Product review: Sandyshow New Lily Queen Size 4pc 3d Painted Bedlinen Quilt Duvet Bedding Sets

I liked the bold design of this duvet cover. In person the colors of the duvet look different from the stock photo, there are a lot more dark brown colors on the side that is not visible in the stock photo. One third of the duvet is deep brown, the middle has lilies, and one third is the green you see in the stock photos. The duvet cover and the flat sheet have the same design. I show the entire length of the duvet in my photos.

The fabric is a blend of cotton and polyester (65% cotton and 35% polyester). The material is thick and soft. The stock photo made me think that the fabric is satiny and shiny but it is neither. Because it is a blend of cotton and polyester when it comes out of the dryer it is almost wrinkle free.

The design is printed on the top side of the fabric. In my photos I show the reverse side and you can see what it looks like on the other side.

The pillow cases are made to fit queen size pillow so there are a bit too loose on our standard size pillows. I pinch the extra material in one of the photos to demonstrate the fit. The pillow cases have deep pockets so it holds the standard pillow fine.

I ran the first wash of the duvet cover set with a color catcher. The color catcher caught only slight amount of color, it was much more colorfast than I expected given the deep colors of the duvet. I expect after a few more washes the color catcher will not catch any color at all.

I like that the duvet cover closes with a zipper rather than buttons. It looks much straighter and neater. It is also faster to close than doing individual buttons.

I received this duvet cover for evaluation as part of a new product introduction. I like it - bold colors and I like the zipper closure. The description could benefit from additional stock photo (as I write this review there is just one). I hope my photos will provide clarity of the colors, as the brown portion was a surprise (but not a deal breaker) for me.


You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: ProGreen 85-265V 9W E26 LED Lighting Bulb, 70W Incandescent Bulbs Equivalent, Not Dimmable

I often don't know exactly what I will get until I am able to turn on the bulb. To show what these bulbs look like I show them side by side with a 60 watt fluorescent bulb in the light fixture. This allows me to compare the brightness, the color as well as the size of the spot light these bulbs generate.

To keep the desk lamp in the same position I use a 19 inch ruler to insure that the shade of the lamp is exactly in the same distance from the desk. I also used a lux meter (which measures light intensity) to measure the amount of light I get at this 19 inch distance. Lux meter gives me an unbiased measurement of brightness in addition to a visual comparison. By the way, I have tested the brightness of CFL and incandescent bulbs and they very similar in brightness. I am using CFL for convenience as we no longer use incandescent bulbs.

The lux meter shows that the LED light produced significantly more light than the 60-watt bulb (781 lux for the LED bulb and 511 lux for the CFL bulb). LED bulb is brighter, CFL bulb is slightly warmer, the shadows are similar.

This bulb is shaped as an incandescent bulb, has the same size as an incandescent bulb, and casts omni directional light similar to an incandescent bulb. This bulb comes on instantly. It is not dimmable.

These LED bulbs are provided by Progreen for testing and review as part of the new product introduction. This is a nice set of bulbs! The bulbs are quite bright and looks very similar to the good ol' incandescent.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: BUJIAN T1-6C Dual USB Ports Cooling Pad for 15.6" Automatic Speed radiator and 5 Levels Multi-angle Stand 2"x 6 Fans

I have a lot of experience with cooling pads. I am a software engineer and have a lot of laptops, netbooks, and other computers I need for testing tightly packed on a computer rack so they are all sitting on cooling pads. The good news about this cooling pad that it is very quiet and I like the 6 fans providing even flow over a large surface. However, I could not the smart function to work. I even contacted the manufacture to see why after installing it does absolutely nothing no matter what the computer does, and the communication was very frustrating due to a language barrier. The only answer I got is Windows 10 and iOS are not supported, when I asked what operating systems were supported I got the same answer about Windows 10 and iOS over and over.

However, automatic adjustments are not all that useful. I just used the manual control to set the cooling pad to the maximum speed and given how quiet it is I know it is doing the best it can.

A cooling fan does not have to blow hard to do its job. The cooling pad's job is to create circulation. The air should blow towards the computer you trying to cool. How well it cools depends not on the power of the cooling pad but on the amount of the ventilation holes in the computer case as well as how clean the ventilation holes are. If your computer is overheating vaccum the ventilation holes. My computers ventilation holes get covered with dust quickly even though I think our house is cleaned well. Thise vents just suck in air with dust and get clogged.

It is best when computer CPU core temperature is under 50°C, if it is in the range of 50°C it is a sign of not sufficient cooling, if it is the in 60°C or higher it shortens the life expectancy of the computer components.

Number of fans:____ 6
Air flow:__________ variable flow from low medium to high
Cord:______________ detachable USB cord
On/Off switch:_____ yes (fan speed control)
Size:______________ 14.5"L x 10.75"W x ?"H (when not raised)
Noise:_____________ very quiet
Color:_____________ black case, blue LEDs when the fans are on
Feet:______________ Has rubber pads
Stand:_____________ adjustable bracket
Flaws observed:___ Smart function does not work
___ Portions of the display are in Chinese language
___ The temperature is in Celsius only
USB ports:________ Has two USB ports, one used to power it another is free for other use
Packaging:________ English manual included, but the manual is poorly written

So far (continuous use of several weeks) the fans are operating quietly. Attached video shows the cooling pad in operation, I hope it helps to illustrate my review.

