with plenty of light, so the Beam N Read would be purely for use when she is not at home. She could use this when visiting other people’s homes, in the car, in a hotel room, just about anywhere.
16. Joanne Alburger-Yeastedt | April 27, 2011 at 9:48 am
Beam n Read…just like sliced bread would be such fun for my mom Helen Yeastedt. She still hand pieces, quilts & crochet most every day. Her days are filled with still taking care of Dad, meals house stuff, watching her grand dogs, Abby & Carly and now 3 baby chicks. Her time is at end of day and this fun gadet would be such a treat. She is up to the trifocal time of life. Thanks sew for considering her for this gift.
stitchfully
17. Sue | April 27, 2011 at 9:51 am
My Mom needs a Beam N Read light because SHE CAN’T SEE WORTH A DARN IN ANYTHING BUT THE BRIGHTEST LIGHT FOR HEAVEN’S SAKE!
18. Mary Ann | April 27, 2011 at 10:01 am
My Mom needs a Beam N Read so she can, in the early morning NO light, fix my breakfast which includes a heart pill & liver pill mixed with my food consisting of rice, low fat doggie food, yougert & chicken (late afternoon lots of light through the window). After that she needs to get my other heart pill down my throat (I get a half doggie cookie after that). I have a heart mummer, and enlarged heart so Mom has to get the pils down me and the real bright light in the kitchen is sometime overwhelming for her (she has had cataract surgery).
I know the Beam N Read would help her a lot with the direct light to see exactly what she is doing.
I am a Austrailian Cattle dog and 12yrs. old, Mom & Dad rescued me from Ingham Cty. Animal Control 10yrs ago. My Mom takes good care of me, calls me her senior dog. I have a sister who would love my pills but Mom says no! Dad isn’t so good at getting the pills down me and sometimes forgets what I need.
Please consider my special Mom.
Love, Stub & my sis Babs
19. Catherine | April 27, 2011 at 10:14 am
Does being a Grandma to a Dachsagle count? Ollie is part Dachshund and part Beagle! He says I could use one because it wouldn’t shine in his eyes as badly as the big floor lamp I use and he would be better sleep in my lap!
20. Gerry Prodger | April 27, 2011 at 10:20 am
The mother of my stepchildren needs this light! I call her my ex-wife-in-law and, weird but true, we have become very good friends, and our family gatherings are always a riot. We are both beaders. She travels weekly, and when she’s in some light-deprived, God-forsaken hotel room on the other side of the country, she could be making jewelry if she had this light. Thanks for choosing her!
21. Jane | April 27, 2011 at 10:58 am
My mom is 93 and has the beginnings of age related macular degeneration, so she really needs good light to continue to do her embroidery and other hand work. She lives independently, volunteers 2 days a week at local hospital, walks every day weather allowing( lately its been storms, tornados etc) and stays active. she bakes every week and takes treats to fellow volunteers and even sends them home to my husband and son who make them disappear quickly. So I think she deserves this BEAM N READ light so that she can remain independent longer
22. Leanne King | April 27, 2011 at 12:17 pm
My Mom needs a Beam n Read because she goes camping a lot. She could put it around her neck when she gets up in the night to use the washroom. It would make her nighttime trips in the dark a lot safer :)
23. Ruth | April 27, 2011 at 12:22 pm
My Mom is 87 and still does handwork, this light would be very helpful in getting the light right where she needs it. happy stitching!
24. Angela | April 27, 2011 at 1:02 pm
Sometimes the best gift for someone is a gift you give to another. My mother insists on watching TV in the pitch dark. All lights IN THE HOUSE are to be turned off around 7 or 7:30, causing visitors to stumble in the dark to the refrigerator, bathroom, etc. One also can not quilt, knit, etc while warching TV since lights are not permissible. This light would be a heaven sent for my mother because she could then make available to her guest a means of traveling safely to the fridge or bathroom. Even better yet, the guest (me) could actually do some hand quilting, knitting or embroidery while keeping her company in front of the TV!
25. judy stowell | April 27, 2011 at 1:23 pm
Perfect timing!! Today is my mother’s 90th birthday!!!! Her hobby is doing cross-stitch tablecloths. She has made at least one for each of her 7 children (I’m in the middle). She has 11 grandchildren, and on each of their 16th birthdays, they got a tablecloth. Now she’s working on her 9 great-grandchildren’s tablecloths. Only one has reached 16 – and you guessed it – she got a tablecloth. Mom is actually 5 ahead – “just in case I don’t make it to their 16th birthdays.” Gotta love her!!!!
