sarah in nyc

 This has been a busy, busy week. Sunday began with the lovely task of tying tzitzit with Benny and his family. We met outdoors because Benny's mom is a wise woman and didn't want to risk Benny possibly getting exposed to Covid a week before his bar-mitzvah and turning the celebration into a super-spreader event. Before a client comes to pick up a project I am always a wreck worrying if they will be happy with the piece. Just because I am pleased with a tallit doesn't mean that my client or his parents will be pleased. I expended some of my anxious energy setting up a table and chairs in my building's courtyard. I wanted benny to see what the tallit looked like--normally I would drape the tallit on my dressmaking dummy. Benny's father served as our model. Benny was really pleased.  We sat down to tie the tzitzit. each family member took a corner. Benny was at first a little anxious if he could manage the knots. Benny's mom reminded him that he was familiar with...

 Normally I am pretty good about posting about works in progress as they are progressing. I had spent so much time unpicking the messy substrate under the embroidered wings that the actual construction of the tallit took place around and between breaks from the mad cooking rush that is Passover. One of the really beautiful things about a woven tallit is how the stripes n the right and wrong sides of the tallit interact with one another when the tallit is worn. That dynamic interplay of stripes is as satisfying as a really lovely chord progression. Years ago when I first began constructing tallitot I used to create the stripes out of hemmed units of fabric that I then sewed together. I got that stripe interaction using that method. My main concern was sturdiness. While those tallitot WERE sturdy, they lacked in flowy drape--because the seams were bulky. Lately, I have been constructing tallitot slightly differently stitching the stripe elements to both the right and the wrong side o...

 I keep plugging along here. Yesterday afternoon I made a batata kugel. My lovely son-in-law gets hives when he eats potatoes. I spent a long time yesterday in the "tubers from foreign lands' department of my supermarket trying to decide which ones could stand-in for potato in a kugel. I ruled out the one with skin that most people are allergic to and cooks up to a grey slimy mush. Instead I chose Korean batata which is firmer and less sweet than a yam.  I assumed we had a few apples at home that could be grated in along with the batata. I was wrong. But we did have a couple of carrots. I added some chopped-up dates and Thanksgiving-ey spices along with a whole bunch of eggs. The result is mildly sweet. I might come up with something to top the kugel while it warms up and add more flavor. I also cooked two roasts. They will be sliced and sauced later. Most of the main dish elements of Seder are done and it was time to turn to dessert making.  I had been planning to make a...