This cooling pad is provided by Bujian. Getting an evaluation sample does not influence what I say, I always state before accepting a product that the review will be positive or critical based only on how well the product performs. The auto functionality did not work, but since I can consider it minor feature I am knocking off just one star as the manual mode works well.


You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★★★★☆

Product review: Urhome Personal Fans 3 Modes Mini Dual Head Table Fans Indoor/Outdoor Portable Rechargeable Fans for Home Office Patio Beach Camping Blue

This small fan has two heads which can be rotated and positioned independently from each other. They can blow in the same or different directions as needed. I use it in a window to improve circulation, it does a pretty nice job for such a small fan. I use it plugged in. If it is not plugged in it works for only for a few hours (2 hours on high setting, around 3 hours on medium, and around 5 hours on low), which might be okay for some situations but not how I use it.

The fan has three speeds. On low speed it is pretty much silent and on a high speed you can here it a little bit. To turn it on you need to hold the on button for a few seconds, quick presses (once it is on) change the speed. It runs from USB source which means it can run from an external battery. With a large battery it can run for several days without electricity.

The only negative thing about the fan is that a super bright LED light when it is turned on. I covered the LED light with black electric tape, but the body still glows fairly brightly. For me it means I cannot use it in the bed room, as we like it keep the room as dark as possible. I do not understand why some vendor think making appliances that glow brightly is a good thing! If it can glow brightly, it should have a switch that makes it possible to turn it off.

This fan is provided by UrHome for testing and review. I described pluses and minuses of my experience. Since I use the fan in the window the bright blue light attracts bugs and the tiny ones manage to get through the window screen. For this reason I need to turn the fan off in the evenings and this is the reason for "OK" rating. It works well in the day time, but the bright light makes it unpleasant to use it at night.


You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★★★☆☆

Product review: 100 feet flat garden hose by GOFLY

This is a very unusual water hose in many ways. I was attracted to it because it is flat and long. I need a 100 foot hose and this 100 foot hose does not take much space. However this hose did not live up to my expectations.

I did not expect that I had to assemble the hose. The connectors can assembled only one way, so there is no benefit to the customer to have to connect the hose to the connectors. If I did not have experience with drip irrigation I would have found this task difficult, but I knew that dipping the hose into very hot water will make it more pliable and easier to pull it on the metal connector.

However, this extra work is not the worst part of the hose. It comes with connectors that are not designed for American hose connectors. The hose is meant to connect to a faucet. I disassembled one of the fitting which made it go on to the male hose connector, but only with two revolutions (rather than the normal 5-6 revolutions) and this was not enough to form a leak proof connection even with Teflon tape. I had a fountain at the connection point as soon as I turned on water. This hose is made in China and originally targeted for Chinese market, so I am guessing they are using a different standard for garden hoses.

The hose length is 100 feet and the nozzle feels pretty solid, however since I can't attach it to the water source without a major leak I am not able to use it.

I received this hose at no cost for evaluation and review as part of the new product introduction on Amazon. Unfortunately, the connectors it comes with are not a good fit for a typical gardener.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★★☆☆☆

Product review: Skyhawk Quilter's Ruler Combo Pack - 24-Inch-by-6-1/2-Inch and 9-1/2-Inch-by-9-1/2-Inch quilting rulers

I am experienced quilter and Skyhawk folks clearly know what quilters need in the rulers.

' The rulers has a lot of lines and the lines are in yellow and black so it works well on dark and light fabrics. In my photos I show it on black and white fabric so you can see how well the lines show up.
' The numbers appears on all four sides of the ruler so I can tell at a glace if my fabric is lined up correctly
' Has lines for 30, 45, and 60 degree angles
' Has a hole for hanging, so I can store it on my craft pegboard

A simple product but well made with attention to details.

Skykawk was looking for an experienced quilter to evaluate their new product. I reviewed one of their products in the past and they provided me a sample to evaluate these rulers. I give them thumbs up!


You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: LongMing 26Nm/2 Worsted 100% Cashmere Yarn

The yarn in this listing is 100% cashmere and is very fine: one ply thread creates a lacy look and two-ply creates a more dense knit. After making a couple of samples (see video) I decide I like the two-ply look better. The yarn is easy to work with, it does not tear easily and does not knot. It feels soft, but it is not fuzzy. This is because this is a worsted thread. The difference between the worsted yarn and the woolen yarn are the length of the staple in the wool. Worsted yarns look smooth with long fibers, and woolen yarns are much hairier, with lots of short fibers and more hairs poking out. Worsted wool is slick when woven, woolen wool is are softer, fluffier fabric. Worsted wool is better at keeping out the wind and rain, but woolen wool is warmer, because it is full of air which acts as insulation.

I make sample squares before knitting each garment not only to see how it looks but to determine how many stitches I need for the right size:
~~ two ply yarn 30 stitches gives me 5.5" (5.5 stitches per inch)
~~ one ply yarn 30 stitches gives me 4.5" (6.5 stitches per inch)

In attached photos you see the sweater that it still in progress, but there is enough of it there to see how it will look. I am using two threads of yarn (one thread is purple and one thread is blue) and it is looking nice, I think. The sweater feels soft to touch.

I received this yarn for evaluation and review. Getting a discounted product does not influence what I saw. If you are skeptical about this examine the history of my reviews and see that I leave critical reviews when products deserve it. After working with this yarn for several weeks I can say that I am really enjoying working with it and the sweater is beginning to take shape.


You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★★