26. Maria | April 27, 2011 at 1:27 pm
my mom is a wonderful lady who has been a stitcher for most of her life. she is currently retired and her passion now is cross-stitch. mom makes the most beautiful, detailed gifts for us! each of her grandchildren (and special friends) has received a lovingly handmade stocking for christmas that she has cross-stitched and finished off by hand. the walls of her home (and ours) are filled with the fruits of her labor. she has passed on her knowledge of hand crafts to me and my three daughters. oma has taught us how to sew by hand, embroider, cross-stitch, crochet, and knit. my oldest daughter and i started quilting as well, since there were always scraps of fabric in her house and she encouraged us to show off our creative side. i know she would absolutely love a BEAM N READ for those days that it’s rainy or snowy (we do live in chicago, after all) so that she wouldn’t have to struggle to see as she stitches. since mom literally stitches for a few hours every day, i know this would come in so handy. thanks for considering her!
27. Lucy | April 27, 2011 at 1:49 pm
Oh, poor Ami, you’re going to have a hard time choosing!
The momma here in this house needs a Beam N Read because she just has to sew ALL the time. She has 9 children, ages 23yo to the sweet baby at 5yo, but these are of a species different from most of the other comments…these are HUMAN! 5 girls, 4 boys. These humans keep their momma mending often. She not only doesn’t mind mending, but she delights in hand embroidery and all kinds of quilting too. Her hands are ALWAYS working. She carries work along to dim dentists’ and doctors’ offices. She ALWAYS has a bag of sewing to do with her. It would make the ride when Daddy is driving the 12 passenger van more enjoyable for her too…she gets pretty frustrated when it’s too dark and she has to just sit. She is VERY hard-working, but loves her sewing and would delight in winning such a treat that would make her skills even more useful.
Thank you for the chance to win.
Lucy (in IN)
28. Linda Nadolski | April 27, 2011 at 1:50 pm
My stepmother is 85 and makes stick horses out of cheap mops, ribbon, buttons, socks, and stuffing for charity. She gives them to Veterans’ Hospitals so that little kids will have something to play with and take home while they are visiting Wonded Warriers. She could really use this light to help her turn mop yarn into horses’ manes. (She is a real jewel!!)
29. Sheridan Wood | April 27, 2011 at 1:53 pm
My Mom lives by the credo “quilt til you wilt”. I cringe when there is a storm, the lights go out, and she lights a candle.
30. Cathe Ekas | April 27, 2011 at 1:56 pm
Dear Ami, My Mom really needs a Beam N Read. She has been technically blind in one eye ( and as she says, can’t see out of the other ). She is the most creative person I know and has been my source of inspiration my whole life. When we were young she wrote jingles for contests for commercials, and won a lot. She was always in charge of the decorations for the Women’s Club Fashion Show. Every year she outdid herself with very little money. They were so popular that they had drawings for them. We did not have very much money and shopped at a store that carried merchandise that had smoke damage from fires. She would find clothes and redo them and when she was done they were really cute. She spent hours cleaning and soaking to get all the stains out. We did not realize we were poor then because we always had pretty much what all the other kids had. It wasn’t till I was on my own did I realize how much time and effort went into our clothes, doll clothes and blankets. She has always crocheted the most beautiful afghans. She has never used a pattern and her color sense is phenomenal. She has always loved to read. She taught us that joy. We did not have a TV until I was about 10, so our time was spent sewing and reading. She taught me to embroider at 7 and sew at 10. I’m grateful to this day. Her eyesight is slowly getting worse but she sits under her light with a magnefying glass to read her favorite books and magazines and the Bible every day. I would be so eternally grateful to you to be able to give this wonderful gift to my Mom, the women who has given me so many wonderful gifts over the years, especially my own creativity which has been my joy and solace over the years. Thank You, Cathe
31. Sue Leenders | April 27, 2011 at 2:17 pm
The cheater glasses are not working. Can’t find which end of the needle to thread!
32. Kathy | April 27, 2011 at 2:46 pm
My 93 old Mom spends the summer with us in Michigan. She loves to read at night in bed. But because we share the bedroom “up North”, the reading lamp keeps me up. So if she had the beam light, she could read all night and it wouldn’t bother anyone!!!
Kathy
33. Joan | April 27, 2011 at 3:22 pm
Mum needs this because she always calls me thread her applique needles!!
34. Joy | April 27, 2011 at 3:35 pm
The Mom here needs the Beam N Read as age has made it more difficult to see the up close things she tries to do at night. We tried to get her a “daylight” type lamp to help as she tried to quilt, bead, or crochet at night, but we prefer to watch T.V. with low lighting. So, she usually goes into another room to do her craft or puts her beloved project away. The Beam N Read appears to be the perfect answer, so we can all be together in the same room with Mom doing what she loves to do!
