Red Magic

Passover is over, and it’s time focus on real life again.I spent part of yesterday constructing the stripes for Shaun’s magical red tallit.

The text painted on the stripes are often used as magical incantations, but they come from Psalms. Shaun loves rich colors that vibrate against one another ( so do I).
The diagonal stripes are made out of tie silk from a Fabric Mart mystery bundle. It’s heavy, heavy silk. I only had a little bit, maybe 1/4 yard but by cutting it on the diagonal. I was able to stretch the little bit of fabric . I had purchased several spools of decorative threads in various shades of red. You can see that I’m making good use of those threads.  The red printed paisley ribbon just pops on the magenta noil. The stripes are nearly done and need to be inset into the base fabric of the tallit. I took the photos on top of the base fabric ( a silk/hemp from Dharma Trading).

The wild colors in this tallit are exactly why I adore working with clients so much. I probably would not have chosen these colors on my own, but aren’t they amazing? .I participate in several sewing discussion groups on the internet. A topic that often comes up is the difficulty some people have sewing for others. With very few exceptions, I love working with clients. One of my favorite parts of the process is learning  what makes them happy. Working with colors I have learned a huge amount about color and how particular color combinations evoke deep feelings. if I just worked on my own I would work only with my own particular color vocabulary. By working with clients for so long, I feel like I have become conversant in several different languages of color.