work methods

 I have been working away on Max's tallit. Yesterday I had reached the point where all of the little pieces of work I have been doing are starting to come together. I am recreating the look of a woven tallit by piecing fabric and embellishing with machine stitching.

As I was adding row after row of stitching I kept thinking about my friend Sally who is a really accomplished weaver. When she makes a piece she needs to make a plan and stick to it the whole way through. It takes a particular sort of brain to work like that. I admire people who can do that.

I work in an entirely different way. I have a general idea of where I want to go. I don't have every stitch of the piece figured out before I start. I leave myself open to improvising. 

Even though I work entirely differently than Sally, I kept thinking about her as I worked.

I also thought about how Max's tallit imitates the look of woven pattern ut using a sewing machine to essentially draw the patterns one usually makes with a loom. I am especially pleased that I am using stitches that are usually purely functional in a decorative way.

I am completely unable to work like Sally does thinking out every element of a piece before beginning to work. I do admire the discipline that it takes to work that way.

Working the way I do solving each problem as it comes along, I am able to come up with good stuff like the pretty borders around the 

pinot/ corner pieces. I had been a little nervous about how the pinot would look. I had put in so much work (too much) and I wasn't delighted with my lettering. The frames organize all of the less than perfect bits into something that I can be proud of.

I'm still working away on the atara/neckband chain stitching in gold around each letter. I am reaching the end of the road on this piece.

We continue to eat our main food for this pandemic summer.