35. Sharon K. Lozano | April 27, 2011 at 3:36 pm
Oh, how I could use these! I’m only 65, but I quilt, embroider, crochet, all with the little reader glasses. I need Help!!! We use those curliecue lightbulbs and I need more light….just can’t see good enough anymore. Trying to save electricity doesn’t help with my sewing! Thanks for considering me.. Sharon
36. Joy S. | April 27, 2011 at 3:37 pm
The Mom here needs the Beam N Read as age has made it more difficult to see the up close things she tries to do at night. We tried to get her a “daylight” type lamp to help as she tried to quilt, bead, or crochet at night, but we prefer to watch T.V. with low lighting. So, she usually goes into another room to do her craft or puts her beloved project away. The Beam N Read appears to be the perfect answer, so we can all be together in the same room with Mom doing what she loves to do!
37. Kathy | April 27, 2011 at 3:46 pm
I’m mom to Cruiser, our cockatiel who has been trying to be a mom this last two weeks by getting ready to lay an egg, but alas it must have been a false egg laying as she did all that she needed to do but never laid her egg. I think she is getting too old and it just didn’t work this time. Unless of course I just didn’t “see” the egg that she didn’t lay as I probably really need that light.
38. Lisa Flynn | April 27, 2011 at 5:28 pm
Cleocatra here, Queen of Cats. My minion is, unfortunatley, very nearsighted and wears bifocals. She’s always complaining she can’t see anything. Sometimes in the middle of the night I choose to gift her with my partially digested dinner. In her efforts to collect my gift she sometimes steps in it with her bare feet and I have to listen to her scream and carry on. If she had a good light to see by she may stop abusung my ears in this way.
Also, when she is working on these projects of hers she puts on this very bright and annoying overhead light which I find disrupts my lap napping time. Please gift my minion with one of your lights so I can continue to rule the house without these annoying disruptions.
Queen Cleocatra
39. Marymarybethbeth | April 27, 2011 at 5:41 pm
My mom NEEDS this light because Daddy complains that the Ott light she bought makes too much static for his TV headphones when she turns it on. And if he doesn’t wear his headphones we and Mom have to go to bed ‘cos the TV sounds like an earthquake and we get scared and cower under the couch and makes our ears hurt.
Teebo and Nancy
40. Wanda | April 27, 2011 at 6:57 pm
Oh please, please, please pick our mom to win the Beam N Read. Mom insists on cutting our nails regularly (all 176 of them). She always says they are “wicked long” and that they “hurt the Mama”. She also says that the only alternative to snipping our nails is for the v-e-t to amputate our fingers, and that she loves us too much for that.
You should see some of the positions she gets herself and us into trying to get the light on the right nail at the right time. We just know it would all be so much easier if Mom had a Beam N Read to put the light right where she needs it.
Thank you for considering our request.
Kali, O’Malley, Mira (Mom’s little tripod), Isa, Jeffie, BabyCakes,
Gabrielle, Stevie, ‘rus (short for Lazarus) & Cinders
PS: Mom says to tell you she misses reading Madison’s blog posts, and your stories about him. She’s really sorry he died and knows your heart is still broken (only she says ‘borked’ — she’s weird like that, but we LOVE her anyway).
41. Terali Kleier | April 27, 2011 at 9:57 pm
My mom could use this light, because she likes to read and knit. The nursing home where she lives has pretty dim light in the rooms due to the fact that there are two residents to a room. She would really enjoy being able to see her knitting much better and also it would be easier on her eyes when she is reading. I know she would get a lot of use from a beam and read light.
42. peggy connolly | April 27, 2011 at 9:59 pm
My mother needs this to see in all the times our power goes out in central NJ (which is a lot). She also could use it to prowl the auctions where she searches for dg (depression glass) to sell in her booth in an antique shop.
43. Nancy | April 27, 2011 at 10:05 pm
I vote for all of them. Nan
44. ECG | April 27, 2011 at 11:43 pm
I am trying to teach my mom to English Paper Piece (long distance to top it off, I live about 5 hours from her.) She complains that the worst part of it is her living room is too dim for her to work on the sewing. The Beam n Read would be perfect to help light up her work.
45. Dyanna | April 27, 2011 at 11:53 pm
My mom is writing this for me cause I don’t do computers…it’s not a horse thing. I am mom’s oldest (and finest, just ask me) show horse. She definitely needs a Beam n Read to stay safe here on the farm. Oh, she sees fine in the house with one of those special lamps where she sits on the couch to applique but when she goes out to make a check on the barn at night, it can be pretty spooky. The night she had to help deliver my last foal, darling little Erin, she really had to HELP and needed both hands and a light. Not easy to hold a flashlight and birth a big baby horse! Course, it’s just not too safe to go wandering around at night here as we get the occasional rattlesnake and other varmits….light is a matter of safety. I miss hearing about Madison too. Horses and dogs just go together. Please choose a deserving person, er, horse for the special light…
Irish Creme, dressage horse
46. Donata | April 28, 2011 at 3:09 am
Lately I feel so itchy, and I scratch myself all the time.
