Seeing black thread on black fabric is extremely difficult. Some quilter have attached different types of extra lighting to their machines to get the light from a different angle. Side or back lighting will cast a shadow. Straight lighting (such as the lighting coming from the factory mounted light bar) is a direct light with little shadow. Creating a shadow with light is quite helpful for stitching white thread on white fabric. The shadow helps to see where you have been and where you are going. With black on black it's difficult to create a shadow with lighting.
In 2009 at MQS I got a small LED light from A-1 Quilting Machines. It's a small light with a magnet on the back....
I have this light attached right in front of my hopping foot....
This produces a bright concentrated light right on my work surface...
In this last picture the LED light is the only light on, which is how I quilt most often... Every once in awhile I will turn the light bar on for extra illumination. Since I have two large picture windows that let in lots of natural light, I rarely turn my overhead lights on. With this quilt I'm able to see the best with the LED and overhead lights on. It's not perfect, and I still may go blind, but I can somewhat see....
