Let’s talk about that moment in a sewing project when you’re about to make that first cut in your fabric. It can be intimidating. Sometimes it can be downright scary. And sometimes that fear is enough to stop a project in its tracks. I’ve had sewing students tell me they’d pay someone just to stand … Continue reading
Wheat. It’s the quintessential summer crop. And a widely-evoked symbol in Jewish art and design. In the Torah, wheat is one of the seven species of agricultural crops that signify the abundance of the Promised Land. The association comes from the Torah narrative of the Israelites’ approach to the Promised Land after traveling for forty … Continue reading
This is the season when the weekly Torah portion returns several times to the subject of the Tabernacle the Israelites built after leaving Egypt. Building the Tabernacle was a community project that involved sewing, weaving, and embroidery, among other crafts. I thought this would be a great time to post an excerpt from the introduction … Continue reading
This Fabric Friday’s selection is Robert Kaufman Fabrics’ Kona Cotton in the color “Wheat,” to coordinate with the matzah print fabric you probably already have in your stash. I walked into one of my local quilt shops this earlier this week, not sure if I would find a color that would coordinate well with my … Continue reading
When looking for Jewish design inspiration, illustrated Jewish manuscripts offer a treasure trove of themes and forms. And now, the British Library has made dozens of illustrated manuscripts from the Middle Ages accessible online through the Hebrew Manuscripts Digitisation Project. Within the digitized collection you’ll find hand calligraphed Passover Haggadahs, daily prayer books, Kabbalistic texts, … Continue reading
Thank you, Stephanie, for sharing this beautiful handmade full-size tallit, personalized through a mix of creative techniques. Stephanie started with the tallit instructions in the Sew Jewish book, choosing the variations for the full-size tallit. Then she sewed on ribbons for stripes in a mix of blues, purples, and teal. She used fabric paint to … Continue reading
This Sukkot I got the chance to lead a workshop for the Beacon Sukkah Project, a Sukkot-long program of arts and lectures organized by the Beacon Hebrew Alliance and Beacon Arts in Beacon, New York. To fit this year’s theme, “Open to the Sky,” I led an introduction to drawn thread embroidery, and thought I’d … Continue reading