Before taking me to the vet’s, my mom wanted to make sure that I did not have any fleas eatig me … but it was a really difficult task, I’m so big, I have lots of fur, and she could have really used this special light!!
47. Jo Kropf | April 28, 2011 at 8:45 am
I bought a Beam and Read for my mom a few months ago. She has macular degeneration in both eyes. It is the only thing that allows her to read the paper because it concentrates the light exactly where she needs it and eliminates glare. I am a Hearing Instrument Dispenser and work primarily with the elderly. A number of my clients have diminished eyesight along with their hearing loss. I have given the website and information out due to the success my mom has had.
48. Lynda Lynch | April 28, 2011 at 10:24 am
I am the Mother of a very special and talented son. My son was born after a German Measles epidemic in the 60′s. Unfortunately, he has a birth defect causing a break in the optic nerve to brain transmission. The end result is very low vision. He is legally blind, which not everyone understands. Every day is a challenge. He doesn’t LOOK blind causing a further challenge. He has stuck with his determination to achieve a college degree, dispite visual challenges, ie; delay in materials and testing problems. He is in his late forties and still perseveres. No degree these days, makes employment all the more challenging. Any aids to enable his day to go more smoothly as more concentrated lighting would be helpful. My wish for my Mother’s Day is for my wish to be granted.
49. Kathleen Davies | April 28, 2011 at 12:49 pm
My Mommy is 91 and makes quilts for charity, about 25 a year. She has had cataract surgery in both eyes, and even though she has four different sets of glasses (for reading, for long distance, for playing the piano, for hiking – yes hiking!) she still has trouble seeing. A Beam N Read would help her continue making quilts for needy children.
50. LINDA HAMMONTREE | April 28, 2011 at 1:16 pm
People on airplanes on over night flights give you LOTS of dirty looks when you leave your light on at night! Some of us like to sew or read on those long flights. Husbands don’t particularily care for it either on those road trips when you are trying to relax by doing a little sewing for bed time with the light on!
51. Annette | April 28, 2011 at 2:50 pm
I’m a mom and I want one.
52. Barbara | April 28, 2011 at 3:10 pm
Our Mom sure could have used your light this morning while working on her longarm quilting machine. She was using black thread on a red/black quilt and was not happy because it was hard to see the threads with the little light that comes with the machine. How handy a light as bright as yours would have been and still have two hands free to “frog” the quilt. (rippit, rippit)
Our names are Sophie and Bella and we love to sleep in a chair in our Mom’s sew studio. That way we can keep up with her and she can give us frequent pets and treats.
We understand about losing a beloved pet…our Mom & Dad lost their 3 best friends last year…at different times and for different reasons. Our Mom says she didn’t think that her sweet Eddy could be replaced and, while we don’t replace Eddy, we do bring a new joy to our new home….and it’s much better here than at the pound.
Happy sewing….Bella (I’m the oldest) & Sophie (I’m the clown)
53. Krystal | April 28, 2011 at 8:16 pm
I think my mom deserves one of these Beam N Reads because she used to LOVE to knit, do cross-stitch, crosswords. She also used to love to curl up in her chair and read. Now, she cant because the light we do have is either too bright for everyone else, or not bright enough for her. She would be much happier if she could have the light to do what she enjoys.
My mom rarely gets anything for herself, she is always helping her family, so for her to get something just for her would be such a wonderful gift
~k~
54. Pat | April 29, 2011 at 1:41 pm
My mom is no longer with me but I am at the age where I could use one of these lights. I was and appliquing a table runner the other evening and found out the next day that I have not pulled the thread tight enough. I never saw it by lamp light and it was difficult to fix what I had done as I was sewing the binding on at the time. After a lot of ripping I realized that I need better lighting when I am doing my handwork. I would sure love to win that light. It would make a wonderful gift from me to me!!
