Making the heavens

Over the past several days I finished dyeing the cotton for the brit milah pillow. I had wanted the text to be in the cosmos and the cosmos populated with a few heavenly bodies.

This is my sketch for the project ( in case you don't commit every word I type to your long term memory).

One of the things I have learned with years of experience doing this sort of work is how to plan how to attack the various tasks needed to complete the job and in what order.

I cut the fabric to pillowcase size and pressed it to be sure that it is colorfast. I then sketched out a moon, a couple of stars and a something that is either a planet or the sun onto a white linen men's handkerchief.
I have a bag full of beautiful ones in my stash and I thought that the finely woven white linen would be perfect for the job.

After I sketched out the shapes and the text to go inside I went over my pencil line in gold paint and then floated color inside of the gold lines.

Then I traced those shapes onto tracing paper cut them out and basted them to the dyed cotton. Then I was ready to begin painting the baby blessing text onto the cotton.

The blessing text is now completed.

Then I began finishing off the celestial elements. I backed the moon with another men's hankie, hemmed both together, and then hand embroidered craters on the moon.

While I was working on the brit milah pillow I took breaks by starting work on a tallit that is due in a couple of weeks. ( I just got the comission yesterday(!) I cut out the base silk and stitched the edges so the silk would not unravel. I then embroidered a few miles of ribbon,

really it was only 240 inches of ribbon.

Earlier today I shipped off these buttons.

My sewing buddy Charlotte makes doll clothing. These teeny buttons came to me from the Mother of Pearl, or perhaps her father. Pearl's mother lived to be over 100. She was a serious sewer and knitter and I have been inheriting bits of her sewing treasures. Pearl's father had owned a children's wear notions supply store. I suspect that these buttons came from Pearl's father despite what the card might read. These buttons were all machined to look like this. While you might find plastic molded buttons this size, the precision of the work on these buttons is kind of astonishing. I hadn't noticed until I took the photo that the flat buttons all have fluted edges.

I am sure that Charlotte's dolls will all appreciate these fine quality buttons.

The trip to the post office had me appreciating the small sights of the neighborhood.

I am loving shadows