Three topics in one post

 As I start writing this blogpost I am hoping that I can make it about three different topics and still have it hang together in a reasonable way. Let's see how I do?

A couple of weeks ago I had gotten an email from someone who used to make tallitot but had gone on to other pursuits. A tallit she had made several years ago had needed some repairs. She wondered if I would be willing to do them. I was.

Below is the tear.

After carefully inspecting the tallit I found a matching spot that was about to tear on the other side of the tallit

I mended both the actual tear and the about to tear bits with what is essentially a fabric bandage.

Some of the identical silk fused over the break. This stabilizes the rip.  We also decided to cover the area with gold braid. The braid acts as camouflage but also strengthens the weakened area.

We then decided to line the tallit. This is another trick that provides strength and an extra bit of pretty to the tallit. We had ordered two different drapery silks but ultimately chose the silk on the right  to line the tallit. The striped silk in some ways looked better except it would change the intention of the  work of the original artist too much.

I lined the tallit with the new silk and made new eyelets for the tzitzit.

You can see the lining peeking out 

Today was tzitzit tying day.

First the tallit needed to be tried on.

I am so pleased with how the new fabric works with the existing tallit. Actually we were both feeling pretty pleased but then it was time to tie those tzitzit.

After not very long, the task was complete.

I am so happy that the repairs don't look sad-- this doesn't look like the tallit was mended. The repairs just oomph up the original tallit a little bit while still respecting the work of the original artist. There are times when my job is to be the lead singer-- this time my job was to be the back up singer. 

So, now on to the next topic.  Any of you who are regular readers know that there are certain images I photograph over and over again. I love shadows.  The shadows thrown by fire escapes draw my eye over and over. Of course the view outside my window is worth capturing over and over again.

I now have a new visual obsession. A couple of weeks ago we went to see our son play in his band in essentially a backyard in Brooklyn. I was planning to take photos of my son and his band.

I got distracted by the light falling against the foliage in the dark.

I was enchanted by how otherworldly  the leaves looked in the dark.

I am ashamed to admit that my battery died and I wasn't able to take many pictures of the band.

Today I ran some errands and it was dark by the time I went home. I realized that the magic of foliage photographed at night by artificial light isn't limited to a backyard in Brooklyn but can take place right in my own neighborhood.

So below I treat you to some foliage at night illuminated by streetlight.

Within the next couple of weeks the leaves will all have fallen off of the trees so you may be spared  a daily dose of  trees  photographed at night.

 

This brings me to the last topic of this post. One of the Facebook groups that I am a member of is about old photos of the neighborhood. The group is administered by photographer Ruben Iglesias. He recently posted some photos by the photographer Paul Fusco a staff photographer for Look magazine who used to live in my building.  I have fallen in love with his work. You can too by looking at the Instagram page set up by his estate. If you live locally you will recognize specific trees in Riverside Park, one or another of the playgrounds before they were renovated. There are some people who are familiar because they are famous and others because they were neighbors of mine. It's wonderful work even if you don't live exactly where I do.

So that's it. Three topics in one post.