55. Brenda P. Butler | April 28, 2011 at 10:26 pm
Where do I want to be when I am 88 years old? I want to be living independently and staying active, just like my mother. Shall we say there is no moss growing on her steering wheel or her sewing machine! She is able to do most thingsfor herself and I, as the dutiful daughter, help out with the things that will keep her from pulling out a ladder or picking up hammer. There is one task, however, that a Beam N Read would certainly come in handy. What does one do when you can no longer get those bi-focals adjusted to see how to cut your own toenails? The answer–ask your daughter to cut them. Now I really don’t mind doing this for her, but she winces and twitches up a storm. If I’m trinning one set of toenails, her other foot is registering the assault and threatening to involuntarily kick me off the stool. A Beam N Read would restore her independence with this task and then hopefully she would pass the Beam N Read on to me. You see, I have no children so I worry that one day I may have to register my own tails as lethal weapons. A Beam N Read would help us both.
56. Kathi | April 29, 2011 at 12:42 pm
My 85 year old mother needs a Beam N Read because she is blind as a bat. She continually eats off of dirty dishes that she thinks are clean. My mother has always been impeccable about her home and her self and was always an avid reader. Now she never reads, and she walks around is stained, torn clothing with make-up on places that are not even part of her face. She would be so ashamed if she could see the mess she is in. She refuses to let any one help her because she has always been very independent. I think all these problems can be turned around with the addition of a Beam N Read.. Please help my mother, and in the process help me..
57. Judy | April 29, 2011 at 3:56 pm
While mommy needs many many things, I think my Daddy could use this more better! He just had cataract surgery on his right eyeball and in 3 weeks he gets left eyeball surgery. That’s right my daddy is gonna have bionic eyes! A little extra brightness could be just the thing for reading in his comfy chair and checking mommies work on her quilting stitches.
Thanks for the giveaway, you are going to make someone’s day much brighter!
Bella
58. Greg Mactye | April 29, 2011 at 4:04 pm
Yo;
Frances Bartholomew Mercer III here, but youze kin jist call me “Frankie the Fist”, cuz dats what all my pals call me. I hoid youze was having a contest ta see who you was gonna give dat Beam-n-Read” flashlight thing, to, an I wanted ta tell you my Muddah kin sure use it.
See, Mom knits all these-here hats and scarves and stuff for the troops overseas, but she turned 75 last week, and fer a while now, her eyes ain’t been doin too good. She needs ta use a lotta light when she knits dem things, and also to make presents for me and my cell mate Blinky. (I woulda got sent overseas too – but when I tried to enlist in the Marines, they said I was too violent!)
Mom also’s been doing Quilting for almost twenny years now, and she positively loves that junk. Believe it or not, she does it the old fashioned way, all by hand – she don’t use no sewing machine. Mom says she kin spot machine made stuff a mile away, cuz she says the stitches are too perfect if it didn’t get done by hand. She uses these real tiny little needles, and also thread so small, I swear she could probably sew up a gnats belly button! Says it makes her happy to do stuff all by hand, even if it does take her a lot longer to finish it, now that she needs extra light to see good. If it wuz me, I’d just give it to my girlfriend “Bubbles” ta do, cuz I ain’t got no patience for that kinda thing!
Anyways, I would like you should give that light to Mom, cuz she sure could use it . And also, if she ever decided to quit Quilting (which is about as likely as me gettin an honest job!) she could send da light to me. See, Blinky an me almost got our tunnel done, and when we decide to split, we could sure use a good flashlight, cuz its pretty dark, and we keep bumping into each other when we do our practice runs. And a Beam-n-Read would be especially great cuz its got that red filter on it. See,when we come up outside the wall it’ll be dark, and the red filter would help preserve our night vision so’s we kin make an easier getaway.
I hope you decide to take my “suggestion”, because I sure wouldn’t want nuthin to happen to youze if you don’t. I got lots of friends on the outside who owe me favors – if you know what I mean! So sleep tight, and don’t worry about that guy standing on the corner outside your house tonight.
Sincerely
“Frankey the Fist”
Cell block 2, level 3, cell 28 – top bunk.
Up-State Penitentiary
59. Judy Leathers | April 29, 2011 at 7:16 pm
My momis typing this for me, Bobby McGee. I am a dog who failed typing ( just as mom did, BTW ). We had no power starting Wednesday. BIG winds swept through. She was doing a quilt for AAQI by candle light because it was due yesterday. When you see the quilt you will understand why she could have used a lot more light. She made it in time, but not well.
60. Patty | April 30, 2011 at 11:17 pm
Gonna keep this short and sweet! My mom could use the Beam-N-Read for at least a few different things like. . . being able to see her hand applique and embroidery work better; reading in bed without keeping dad awake and maybe best of all . . . when trimming my tonails! It hurts so much when she takes a little too much off my toes and I get a bleeder! Thank you for the chance to make my mom a little happier ~ Buffy, the Benji look-a-like
61. Patty | April 30, 2011 at 11:33 pm
Oh Ami ~ Please withdraw my entry. After reading through the other comments, there are many more deserving moms out there than myself. I don’t know how you are going to manage to pick out a winner!
