After being away for two weeks, it was nice to be back at my sewing machine. My youngest son is home from college. He had a pile of folded pants on the floor of his room. They all needed mending.
My son is a skinny guy. He usually keeps his phone in his back pocket. The skinny jeans he wears look great on him but the lycra/denim mix isn't the longest wearing fabric on the planet. The parts of his pants that support the pocket usually fail from the weight of his phone.
So, right after I returned home I started mending pants. This checked pair has been mended several times. I have been adding a patch to the inside of the pants and grafting the two layers together with lots of stitching.
Luckily my son doesn't mind the contrasting bits of patch showing.
at least a year or two by my older son. My youngest loves these jeans because they are so soft.
My son is a skinny guy. He usually keeps his phone in his back pocket. The skinny jeans he wears look great on him but the lycra/denim mix isn't the longest wearing fabric on the planet. The parts of his pants that support the pocket usually fail from the weight of his phone.
So, right after I returned home I started mending pants. This checked pair has been mended several times. I have been adding a patch to the inside of the pants and grafting the two layers together with lots of stitching.
I mended two pairs of the lavender and black checkerboard jeans.
I also mended two pairs of jeans that I think I bought my son while he was still in middle school. When I think about it, these pants may have been worn for
Two pairs of jeans needed repairs in the crotch.
The black and white striped pair was potentially tricky because of the white stripes, they seem to have been made out of a plasticky type of a paint. I didn't know how my sewing machine would behave. I added some black rayon knit to the underside of the fabric. When the pants are worn the repairs aren't all that obvious.
What felt like the most complicated repair for me, was replacing the pocket bag on this pair of jeans.
I made a pattern of the existing torn pocket, cut a new one out of orange linen, because I had a scrap the right size and then stitched the new pocket bag into place.
All of this mending involves some pleasant problem-solving. Each problem has several possible solutions and I usually try to use the solution that works the most easily for me. There is something oddly soothing about the process of making all of these pants wearable again for my son. Luckily lots of designer jeans are featuring the sorts of repeated stitch patterns that mending produces. My son likes the look and is happy I can fix his pants.
I never would have thought that I would find mending so satisfying.
Today I got a challah cover ready to send to the bride and groom.
The text is the chorus of this poem
| English translation | Transliteration | Hebrew | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chorus: | |||
| 1 | Let’s go, my beloved, to meet the bride, | Lekhah dodi liqrat kallah | לכה דודי לקראת כלה |
| 2 | and let us welcome the presence of Shabbat. | p'nei Shabbat neqabelah | פני שבת נקבלה |
| Verse 1: | |||
| 3 | "Safeguard" and "Remember" in a single utterance, | Shamor v'zakhor b'dibur eḥad | שמור וזכור בדבור אחד |
| 4 | We were made to hear by the unified God, | hishmiʿanu El hameyuḥad | השמיענו אל המיחד |
| 5 | God is one and God’s Name is one, | Adonai eḥad ushemo eḥad | יי אחד ושמו אחד |
| 6 | In fame and splendor and praiseful song. | L'Sheim ul'tiferet v'lit'hilah | לשם ולתפארת ולתהלה |
| Verse 2: | |||
| 7 | To greet Shabbat let’s go, let’s travel, | Liqrat Shabbat lekhu v'nelekhah | לקראת שבת לכו ונלכה |
| 8 | For she is the wellspring of blessing, | ki hi m'qor haberakhah | כי היא מקור הברכה |
| 9 | From the start, from ancient times she was chosen, | merosh miqedem nesukhah | מראש מקדם נסוכה |
| 10 | Last made, but first planned. | sof maʿaseh b'maḥashavah teḥilah | סוף מעשה במחשבה תחלה |
| Verse 3: | |||
| 11 | Sanctuary of the king, royal city, | Miqdash melekhʿir melukhah | מקדש מלך עיר מלוכה |
| 12 | Arise! Leave from the midst of the turmoil; | Qumi tz'i mitokh ha-hafeikhah | קומי צאי מתוך ההפכה |
