Everything beautiful

like these challot (braided by my youngest) often gets it's start as less beautiful. 

For example, these challot earlier today, looked like this

and after a few hours like this.

Tonight's dessert, peach and yogurt swirl ice-cream with chunks of white chocolate

 began like this

 and this

As it is with food, so it is with my work. I am working on an atara. it has one of my favorite verses for a tallit it comes from the book of Jonah.

בְּהִתְעַטֵּ֤ף עָלַי֙ נַפְשִׁ֔י אֶת־יְהוָ֖ה זָכָ֑רְתִּי וַתָּב֤וֹא אֵלֶ֙יךָ֙ תְּפִלָּתִ֔י אֶל־הֵיכַ֖ל קָדְשֶֽׁךָ׃

When my life was ebbing away, I called the LORD to mind; And my prayer came before You, Into Your holy Temple.

In Hebrew the first word of the verse is also the verb we use to describe being wrapped in a tallit.  If you read it with that meaning in your head, " In the wrapping up of my soul with God." You can see what a perfect verse it is for a tallit.

My client wants the text to be white on white.  I thought that I would paint the text onto sheer silk gazar, flip it over and then embroider the letters from the wrong side of the fabric.

I am auditioning different embroidery styles.

I think that I will need to start again with larger letters.Tthe base fabric is a vintage damask tablecloth. I love the texture behind the lettering. I know this looks like a mess but it will be beautiful when completed.

In my continuing conversation in photos with my friend Rachely there is a strip of grass between the north and south bound lanes of traffic on Broadway. It is officially parkland but in reality it is a strip of grass between four busy lanes of traffic. You may think that I took a photo of this bloom in an actual park.

 But this is where it really was.

This is a Shabbat where the family splits get un-split. We are looking forward to having one of our Florida cousins at the tablle.

Shabbat Shalom!