62. Leona Gher | May 1, 2011 at 12:33 pm
My mother needs this because her eyesight is as good as it can be for an 83 yr. old and she still loves to hand quilt. Just has to pick her location and wait for good sunshiny days for the light she needs to see what she is trying to do.
63. Debra Bopp | May 1, 2011 at 12:36 pm
My name is Pollywog and my mom could sure use this light! At night time I am the only one that has to go out and go potty…my furr sister can sleep all night but I just can’t. I can get to the door just fine but my mom keep stubbing her toe on the corner, maybe this light would help her see better to let me out, also she likes to do hand work and sometimes has trouble seeing I think. Her face gets all wrinkly like me….Oh by the way I am a french bulldog! Thank you for listening to me.
64. gjeneve | May 1, 2011 at 12:39 pm
I could never compete with these creative people. I, too, am getting old and need LOTS of light when I try to do any handwork, which I thoroughly enjoy. Enjoy your blog.
65. Sandy | May 1, 2011 at 12:41 pm
Boy does our Mom need this light! Seriously, she is really getting old and boy the mistakes she makes trying to read directions, especially in quilting. Do we have to tell you how many times poor ole Mom has had to retrace her steps to the quilt shop to buy more fabric??? Yeah, she is helping the economy so guess it isn’t all bad. But we’d like to surprise her with this light because then maybe she would sit on the couch with us and do some handwork and we could cuddle with Mom. As it now, one of us has to beg Mom to take us outside just so that we can get her away from her sewing machine! Pretty bad, huh. Hope you make her a winner. Arf, arf,. Pebbles and Baylee.
66. Marcia Gilbreath | May 1, 2011 at 1:11 pm
My mom needs one of these things. She had cataract surgery on both her eyes last year and lenses implanted that were supposed to make her vision better, but it didn’t come out the way she hoped it would. She has a hard time seeing to thread a needle or hand-sew, but bright light helps. I think this would be just the thing for her Mother’s Day present. She’ rescued me from the animal shelter–I was the only dog in a room full of cats! I can’t stand cats to this day. She has been sooo good to me–I want to get her something nice, but I don’t get an allowance, so I have no money. She didn’t seem to appreciate the dead baby possum I gave her last year. I don’t know why, but I know she would like the Beam n Read better. She doesn’t know I use her computer after she goes to bed, so we’ll keep that our little secret, ok?
Copper
67. jl bach | May 1, 2011 at 1:37 pm
My mom needs a Beam and Read not only for her quilting and knitting (I’ve knitted a hat in pink) but to look for bed bugs when we stay at a hotel and so she canknit and read at night in a hotel room and not wake me up.
Kate age 9
68. Katie | May 1, 2011 at 1:50 pm
A Beam and Read light is desperately. Wandering the dark house looking for quilting magazines is dangerous and noisy for everyone else. With a Beam and Read a magazine will more quickly be found and can be used to read with. Now the whole house is lit with the bedroom light because the door is left open. With a Beam an Read All beings will now get to peacefully sleep unawakened.
69. Marilyn Rose | May 1, 2011 at 2:28 pm
Actually, I’m the Mom at the house. I do all my handwork comfortably sitting in my recliner loveseat in the den, under the lighting supplied by a 200 watt incandescent bulb in the nice tall lamp on the end table. There’s no overhead lighting in this large room. I do binding, hand piecing, hand applique, beading, a little hand embroidery, mending and some hand quilting in my recliner. The federal government, in it’s infinite and unfathomable wisdom, has decreed that incandescent bulbs will no longer be manufactured soon, I think after 2012. So I will be forced to use those screw-in fluorescent bulbs in my lamp, which don’t give good quality high-intensity light that I need for my handwork, even wearing trifocals as I do. The Beam N Read would be wonderful for lighting my handwork, as well as the books that I love to read.
70. Denise | May 1, 2011 at 2:32 pm
My mom is so special. She has Alzheimer’s and would never
touch a needle. I keep taking quilting books to look at while I spend
time with her. I try and talk her into quilting with me. Even as far
adavanced in the disease as she is she still say’s “NO”, but they are beautiful. She is the cutest little character and I love her so much. I just wish she didn’t have live like this.
71. Belva Hauxwell | May 1, 2011 at 2:42 pm
My mother would like to do more embroidery work but has difficulty seeing well. She has several lights positioned just so to help her but this light looks like it would help even more. Mom will be 88 in June and is trying to finish quilt embroidery blocks for my sister. She only has a part of block and one more complete block to finish Thanks for this offer. PS: I enjoy reading your newsletter.
