יום שישי,עבודה,עבודה!

I have been working away on E's tallit. Unfortunately , the other day my machine was struck with the dreaded terrycloth under the presser foot.

There is probably a technical name for this sewing machine ailment. I don't know what it is, but each time it occurs it needs a whole bunch of cursing and a whole bunch of work to get your machine working properly again.

The large screw below, near the bobbin needs to be undone so you can take apart the bobbin case and clean the whole area out. Most sewing machines come with some stubby handled screwdrivers.

Those stubby handled screwdrivers are usually just a bit too tall do undo the screw with ease. A dime is usually the prefect tool for the job.

I opened the area up and cleaned out every thread using tweezers and a couple of paint brushes. Usually the dreaded lint is caused by an bit of thread that has migrated to a place where it doesn't belong.

After I cleaned out the machine it was ready to get back to work. I created most of a line of embroidered diamonds (not pictured) only to realize that I hated the way they looked. Undoing about a yard of dense stitching is not a fun task.

So now we have Plan B.

Plan B is grosgrain ribbon embroidered with three passes of stitches. The triangles are done in rayon ribbon and the turquoise diamonds in cotton to help prevent tallit slippage.

It's Friday so I have been cooking.

I started a crock-pot full of chicken soup last night. Perhaps the celery root the size of a toddler's head was a bit of overkill. The soup tasted unbalanced too much root vegetable and not chicken-ey enough. A teaspoon of the vegan Marmite our sons bought me in London brought the flavors back into balance..

I made meatballs with Ethiopian Berbere spice and lots of powdered dried mushrooms. Zucchini, carrots and bell peppers are roasting in the oven as I type this.

Our guest is bringing dessert.

My youngest brought me several lengths of Grateful Dead fabric that was a give-a-way at work. I have cut out but not sewn a new bathrobe.

The fabric isn't wide enough to cut the sleeve in one with the body of the robe. You can see that I folded the excess sleeve length back.

My current bathrobe has fallen apart beyond repair at the back neck and shoulders. This isn't exciting sewing but it is necessary.

My son is clever, he tucked in five pairs of his pants in need of repairs.

The sort of very skinny jeans that he loves are currently difficult to find. I have completed the repairs on two of the pants.

Shabbat Shalom!

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מְחַיֵּה הַמֵּתִים

וְנֶאֱמָן אַתָּה לְהַחֲיוֹת מֵתִים: בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְהֹוָה מְחַיֵּה הַמֵּתִים You are faithful to restore the dead to life. Blessed are You, Adonoy, Resurrector of the dead. That particular line is recited at every single prayer service every day three times a day, unless you use a Reform or Reconstructionist prayer book . In those liturgies instead of praising God for resurrecting the dead God is praised for giving life to all. I am enough of a modern woman, a modern thinker, to not actually believe in the actual resurrection of the dead. I don't actually expect all of the residents of the Workmen's Circle section of Mount Hebron cemetery in Queens to get up and get back to work at their sewing machines. I don't expect the young children buried here or the babies buried here to one day get up and frolic. Yet, every single time I get up to lead services I say those words about the reanimating of the dead with every fiber of my being. Yesterday, I e...

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