This Is A Family Operation
It’s been a VERY busy week here and I apologize for the tardiness of this entry. The good news is that all the windows for the Port Allen job have been completed, delivered and installed as of Sunday afternoon. Things will most likely return to normal around the shop (if it gets cleaned in time for classes- it’s a mess). 
I’ll do a special post here later in the week so you can all see the finished results.
Now, without any further delay we’ll dive into what happened in class this past week. Jane finished her octagon Cardinal window and had a slight mistake (I’ll never tell what it was) that she worried was going to ruin the window. Using a simple technique we were able to remedy the problem area in about 2 minutes and Jane was VERY relieved that it was handled so simply. Once that was completed she added her border pieces and walked out the door with her finished window. Right below the picture of her Cardinals we also have a look at the pattern she’ll be working on next. If all goes well we will have a unique solution to a tricky situation of creating a star in the middle of her sky. Check back in about 2 weeks and we’ll see how it all works out.
Cheryl completed the first of her beveled windows that she started last week. The second one is all wrapped and tacked together so we’ll see that one completed next week for sure. And to think that Cheryl was worried that she might have forgotten how to do this since she’d missed a few classes. I guess she just proves my point: making stained glass is like riding a bike– you never forget how to do it. I’ve also posted a line drawing of the pattern she’ll be doing next. It should be another stunning window!
Judith has only 4 pieces left to cut for her window and those are the 4 quarter circles that fill in the corners of her border. When she saw the green background glass in place she decided to forgo a blue sky and I think she made the correct decision. She’ll be soldering this one next week and starting a new adventure with a soldering iron. :-) She has nothing to worry about because I believe that the soldering process is the most relaxing part of stained glass.
Sheila has all of her Fruit Bowl cut and ground with most of it being wrapped as well. She’ll be soldering it all together next week and cutting out her background glass. Pictures don’t do the color of the bowl any justice. Wait until you see this window back lit. Again, Sheila is doing remarkably well for a beginner. This window below proves this.
Barbara decided on a nice rich purple for the cloth color of her cross rather than the dark purple that faded away when light hit it. After reworking the center pieces she had to decide on the color of her border. Initially she planned on going with a sky blue color but when she saw the sheet of purple glass that she used for the cloth near her window she thought that might be the best color for it. When the rest of the class saw it everyone agreed that it was, without a doubt, the best choice. It looks like Barbara will be soldering this during her next class.
Lea wrapped her “precut” beveled border after she tacked together all her pieces. She’s taking a little bit of playful ribbing since her bevels are already cut and ground but this ‘luxury’ literally comes with a price: Bevels are not nearly as inexpensive as a sheet of glass. But when this is finished it’s going to sparkle in a way that sheet glass never can. Lea will cut the final border next week and tack this all together. We’ve seen great advances in Lea’s wrapping abilities and next week she’ll get to use the strip cutter!
Gerald continued working on his tiger eye, grinding the glass he cuts along the way. Normally I frown on this but I can’t frown too much as I sometimes use this method myself. Gerald is certainly no beginner at this anymore and his methods always work out just fine. He’s only got one color left to cut before he can start wrapping this and then finish it off. Next week he’ll bring in the actual piece of glass he’s replacing because it isn’t perfectly square and we need to make sure that this will fit in the opening it’s made for.
Janice was busy at home last week so she wasn’t able to grind her pieces or wrap them while she was at home. When she came into class she wasted no time at all and flew through the 4 corners not only get them ground but wrapped as well. Janice has come a LONG, LONG way and now not only works with precision but speed as well! This window is flying together already!
Let’s finish the Blog this week by looking at Grace’s latest creation. This window is about 30 x 30 inches and she started it 2 weeks ago. In that time she’s traced out her pattern, cut that pattern into separate pieces and then traced them all onto glass. She’s cut all of the glass and has started grinding it already. Grace, like her mother, is moving at a blinding speed on this window! I can’t wait to see this one next week…
I think that about covers it this time around. Look for a special post coming late Monday night so you can all see all the windows that we’ve been making since Christmas installed and in place.