72. Sue | May 1, 2011 at 2:54 pm
there is such a need – winters are dark so early, this would really help when walking the dog, Noel, after work on this dark lane. It is way too hard to held the leash and a flashlight, this would answer the problem for sure.
73. Lena Frost | May 1, 2011 at 2:56 pm
My mom is gracefully maturing (not “getting older”) and her eyes require more light to do all the beautiful things – making quilts, making pysanky, cooking (well, reading the recipes IS very important), and all those good things that mommies do. Most importantly, however, she needs it to get to the bathroom at night because our bedroom (yes, its mine too! I sleep right up in the bed) is dark at night and I’m afraid she will fall on one of the piles of clutter that are all over the place – mainly old quilting magazines and quilt books. She can’t bear to get rid of any of them because she MIGHT just need this or that pattern one of these days. Also, when she comes back to bed, I’m afraid she’ll squish me because I only weigh 7 pounds and she weighs…well, we’ll just say she weighs a LOT more. Thank you for your consideration.
Missy Frost
Gracefull aging toy poodle – age 9 1/2 in people years
74. Debby | May 1, 2011 at 3:28 pm
I love the story from the kitty!! So cute.
I also love Ami. You are a delight and I adore your wit and humor.
Quilty hugs from NW Indiana, Debby
75. Catie | May 1, 2011 at 3:50 pm
This would really assist the Mom and Dad in this home – they are constantly “turning off the reactors” and it is really really hard to see in our dungen – oh I mean room
thanks for the opportunity
Elwood
76. Liz | May 1, 2011 at 3:58 pm
My Mom needs a Beam N Read for quilting and reading. She says her eyesight isn’t as good as it used to be because of her age, she will be 70 in July. Quilting is her favorite pastime since she sold her car and isn’t able to go places whenever she wants to. I really do not understand why she did this but she says it is because of a limited income and making choices. Any way if there isn’t someone more deserving, I know my Mom could really use one of those special lights.
Your friend ,
Patches, the quilted teddy bear
77. Marilyn Withrow | May 1, 2011 at 4:02 pm
Well, Ami, my Mom could sure have used your reading light, but it won’t do her any good now because she’s been in Heaven for five years. I, however, AM a Mom — of three sons, and have four grandchildren and two wonderful daughters-in-law, plus a wonderful, dedicated and loving husband, and I sort of “unofficially adopted” his three children, several grandchildren and great-grandchildren. However, what I don’t have is one good eye. I lost my sight in one eye almost a year ago, due to hemorraging after eye surgery for macular puckers, but I still do have one good eye and I am still quilting, still teaching, still designing quilts, still judging and appraising….and still driving. My doctor told me after about three months I would see as well with one eye as I did before with two. I didn’t believe him then, and I’m not sure I believe him now, but I have adapted and am doing better than I expected. What I DO need, though, is a good quilting light so I can design quilts with straight lines and read all the quilting magazines, books, and Internet lists — and be able to keep on quilting! Your light might just be the answer.
78. tuxie the cat | May 1, 2011 at 6:08 pm
Dear ami
My mom needs one of these so she quits tripping over me in dark. I try hard not to complain but she is a lot bigger then me and after I meow at her to warn her not to step on me, she normally screems, which wakes up dad.
tuxie (the tuxedo cat)
79. Ethel Schuler | May 1, 2011 at 6:13 pm
My special Mom (AKA my Daughter) needs the Beam and Read for all her reading and correcting students exams but mostly to see all the naughty things her 3 yr old son tries.
80. Pam Hill | May 1, 2011 at 7:50 pm
The Beam N Read looks like a great tool to have not only for reading but sewing. Hope I win!
81. Anna | May 1, 2011 at 8:02 pm
A Beam N Read light would make it so much easier to see what the project–whatever it is–embroidery, knitting, tatting, crocheting. This mom would be most grateful to receive one.
82. Jane Sanders | May 1, 2011 at 9:12 pm
We have a huge crawl space in our basement. It is full of stuff – some is junk, some is precious memories from kids and some is left over university stuff and I don’t mean our kids’ stuff, it is ours (mine and Dave’s). That means it is almost 35 years old and has moved 3X in two different millennium! Last winter we insulated the crawl space and I mean the royal “we” – I was the motivator and Dave did all the work. The deal was that I now have to deal with all the stuff – get it out, figure out where it goes (charity, garbage, back to whomever owns it). I really need the Beam and Read. First it will help me to avoid the spider webs and keep me away from any bugs that might be down there. There are so many boxes in that crawl space I might get lost and having the light will be a way for someone to find me. Most important it will help me see what is in the many precious boxes. But then maybe if I suggest that Dave might have some fun with the new toy (you know how boys are with technological stuff) maybe he will do the work of emptying out the crawl space. That would be a great mother’s day gift.
