Lampshades

Go with your gut Julie!…

Sometimes I think far too much about what I’m doing, especially when I’m designing and I wish I could just get on and ‘do’ more. I had a lovely day yesterday with Angela from Cocoon Home, trawling fabric and trim shops across London (literally, I slept well last night, it felt like we covered the whole of London, by foot!) So today I decided to get on and make a lampshade from some fabric I’ve had sitting around for ages. I bought this Liberty print to make a hand-stitched lampshade originally but it’s a bit too thin on it’s own so I decided to line a drum one instead. Now, the yellow is very bright; much brighter than I thought it would be when I bought it on-line (another good reason to go up to London more, much better to see and touch for yourself) but… it looks really striking with the subtle floral print on the outside and I’m really pleased with it.

So it’s good to get out and about with someone who knows where they’re going and we found some brilliant shops and some that weren’t so inspiring (but useful for any size and colour zip!) I even managed to buy some lovely braid at a bargain price for an empire lampshade I’m making, more on that another day… Thanks Angela, it was a real treat! Let’s leave time for cocktails too next time!

Delicate floral outside
Striking yellow inside
Lampshades

Billions of bilious barbecued blue blistering barnacles!

Just had a bit of a chuckle to myself looking at some of Captain Haddock’s insults and exclamations from Tintin (I don’t usually spend my spare time doing that, maybe I should, I was just looking for an interesting title for this blog post!)

Well, this is a Tintin lampshade I made yesterday for a client. I haven’t read the pages I chose to check for any Captain Haddock insults, maybe I should! I hope the seven year old boy / “young monkey!” / “whippersnapper!” / “Fuzzy wuzzy!” I made it for likes it as much as I do. More quotes available if you want a giggle at Tintinologist.org

Tintin lampshade
Lampshades

My Nan’s thimble…

When I first learnt how to make hand-stitched lampshades I was told, “You really should use a thimble – and one day you’ll wonder how you managed without one”. Well, I found them really uncomfortable at first; they made sewing feel really awkward. But now I fret if I can’t find my Nan’s old thimble that was in her sewing box I inherited years ago. It fits perfectly and really saves my fingers from all those nasty pins!

This week I have finally had a go at making paneled hand-stitched lampshades. There are two ways of making them – 1. Cutting fabric to fit the panels and then stitching them together on the sewing machine (on the left in the photo), and 2. Sewing the panels to the frame directly by hand and then neatening off the joins with some kind of braid. Both work really well, but made me realise how important it is to choose the pattern for your panel and fabrics that compliment each other nicely. The second method is definitely more time consuming, but okay if you want something to do while watching TV in the evening. Both involve a lot of pins, thank goodness for my Nan’s thimble eh?!

2 paneled lampshades
Lampshades

It’s cold outside…

In fact it’s so horrible and cold I haven’t been out all day (which is very unlike me!) Ah well, at least this spell of hibernation means I have finally started stitching a lampshade I’ve been meaning to make for ages. I bought the fabric a few months ago and have just ordered some bright red velvet trim to put on the top and bottom. This one’s supposed to be for a collection of three big empire lampshades and floor bases that will be for sale on my website. The problem is I always make things I really like so it’s hard to let them go! The plan is to finish this before the Easter holidays and as this cold spell is set to last I’d say for once I will get it done on time! Back to my cuppa and sewing and the radio… 🙂

grey stitching and ribbon
Lampshades

Small business… very big lampshade!

When it comes to drum lampshades, I like a challenge and it’s good to make something a bit different every now and again. So when I was asked by an Interior Designer, Kate Lovejoy to help her recover a very big seventies lampshade I was more than happy to.

Here’s what it looked like it in it’s glorious seventies condition; a little tired and bashed –

Before…

In fact it wasn’t that difficult to recover but it took two of us to roll the rings because it is SO big, definitely my biggest so far. Kate chose a lovely, colourful butterfly fabric that still has a seventies feel but now it looks beautiful (and still VERY big!)

and after!

So, another lampshade quandary successfully tackled and another happy lampshade and customer, did I mention I love lampshades?…

Lampshades

Not on the high street…

I love lined drum lampshades. They just look so neat, professional and finished with no hint of PVC showing. Not only that, they also look beautiful when lit as the pattern on the inside shines through faintly. It takes a little more time and patience to make them but well worth it in the end.

I made this one yesterday for a client who wanted a lined lampshade to match her curtains in her dining room. The outer fabric is a white linen which is tricky to work with and I wouldn’t recommend using it if you’re making a lampshade for the first time, as it frays very easily. But it’s fine if you treat it very gently and carefully. The inner fabric is a cotton/linen blend fabric from Laura Ashley, featuring a subtle wisteria-inspired flora pattern.