| 13 | Long enough have you sat in the valley of tears | Rav lakh shevet b'eimeq habakha | רב לך שבת בעמק הבכא |
| 14 | And He will take great pity upon you compassionately. | v'hu yaḥamol ʿalayikh ḥemlah | והוא יחמול עליך חמלה |
| Verse 4: | |||
| 15 | Shake yourself free, rise from the dust, | Hitnaʿari me'afar qumi | התנערי מעפר קומי |
| 16 | Dress in your garments of splendor, my people, | Livshi bigdei tifartekh ʿami | לבשי בגדי תפארתך עמי |
| 17 | By the hand of Jesse’s son of Bethlehem, | ʿAl yad ben Yishai beit ha-laḥmi | על יד בן ישי בית הלחמי |
| 18 | Redemption draws near to my soul. | Qorvah el nafshi g'alah | קרבה אל נפשי גאלה |
| Verse 5: | |||
| 19 | Rouse yourselves! Rouse yourselves! | Hitʿoreri hitʿoreri | התעוררי התעוררי |
| 20 | Your light is coming, rise up and shine. | Ki va oreikh qumi ori | כי בא אורך קומי אורי |
| 21 | Awaken! Awaken! utter a song, | ʿUri ʿuri shir dabeiri | עורי עורי שיר דברי |
| 22 | The glory of the Lord is revealed upon you. | K'vod Adonai ʿalayikh niglah | כבוד יי עליך נגלה |
| Verse 6: | |||
| 23 | Do not be embarrassed! Do not be ashamed! | Lo tevoshi v'lo tikalmi | לא תבושי ולא תכלמי |
| 24 | Why be downcast? Why groan? | Mah tishtoḥaḥi umah tehemi | מה תשתוחחי ומה תהמי |
| 25 | All my afflicted people will find refuge within you | bakh yeḥesu ʿaniyei ʿami | בך יחסו עניי עמי |
| 26 | And the city shall be rebuilt on her hill. | v'nivnetah ʿir ʿal tilah | ונבנתה עיר על תלה |
| Verse 7: | |||
| 27 | Your despoilers will become your spoil, | V'hayu limshisah shosayikh | והיו למשסה שאסיך |
| 28 | Far away shall be any who would devour you, | V'raḥaqu kol mevalʿayikh | ורחקו כל מבלעיך |
| 29 | Your God will rejoice concerning you, | Yasisʿalayikh Elohayikh | ישיש עליך אלהיך |
| 30 | As a groom rejoices over a bride. | Kimsos ḥatan ʿal kalah | כמשוש חתן על כלה |
| Verse 8: | |||
| 31 | To your right and your left you will burst forth, | Yamin usmol tifrotzi | ימין ושמאל תפרוצי |
| 32 | And the Lord will you revere | V'et Adonai taʿaritzi | ואת יי תעריצי |
| 33 | By the hand of a child of Peretz, | ʿAl yad ish ben Partzi | על יד איש בן פרצי |
| 34 | We will rejoice and sing happily. | V'nismeḥah v'nagilah | ונשמחה ונגילה |
| Verse 9: | |||
| 35 | Come in peace, crown of her husband, | Boi v'shalom ateret baʿalah | בואי בשלום עטרת בעלה |
| 36 | Both in happiness and in jubilation | Gam b'simḥah uvetzahalah | גם בשמחה ובצהלה |
| 37 | Amidst the faithful of the treasured nation | Tokh emunei ʿam segulah | תוך אמוני עם סגלה |
| 38 | Come O Bride! Come O Bride! | Boi khalah boi khalah | בואי כלה בואי כלה |
This was all painted on silk shantung (please ignore the passive voice, this is all my work). I love the soft colors and the cheerful grapes.
Before I moved to New York the thought of living in such a big city kind of terrified me. Soon after I moved here I remember taking the train back to New York after a visit back home. The train travels next to the Tri-boro bridge and then turns left and you see a fabulous view of Manhattan. I remember becoming so excited because I was seeing home. I haven't come back to New York and not had that same feeling of excitement and anticipation and being truly home.
It's a beautiful challah cover. The bride and groom are lucky to have it.
ReplyDeleteI got a new sewing machine a few weeks ago and decided to try out the mending stitches on my husbands jeans. I never thought I'd have fun doing it but I enjoyed it.
I've also been stitching out all the fancy stitches which I can't figure out what I'd ever use them for since I'm a minimalist in clothing and decor. But it's fun.
I think there are ways to use the stitches that works...a little harder for adult clothing...I just used embroidery stitches on two men's shirts that I lopped the collars from and wear as lounge wear. . Both shirts had worn out collars. I was feeling lazy so just cut the collars off ( rather than unpicking all of that tiny fine stitching and re sewing) I used a fake blanket stitch to edge the collar and then added more stitching in the same color to make it all look intentional.
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