83. Mary Pacey | May 1, 2011 at 9:16 pm
My mom needs a Beam N Read so she can better see when she is stitching. The last time I asked her to repair some socks she ended up stitching them to the sleeve of her sweater. She is getting up there in years, just over 60, and her eyesight is going, which may explain why she keeps telling I get more handsome every time she sees me. She’s had some problems and surgeries on her knees and the thing she enjoys the most is sitting in her blue armchair and stitching. When I’m not watching the paint dry I watch her stitching and I see her struggling to find the best position for her lamp, adjusting it every few minutes. The Beam N Read would be a perfect solution for her everyday struggles.
Thanks,
Todd
84. Nancy | May 1, 2011 at 9:24 pm
My “mom” needs the Beam and Read so she can sit on the floor with me. She thinks she needs to sit on the couch and quilt. I think Mom needs to sit on the floor and cuddle with me when she stitches. She can stop, pet, give me kisses, and let her hands rest every so often. I try to convince her to sit with me using my sad brown eyes but she says she needs to stitch. With the light, she could stitch and I could be happy.
Brandy (a lab and 70 pound lap dog)
85. Bobbie Muscarella | May 1, 2011 at 9:54 pm
Hi. Amelia the dachshund here. My mom needs the little light because she can’t find my food fast enough. In fact, she only finds twice a day and I need food lots more often than that! The other reason my mom needs a little light is so she can sew in the car. My dad likes to take us places like football games so we take long rides in the car. I love to be close to my family in the car. I snooze on the drive. My mom makes quilts. Please give her the little light. Thanks!
Amelia
86. Anita | May 1, 2011 at 9:54 pm
Ami, While my Mom was at evening worship tonight, I read her email. Don’t tell her I did it. I’m a Yorkie and I only weigh 5 pounds. I can use her laptop just fine, Thank-you. Anyway, when she sews on binding she tips her lamp sideways and I’m always afraid it’s going to fall over on me. On top of that, she complains all the time about her ‘old eyes and hand work’. What the heck does that mean, anyway? Oh, back to that gizmo that you are trying to get rid of. I think she would really like it if you would let her have it. Then I could sit on her lap in safety.
Love you Skippy
87. Cheryl English | May 1, 2011 at 10:11 pm
I need the light! Real Bad! Right now, I’m having a ridiculous time at my desk & PC because the power surges yesterday have blasted through half our electronics including the modem and the TV receiver. I’m left using my husband’s PC and it’s a totally foul setup. NO LIGHT except this little green banker’s lamp that doesn’t give forth any illumination.
88. Matt | May 1, 2011 at 10:45 pm
My mom needs a beam-n-read because she can be forgetful. When I visit her, she usually calls me by the dog’s name rather than my name (perhaps she likes the dog more than me). Anyway, with a beam-n-read attached to her neck, she would never lose it. She would be forever with light and could stitch wherever she happens to be.
-Matt.
89. Kim | May 1, 2011 at 10:49 pm
Like you my Mom is gone……I miss her like crazy everyday but Mother’s day is the toughest. Thank goodness I still have my dear little 86 year old mother in law…..she’d love this great piece of technology. thanks so much for the chance to win it for her :)
Happy Sewing
90. Betty Donahue | May 1, 2011 at 10:51 pm
Hi–
She needs it because her eyes are sore and tired from using them way too much.
Betty
91. Marilyn Faiola | May 1, 2011 at 11:27 pm
my sister lost 80% of her vision due to a brain tumor. On the plus side, the tumor is out and she is alive. On the negative side, she has lost most of her vision, she has no health insurance, and the surgery took her life savings which was suppose to support her in her old age. She is currently 61 years old. She can see a piece of lint on the floor but can’t read can labels when I take her to the grocery store. Her vision is weak in the a.m. Get a little better as the day progresses depending on the light and shadows around. Then gets worse, as she tires. I am hoping the light would help her see a little better.
92. Emily the Calico Kitty | May 1, 2011 at 11:59 pm
My Mom really needs this new style light because the one she reads with in bed keeps going off! I am afraid of it. I really think she deserves this because she takes good care of me. Buys me wheat grass every week and even allows me to shed on her quilts. Thanks for your help in getting my Mom a wonderful Mother’s Day present. Emily >^..^<
93. Eadie F McAlpine | June 21, 2011 at 11:06 am
im a 91 yrs young, imloosing my eyesight and sure du=o need a reader lamp, its so annoying not to see good enough to sew on my sewing machine, I took an hour trying to thread the needle gave up ,will try again today. I have no one to send this but myself. Happy quilting to all