Here's a problem that happens every now and then-- the unexpected solder drop onto a piece of glass. No matter how careful you are it's easy to have a stray blob of solder fall off your iron and land on a piece of glass that's already tacked into place. Most times these drops simply flatten out onto the glass without incident but sometimes (if there's a lot of solder involved) it can take the shape of a small blob and just sit there heating up your glass. When this happens your best course of action is to keep your iron OFF of that solder blob! Touching your soldering iron to it in the hopes of somehow removing it usually cracks the glass. Leaving it alone is usually your best course of action. If you feel you MUST try to remove the blob you must act quickly and hold the end of your roll solder into it and let it cool for four or five seconds. If you got your solder into the blob quickly enough a gently lift upward should lift the solder up and off of your glass. Remember that excessive heat in any small area can break glass and touching your soldering iron to an already hot solder blob will most likely cause a crack to occur.
First up we have Angie's Autumn Pumpkin Scene which was completed this past week and she and everyone in the class were thoroughly impressed with the end result. Angie never rushed while making this and yet she moved along at a pace that only a skilled glass crafter could achieve. Her colors, her precision in cutting and grinding, and everything right down to her soldering shine vibrantly in this piece.
Jeannette has been filling in old window frames with stained glass for a while now but this one just flows so beautifully that I think it's stunning. Jeannette's projects get done super fast because of how much works she does at home between classes. She's a success story of mine for sure!
With PERFECT glass for her water and her border, Linda L's tranquil Tree by the Sea really calms you down when you look at it. Just look at that flowing water! This is another window that saw the light of day faster than most stained glass artists could make something of this complexity.
Lisa's back and she put the finishing touched in on her ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ Panel. Say what? Yep, hidden in this panel is every letter in the alphabet. I hadn't heard of this design before Lisa brought it to my attention but if you look it up you'll find that it's a well known piece of art that Lisa has now immortalized in glass. I think this could very well be a first!
Martha's latest Franklin Streetlight Window may be my favorite one yet! There's just something about that blue sky and border. As you can see, she has this down to a science now and I think she could make her next one with her eyes closed through most if not all of it.
Can you believe that Mary was worried that the glass that she used for the flipped areas of her flower petals would blend into the un-flipped petals? As you can see there was nothing to worry about at all because her colors are perfect. Mary's come a long way since she first started and wait until you see her next window. She's not afraid of a lot of pieces, that's for sure!
Susan D made a Love Window and yes, her penmanship is perfect. There's no mistaking what this says unlike some versions I've see of this on the internet. I'll go ahead and say it-- You've got to LOVE this pattern!
Shawn finished wrapping her Mario Window and then tacked it together which then allowed her to cut a border. After getting the border cut out (in a perfect color no less) she called it a night but she only needs to grind, wrap and then tack these pieces into place before she starts soldering this fun loving window.
MiMi got the last of her pieces ground for her Combat Vet Window and par for the course with MiMi, it fits together perfectly. She's begun the wrapping process and before you know it she'll have this ready for solder and a border. Look at that perfect lettering!
Linda F started working on a Thanksgiving Cornucopia Window and it already looks like a winner to me. She's already grinding this just one week into starting it! Gorgeous color choices are going to make this window really stunning when it's lit from behind.
Mary Grace finished wrapping her Address Number Window and then even got it tacked together. Next week it's border time and then solder. I have to say that I was impressed at how confident she's been making this and that's a very good thing.
Cindy is working on a Colorado Logo Window and she's doing it the hard way! I know it's hard to see the white snow capped mountain since it's resting on white pattern paper but she got it cut out and fitting perfectly on top of the blue mountain. That's impressive work indeed.
Annette was busy grinding the larger of her two Fleur De Lis' and it's fitting together nicely. I know she's worried about making a window this size but once this is tacked together the hard part is going to be done and the rest will be child's play.
Barbara is back and her LSU window officially has all of its glass cut out and ground. She tacked together her window as soon as she walked in the door and then she got the first inner border cut and tacked into place. Before she left she also got her final border cut so we should see her soldering this when she comes back next week.
Melissa is fast approaching the completion of her Quadruple Fleur De Lis Window. She only has to grind two more background diamonds and then she can wrap and tack this impressive piece. She's not adding a border to this-- the zinc channel will for a thin border all on its own.
With just four fill-ins left to cut and grind Jan will surely get her background cut and attached when she comes back in next week. It won't be long now before this poodle is a doggie in a window.
Helen started work on a Fleur De Lis Panel that she will follow up with 4(?) more over the weeks to come. I was very impressed with her grinding this week. It's spot on all around this piece.
Beth's Turtle Suncatcher is a VERY detailed Suncatcher indeed. There are just four more piece of glass to cut and I have a sneaking suspicion that this could be finished when we next see it.
Last week Cheryl cut out her version of the Franklin Street Lamp Window and this week she got it all ground. She's taken it home to wrap her pieces so I'm thinking she can get borders on this when she comes back in. Time will tell.
Tracey got yet another Butterfly Lawn Ornament cut and ground while she was in class this week. It's essentially the same color scheme as her last one and I promise to get a finished picture of it when this one is completed!
Lastly we look at the pattern that Sheri is about to embark on. She's starting a pair of Koi Fish surrounded by Lily Pads and Water Lilies. She's got her glass picked out and will begin cutting when she comes back in.
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