I’ve never had what I would call a real hobby. I love to read, and I’m an on again, off again knitter, but I’ve never really gotten into anything that I only did for pleasure*.
Part of the reason for that is I’ve always had work that I really enjoyed and I put my whole heart and soul into. Even when I had time to spare after the work was done, I didn’t have energy. I still have a job I love and I spend a lot of time and energy on, but I’m making a concerted effort to work in a more sustainable way. It must be working, because I’m finding that I reach the end of my work day, and I still have energy left to think about other stuff.
About the same time as my energy started to free up, a friend invited me to take a stained glass class with her. Instead of worrying about the expense or the fact that I knew nothing about stained glass I said yes. The class was broken into two parts. I tried to get a photo narrative of the experience but I got really into the work and missed some steps. Here are the photos I got.
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- Getting started by learning about different kinds of glass.
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- Learning to cut glass.
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- First we practice on “easy” glass.
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- Cut window glass? Check!
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- Cutting out the pattern pieces. In order for them to be the right size, you have to cut on either side of the line.
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- deciding where to make my cuts. I broke this piece so many times.
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- more cutting
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- checking the sizes.
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- End of the first class
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- Uh, hammers and glass don’t really go together. . .
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- U channel lead. This goes around the outside of the piece
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- glass is to big? To the grinder with you!
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- H channel lead. This goes between pieces on the inside of the design. This is what it looks like when you cut it correctly.
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- This is what happens when you don’t.
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- measure twice, cut once.
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- ready for solder
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- see those nails. That’s what the hammer was for.
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- This is as close as you get to a soldering photo. Sorry!
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- I thought we’d be done after the solder. I was wrong. Next is putty. . .
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- . . .and this powder stuff
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- and now we are done.
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- my piece with two of its friends
I’m really pleased with how the piece turned out, and I had a great time. Such a great time that I signed up for anther class, this one is 8 weeks and we buy our own equipment so I’ll leave with everything I need to keep going on my own.
I’ll let you know how it goes.
*On further reflection playing boardgames is a legit hobby. But why let accuracy get in the way of a story?
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Maureen Carruthers
Smart. Kind. Funny. At least that's the goal. I care about encouraging girls to consider STEM careers, helping nonprofits be the best they can be, cats, and German-style boardgames.
Mo's Musings 
Beautiful! I took a lampwork beading class and fell in love. When we finished our basement I had my craft room set up so that I can make them at home. 🙂 Hobbies are a good thing.
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That looks amazing!
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