Today, Rachel came over to tie her tzitzit with her mother and her grandparents. I had put the tallit on my dressmaking dummy so Rachel could see it as soon as she walked in. Despite the fact that there were some differences between what we had agreed on in our initial meeting, and what I actually ended up doing, Rachel could see that the changes I had made were good ones, that in the end, made the tallit a better one.
After the tour of the tallit, we got to work tying the tzitzit/ritual fringes. I went over the meaning hidden in the numbers of wraps and knots. Most girls know the knot we use for the wrapping from making friendship bracelets. Most girls know the wrap we use as "Chinese staircase". Rachel had clearly done her time in camp. As soon as I said, "Chinese Staircase" she was off and running. Then I went to teach Julie, Rachel's mom, Grandpa Larry and Grandma Marilyn how to do the knots.
Grandpa Larry was having some troubles, until his daughter Julie said " You're a butcher, pretend you are tying a roast." That was exactly what Larry needed to hear and he was off and running. Julie had never tied a roast , so she needed a bit more support. Grandma Marilyn and Rachel worked as a team.
Before not very long, the tzitzit were all tied. I said all of the verses associated with tallit and the blessings with Rachel, and she put on her tallit for the first time. As we were all admiring the tallit and the bag, Rachel mentioned that she thought that she would want a cascade of beads on the front flap. I often add the beads to that flap top weigh it down. I had thought that the lettering on Rachel's tallit might have made it busy enough but was happy to accommodate her wishes.
I brought out my box of beads, and Rachel began choosing beads for the front flap of her tallit bag. She chose a variety of turquoise and crystal beads. we both worked on threading the beads and before long we were done.
So there it is. Another tallit completed and a really happy client.
I had tried to post this photo album as a movie but I wasn’t able to figure out how to make it visible to all, so here is a music less version of the album.
After the tour of the tallit, we got to work tying the tzitzit/ritual fringes. I went over the meaning hidden in the numbers of wraps and knots. Most girls know the knot we use for the wrapping from making friendship bracelets. Most girls know the wrap we use as "Chinese staircase". Rachel had clearly done her time in camp. As soon as I said, "Chinese Staircase" she was off and running. Then I went to teach Julie, Rachel's mom, Grandpa Larry and Grandma Marilyn how to do the knots.
Grandpa Larry was having some troubles, until his daughter Julie said " You're a butcher, pretend you are tying a roast." That was exactly what Larry needed to hear and he was off and running. Julie had never tied a roast , so she needed a bit more support. Grandma Marilyn and Rachel worked as a team.
Before not very long, the tzitzit were all tied. I said all of the verses associated with tallit and the blessings with Rachel, and she put on her tallit for the first time. As we were all admiring the tallit and the bag, Rachel mentioned that she thought that she would want a cascade of beads on the front flap. I often add the beads to that flap top weigh it down. I had thought that the lettering on Rachel's tallit might have made it busy enough but was happy to accommodate her wishes.
I brought out my box of beads, and Rachel began choosing beads for the front flap of her tallit bag. She chose a variety of turquoise and crystal beads. we both worked on threading the beads and before long we were done.
So there it is. Another tallit completed and a really happy client.
I had tried to post this photo album as a movie but I wasn’t able to figure out how to make it visible to all, so here is a music less version of the album.
Sarah...what a pleasure it was to watch the slide show. The tallit is beautiful...as is Rachel's delighted smile!
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