Light up, light up... painting an old standard lamp and making it amazing

A couple of years ago, we bought two touch lamps from Argos. They were some of the cheapest lamps around - I think £14 for two - but they were very handy and cheered up dark corners. Then, around about Christmas time, one of them broke. The living room dark corner was now just a dark corner. This was bad, as the ceiling lamp was now the only way to actually see, and that is attached to the scary wiring of our house, requires an un-eco old-style 100W bulb, and makes a v irritating high-pitched whine the whole time it is on. 

Husband and I looked around for a new lamp. We could not agree on anything. We had recently decided only to buy Good Things - ie no more cheap lamps from Argos. The new plan is to buy only good quality items, that will hopefully not end up broken and in landfill as quickly as the cheap versions. We scoured the charity shops but there was nothing nice At All. We then had a look online (ie spent about 3 hours searching for 'lamp', ending up feeling slightly sick and wondering where the time had gone and not agreeing on anything). We reached a stalemate and the dark corner remained dark. We were sitting in the gloom to avoid the whiney ceiling light. We should've gone to the pub.

Then, in a stroke of massive good fortune and happy coincidences, I spotted a lamp in the corner of my Aunt's garage when we were visiting her in Yorkshire. It had been her mum's so she was hanging onto it, but didn't need it in her house (all her corners are bright, you see). She very kindly agreed that we could rehome it.... so we put it in the car... and 4 hours later it arrived in Bath!

Lamp in original state. Please ignore bedraggled begonia in background.  Am unable to throw out plants if still alive. Not v in keeping with posh Bath lifestyle. This will be why we have not been invited to take tea in the Royal Crescent.

Original shade. Pleasant chintz but seen too many dusty days 

We left the original shade in Yorkshire because it was a bit worse for wear. When we got the lamp home, we decided it was a bit too 'brown'. The varnish was also all coming off. We went to Homebase and spent our Nectar points on a can of spray primer and gloss paint. We also bought a new flex and switch thing and plug to replace this retro-looking wiring:

Husband had a sudden and immediate burst of Husbandly activity and rewired the lamp. This was very surprisingly easy. The old switch screwed off the top and the whole base was hollow so we could just thread the new flex up through it. I then had a few bursts of running out into the garden, spraying the lamp, and running back inside before it started raining again. Mostly this was a success.

Spraying in the utility room when the outside was too rainy.  New non-slug house needs a workshop :)

Segregated. Spray paint is surprisingly smelly

We were very pleased with the new glossy finish. Especially as I couldn't face sanding the original varnish off so just sprayed over it and hoped that the flakes would somehow 'seal'. They did! I should have been a dermatologist.

All that was left now was to find a new shade. You may have noticed that the shade in the first pic above (purloined from the ex-Argos lamp) was just a touch too small. We wanted a large fabric drum shade in sort of neutral colours to tie in with this room and whatever other room we end up in when we move out of the slug house. I also wanted some white in the fabric to tie in with the base.

A bit of Googling lead me to believe that I could make the shade myself for about 30% of what it would cost to buy a nice one. So all that remained was to find a piece of fabric. 

Well. We thought agreeing on a lamp was hard. Agreeing on fabric for lamp shades was impossible. I don't know why we have these problems. Things like houses and holidays and other expensive things, we always seem to agree on and decide pretty quickly. Give us two tea towels and ask us to pick one though... full-blown war. Husband favoured a beige fabric with small dogs all over it. I wanted a sort of geometric, ikat-style pattern. Stalemate. 

Then, very pleasingly, whilst looking at 'how to make a lampshade' tutorials on the internet, I stumbled across  Emily Robson's lovely website, Martha and Me. Emily is a very crafty lady who had not only made a lampshade, she had made it the size that we were after, from a fabric that we both liked, and it was for sale, and it was affordable! Done.

A few days later, this exciting parcel arrived:

And the shade was unveiled!

When the shade arrived I realised it was a ceiling shade rather than a standard lamp shade - d'oh! Hadn't thought to check that. The pattern, which is lots of houses all next to each other, was upside down. This was annoying, but I discovered that by balancing the new shade on the old mini shade, it could be the right way up. I then discovered that you can buy 'lampshade adaptors' or 'shade carriers' which do the job for you in a more professional way - £3 from John Lewis! Job (finally) done. Corner bright. Life looking up!

PS if this tickles your fancy, do check out Emily's blog. She makes lots of lovely things, including some brilliant cushions and cards (which might look familiar if you have ever received a handmade card from me, because we have the same ink stamps!) :)

House Fail

I had just got off the phone with the estate agent. She had agreed to ask the landlord to cut back the creeper (currently trying to strangle the house), repaint the rotten window frames, shave the base of the swollen back door so that we can open it without hacking at it with a screwdriver, and sort out the mould in the bathroom. She had previously said that the landlord can probably not do anything about the freebies we got with the house - mega moth infestation and slugs which visit the downstairs in the middle of the night. We had decided that the location is good and we will put up with the freebies.

I put the phone down. Something caught my eye on the kitchen ceiling. A silver, shimmering line. Aaarrrghhh!!! THE SLUGS ARE ON THE CEILING!!!

Surely the next step is that the slugs are in the bedroom.

We are going to have to move.

iPadded: a handmade quilted iPad case!

I have been wanting to show you this for ages, but couldn't because it was a present for my Mum, who likely comprises 50% of everyone who reads this blog (hello Mum!). Now it has been handed over (and is reportedly in use), I can unveil:

I am v pleased with it because it is one of the first things that I have made that actually turned out a) anything like I hoped it would, and b) not looking like a child had made it. The patterned fabrics are from Tilda and the other bits and pieces are random leftovers that I had lying around.

I basically just got our iPad, measured it, and added a few cms for general seam allowance plus my own margin for error (things I sew ALWAYS end up smaller than they are supposed to, unless they are a tea cosy, in which case they end up as gargantuan things suitable only for giant's tea parties and headwear for men with big heads and little shame. Strange but true). I used the measurements to make a little lined fabric bag with a layer of batting in the middle. I sewed a piece of elasticated gingham into the top seam and a button on the other side to hold it closed. I did toy with making a little quilted lid to protect it better and probably would have done if the iPad was in there loose. As it is, iPad is always in a little black leather protective case, so this case is extra padding for pretty highdays (iDays? hehehe) and holidays.

I have a few more projects on the go at the moment but seeing as the PhD is the only one which pays me, they are a bit dormant! I have vague ideas of becoming like a lady I met at a lovely fabric shop who takes pretty sewing things on holiday with her, but the thing is, it seems to require so much effort just to pack enough clean and (vaguely) matching clothes for a holiday that I am not sure that the organisation required to bring fabric plus needles and thread, etc, is within reach at present! We Shall See.