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a progress report


I have begun piecing the "Old Shul tallit" and I'm pretty pleased with the results.The rough texture of the silk tussah contrasts wonderfully with the smoother shantung. The strong wine red looks terrific against the creamy white of the tussah.
Right now the tallit looks like a bit of a mess, but it is most of the way done. I have one more red stripe left to piece and then a final stripe of white. After that I will work on the atara/neckband and the pinot/corners. Most pieces go through a stage just before their final stage when they look like a mess but are really nearly done. I have discovered that it is usually NOT a good idea to show a piece to most clients when it reaches that stage. It is hard for them to see past the mess.
But this was not all I was working on. I also finished the edges of my son's tallit. Yes it does look lovely. I also painted the letters for his atara. And I did another stripe for Sara Jacobs' pink and brown tallit.
I have also been doing some work in paper. I have been working on an invitation which is nearly done. I was also asked to fill in the names on a ketubah, which ended up being a much more complicated proposition than I had anticipated. I am really grateful to my sister Rebecca who talked me through making corrections on the Ketubah when I thought that all was lost.
Sunday, I do another session of the tallit workshop followed by another sewing lesson. Nothing is getting done in long thoughful chunks of time but rather I'm jumping from project to project. It sometimes gets difficult to see actual progress being made when I end up working this way. My time has been chopped up in funny ways this week which has forced this less than ideal method of working.
Let's see what next week brings.

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