Back into the swing of things

I've been working very well on Verandas since Sunday. I finished House #3 and am doing the foreground in front of the house now. My aim for the rest of this week is to finish the foreground and start on House #2 (the yellow house on the left side of the project).

This morning I went to Spotlight and bought some new DMC for various projects on the go and for one I am preparing to start. I bought 2 skeins of white, and one of 3051, 934, 775 and 3813. I also looked at daylight lamps. I am having eyestrain from the lighting I use. I have been using a floor uplamp with a 'daughter' arm but I can never seem to aim the light so that I don't have any shadows. I'm looking through a magnifying glass which I wear around my neck and that is a big factor with the shadows too. This week I've added another floor lamp with a daylight bulb but still I'm not getting enough light. I don't know whether to get a Daylight light or an Ott light. Today I saw a lightbox which sits on your lap and shines up through your work so I don't know if that is something I should consider. It would be helpful if there was some way to try these things out first because they cost hundreds of dollars and who knows how good they are?

Anyway, here is the new project I'm getting ready to do. It's another Debbie Patrick.