Thursday, September 9, 2010

My Favorite Thing Friday with Mrs. Pyjamas #2


This stained glass lamp is one of my favorite things.  My dad made it, and I had the role of assistant.  So it's special in two ways--the fact that my dad made it, and the fact that I have the memories of working on it with him.  My dad was very artistic.  He played several musical instruments, but favored the guitar and piano, and had a short stint in his youth playing professionally before it became apparent that was a good way to starve  (like many artists, it's very hard for a musician to actually make a living doing it); he wrote novels and short stories (twenty of the short stories were published); he painted, and he learned to do stained glass.  Before making this lamp, he did only a couple flat pieces, then intrigue with lampshades caught him.  This is not the only one he did.  I'll show off the other at a later "My Favorite Thing Friday".


My dad made this lamp for my maternal grandmother.  She chose the colors.  Stained glass lamp shades are made using a Styrofoam form.  My dad cut the pieces, and I ground down the rough edges.  We both worked on the soldering.  There are over 1000 pieces in this shade.  The shade is over 20 years old (unfortunately, I don't have an exact date).  The lamp returned to us when my maternal grandparents passed away.


When we made the move to Nevada, we didn't have a house waiting for us.  We were going to have to find one after moving.  Consequently we held an estate sale and sold everything we couldn't carry in the back of one pick-up with a hard top.  The bedroom furniture you see in the photo came with us because my mom's dad made it.  So did the lampshade--but only because my mom put her foot down.  My dad was not sentimental in any respect.  His take was that he had the fun of making it, but it wasn't necessary to keep it.  Got to thank my mother for not putting up with that reasoning. 

After we arrived and got settled, she made this quilt specifically to match the lampshade.  Every quilt that goes on this bed must have some green in it.  She's made a fall quilt, and it looks great with the lamp too.

So there's my favorite thing for this week.  Be sure to check out everyone else's favorite thing.  You might find some neat stories, or a great idea.



19 comments:

  1. Michelle the lamp is beautiful, you must be so pleased your mom refused to leave it behind.
    Wow the quilt is amazing, the colours and pattern are absolutely stunning.

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  2. love the lamp - my husband and I both used to do stain glass and I have a lamp hanging in the living room that I made that has I don't know how many pieces in it - it is made with the copper foil technique and the lampshade form like you mention. I made a small window that we have in the house also.
    Karen
    http://karensquilting.com/blog/

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  3. Beautiful lamp, and wonderful memories for you. I dabbled in stained glass years (and years) ago. Doing something flat was hard enough.I can't imagine making a lamp shade. The quilt is lovely, too, and goes with the lamp perfectly.

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  4. I'm so glad that you still have such a treasure, God bless your Momma! It's so pretty, and it's nice that you have the memory of making it with your Dad. Thank you for sharing!

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  5. That is such a beautiful lamp, Michelle. Your dad was such a creative and talented man. What a great time you must have had making this gorgeous piece. Your mom's quilt really compliments it too.

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  6. What a beautiful lamp as well as the quilt! Wonderful memories for you, and I'm glad your Mom refused to leave it behind. I have never dabbled into stained glass, but it does look interesting.

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  7. The lamp is gorgeous! Special memories will always pop up for you when you look at that.
    I really love the quilt...and not just because my favourite colour is green... :-)
    Elzaan

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  8. Always wanted one of those lamps it is lovely.

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  9. Michelle - What a treasure you have in that lamp! Not only is it pretty, but the memories of crafting it with your father make it priceless. Visiting from FTF. Thanks for sharing. Happy Friday! :o) Larri at Seams Inspired

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  10. I love that your Dad made this but was such a humble man he didnt realise how much his efforts would mean to everyone else and how lovely this really is.

    I bet this becomes a family heirloom piece passed down through the generations of your family.

    And your Mum's quilt is perfect with it !

    Thanks for sharing for Favourite Things Friday.

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  11. Your lamp is really lovely and I love the story behind it....thank goodness for your mum hey!

    The quilt is a real stunner as well!

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  12. Beautiful work and I can see why it's a favorite. Thank you for sharing such a great piece and story.

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  13. I can see why they are your favorites. The lamp is so great and then to have a quilt to match is so special especially because they are from your parents.

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  14. What a great favorite thing to share! Very special times with your dad and a beautiful object forever. Love the quilt too--green is my favorite color :)

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  15. I love it too and I love that you have built your bedroom colour scheme around it. Let's hope that it becomes a treasure that your family really values and it gets handed on throughout the years.
    Cheers
    Helen

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  16. I was looking at how pretty the quilt is and thought, "I wonder if they made it to go with the lamp?" And the lamp is just gorgeous! That is really amazing and I'm so glad you have it! Thanks for a fun FTF share!

    xo -E

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  17. this is definitely worthy of being a favorite. wonderful background story. good thing your mom decided to keep it. it's beautiful!

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  18. A quilt to match the lamps... and I thought I was the only crazy person to make a quilt to match a small but cherished item... I guess all quilters are like that... I love the lamp... and more so 'coz its got a story...
    Cheers from India
    Shruti

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  19. The quilt and the lamp are wonderful, especially as they are so green, I love green.

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Your comments brighten my day. :-)