I’m still on about lampshades. Last week I found a lampshade on my chair when I got to the office one morning. It was stained and grubby and old, and one of my colleagues commented that he thought it was a strange present to give someone – he and his wife usually buy something new when they give a gift. ”It’s not a gift, W——–, it’s a challenge,” I patiently explained.
First, I spraypainted the shade in a metallic light blue, but this wasn’t dark enough to cover the marks that my wipe-down hadn’t been able to remove. So I grabbed the copper paint and gave it three coats. Once it was dry the colour looked fine but the fabric went a bit bulgy in places:
(Anne said I could just stick a flower on the lumpy bits if they didn’t disappear.)
Then I ferreted out 3 balls of dark grey dk yarn that I purchased from the Chinese shop in a moment of madness recently. I figured that the whole thing was an experiment so I could use whatever came to hand and if it looked dreadful, it would go in the bin anyway. I crocheted a cover.
It didn’t fit, so I added on a row of shells at the bottom.
It still didn’t fit, so I added on another row of shells, a bit smaller.
Finally it fat.
The spraypaint coating had made the surface slightly rough, so the crochet just stuck to it and held its shape perfectly. My last row of shells was a bit tight so I pulled it right down and stitched the middle stitch in each shell to the fabric that covered the wire rim. I took the pics last night when I’d finished it so they aren’t great, but I think it turned out okay. And the person who left it for me — sorry, pal, but you ain’t getting it back now… :)
And my last bit of lampshade news for the day – at the Milnerton Market I had found a packet of 10 crocheted miniature doilies for R15. They were perfect for my bedside lamp.
There is a matching lampshade on the other side of the bed which, for the moment, remains undecorated. But just for the moment.
To be continued…
