Triumphant return

Back in July, I put up photos of our stained glass window as it left the church. Today the window returned and it is glorious. Go back and see what the window looked like and how it is now.


When I got over to the church at 8.30, they'd already placed the lower panels that open into place. The panels weren't totally set; there was a bit of wiggling and chiseling but they basically fit. G, the master restorer, looks back in from his scaffolding.


When I ventured over about half an hour later, they were placing the Mary and Martha panel in. Again, it took them a long time to get it seated properly.


It was a bit nippy this morning and they were working on the north side of the church so they never got any warmth from the sun.


It took many tries to get this in just right. They added in an aluminum horizontal support bar between the middle and top panels so that the top one isn't sitting on top of the lower one as it was before. The window will be that much more sturdy in the long haul.


K shaves off excess leading. They always put on more than needed and then adjust when on site. It's amazing all the tools and their variety they have to use; restoration truly is an art.


After their lunch, they got in the other side.


It is always odd to see an arm coming around from the other side bracing the window as they sit it and then put some nails in to hold it in place. Remember that they are outside, standing on scaffolding. They wanted to know in the morning if they were going to let heat outside of the church and I said no, we turn the furnace off during the week so there was no worry about that.


Mid afternoon they placed the dove panel whose shape is just that of a kite. This panel demanded a lot of fine tuning. You can see their shadows.


Here's a close-up of the dove panel. You can see how they reinforced major structural elements of the leading, thereby distributing better the load so it won't buckle.


Likewise, here is the left panel from the outside. You can make out the extra leading that will support and distribute the weight. You can also see that these panels were extremely fussy with a lot of parts to take apart and relead — just look at the palm tree leaves and all the curlycues up at the top.


Ditto for the Mary and Martha panel. (I love the palm tree branches and leaves.)


The final product is exquisite.


We will rededicate these windows on my last Sunday, the Sunday after All Saints' Day.