I have the strip light too. It's great. If you had two lights short out, I hope you have your electrical outlet tested. It could be a hazard.

Here is the strip light I bought. http://www.ecoluxlighting.com/

I used double sided tape and did not use the adhesive on the strip. I move it from machine to machine.

I love my Ott Lights. I have several so I don't have to move them from machine to machine and chair to chair for hand work. I also have one by cutting table and in the living room for hand work and grading papers. I hope you find a style/light that works well for you.

I love my Bendable Bright Light. I thought I had enough light on my Bernina, but after putting on the bendable one, I can't sew without it. Mine is a plug-in one and I haven't had any trouble with it.

I've got a floor lamp that I move near my table sometimes. I've also got a small bendable lamp that I put a bright white squiggly bulb in. I point it at the needle area.

The light bulb in one of my machines dimmed too, and it was really frustrating because the repair guy told me you can't replace the LED bulb in that machine. It's designed to be thrown out when the bulb dims. :mad: So I bought a couple of those bendable lights that you attach with velcro or sticky tape, but they kept falling off, they wouldn't stay where I aimed them, and they were really quite expensive. Then I found the perfect lamp at IKEA. It has a bendable arm that stays where you put it. It comes in both a clip-on model and a weighted-base model. It was $15.00 and I liked it so much I went back and bought another one.

Looks like a great idea but at that price I guess I'll have to stick with my Ott lights. One of the instructors re precision piecing showed opening her table Ott light and laying it on its side in the throat area of the machine. I might try that on the vintage machines as I'm not too keen on the idea of sticking anything to the finish.

I have a bendable light that sits on my sewing machine table. It was situated too close to my Baby Lock & melted the clear plastic thingy that covers the top part of the machine where the thread sits. Not good! Machine still functions properly just doesn't look as pretty as it used to. DAH!

I have two (one for each table) long arm goose lights, that clamp to the table, the arm is about 4 feet long and bends in the middle, I have a 100 watt bulb in it , and can aim it right at the sewing area of my machine (I have some kind of a blue bulb in it for like color correct something) These two have served me well for many years, can pivot it if need when I am doing hand work or fussy cutting. I would guess this type of lamp would be available at a Staples like store, especially at this time of year (back-to-school) I have gone thru three bendable lights, and find they jump around too much for me.....

Have you contacted the company about the Bendable lights shorting out? If you bought them at the same place, perhaps they were part of a defective batch. I had a problem with mine, and when I wrote to them, they sent me a new one. The Bendable Bright Light is a wonderful product, one that has helped me immensely with my sewing with my newly "old" eyes (also my story!). Don't give up on them yet!

Bellaboo has a point about your power source. If you don't have the light and your sewing machine(!) on a surge protector, that might be a good first move. Many places have some fluctuation in power, especially during air conditioning season. Also, some homes built during the Vietnam war period have aluminum wiring, which is notorious for causing problems.

I have swing arm lamps of the type that clamp on, but my main sewing table did not have an edge that anything could clamp onto. I drilled a half-inch hole that just fits the post of the lamp that would usually go into the clamp. It works well for me, but I have to say those LED strips that fasten in the throat area of the machine certainly look effective. I may have to try one. LED are cool and energy wise, and the bulbs last a long time.