Lined lampshade

So if you dream of owning a stunning, hand-made, bespoke lampshade that you simply can’t buy on the high street and that ties in with your interior, get in touch for details, you won’t be disappointed, promise…

Lampshades

Lunch is for wimps…

I have to be honest, I’ve found it a bit hard getting back into things after the summer holidays (hang on, it’s Autumn now, right?!) but this week feels like a turning point. Yesterday I had a lovely day making a bespoke comic book lampshade for a client who had seen my Tintin ones on my website. This is quite a fiddly process; making lampshades with paper is much less forgiving than fabric as you can’t take it off and start again once it’s stuck down. Nevertheless, I really enjoyed it, so much so that I didn’t want to stop for lunch, a sure sign that I’m having too much fun! I also finished off some drawing but I’ll save that for another post…

So here it is, next to one of my Tintin ones, looking equally neat and retro, finished off with off-white fabric on the top and bottom rings (I love that bit, very satisfying to see it all neatened off!) I’m off to post it now, will let you know the feedback, hope they like it…

comic book lampshades
Pow!

Lampshades

Spurred on by a discarded pin…

Well, I’ve had a REALLY long break from gilhoolie and I have to admit I’ve found it a bit hard to get back into things after the relaxing (yes, relaxing!) school holidays. I was just clearing up after the weekend and nearly stepped on a discarded pin and, as well as being relieved no-one had trodden on it, I was inspired to get back to making lampshades as soon as possible.

Now that my boys are both settled at their new schools, I’ve started thinking about where to go next and I’m feeling a lot better (except for the quietness when I walk back in the front door in the morning – I don’t think I’ll ever like that!)

One of the things I’ve decided is that (as well as doing more exercise – feels like new year resolutions time!), as I live so close to London I really need to go in more to look for inspiration so I’m planning another trip to Liberty and various fabric shops that I haven’t been to before. I’m quite fussy about fabrics; it has to be ‘just right’ before I’ll spend time making a lampshade from a carefully chosen piece. I just came across the new Liberty lifestyle craft fabrics on their website and I like quite a few of them – can’t wait to buy some and make some lampshades!

Here’s a selection of my favourites:

Liberty Copeland

The colour and flowers in the turquoise Copeland design caught my eye initially but I also think the browns and oranges would go well on a traditional style lampshade.

Liberty Leonard
Liberty Leonard

I love the dainty flowers in this design; the green is my favourite – why I am always so drawn to green?!

Liberty Dance and Garnett
Liberty Dance and Garnett

And finally, the colours in these beautiful designs called Dance and Garnett just made me smile…

As I’m feeling a tad rusty, my plan is to make some small, hand-stitched empire lampshades from my fabric finds, including one with different fabrics on each panel, back soon with updates…

Lampshades

Lampshade commissions…

I have a feeling I won’t be posting many updates over the summer so I thought I’d better get one in quick before the schools break up and the holidays begin. I’m looking forward to spending some quality time with the family but I’m sure I’ll find time to sneak away and make something at some point. Here are some shots I took at home last week of a lampshade commission for an Interior Designer. I’m hoping to get some photos of it in situ soon so I’ll add those separately.

gilhoolie lampshade commission
gilhoolie lampshade commission

This large lampshade is for a floor lamp; the bottom ring measures 22″. The exterior is a woven plain fabric from Designers Guild called ‘Shima’ in a rose colour. It’s thicker than the dress-making cottons I would usually use so I fitted it on the bias. The interior is a balloon lining in 100% silk. The trim is a looped rouche from Osborne & Little called ‘Kediri’.

Kediri trim
Kediri trim

That was last week… this week has been equally busy, with two birthday parties to organise, along with all the other end of school activities. However, in between making a birthday cake and running errands I managed to make this lampshade today for a client. It’s made from wallpaper, with bias binding trim and has a clear backing giving it a translucent quality when lit.

stripy wallpaper lampshade
Wallpaper lampshade

stripy wallpaper lampshade closeup
All important careful packaging and gilhoolie tag

Well, hopefully it won’t be too long before I post something on here again. Have a brilliant summer everyone, the sun is going to shine soon I’m sure of it!…

Lampshades · Sewing projects

Lotta lampshade anyone?!…

Okay, so I recovered the 1980s St Michael Tiffany lampshade yesterday. It only took an hour or so and I really enjoyed having a bit of a play, for once without hundreds of pins. However, I’m still not sure I have somewhere I could hang it (hence the hanging basket shot in the garden). I used some Lotta Jansdotter fabric I had left over and I still think they would look lovely in a little girl’s bedroom or nursery; it’s just a shame I have two boys. I think it looks less like a shower cap now though, especially without the frill around the bottom. Enough playing, back to preparing for a 1-2-1 tomorrow and finishing off my lampshade commission, lots of trim to attach!

Tiffany Lotta lampshade
Lotta lampshade