Friday, February 13, 2009

Sigh:: The Week Ends

I'm torn. I really love the busy week. I love filling my days with things accomplished and planning for things yet to be done. But most weeks I come to the end feeling more than a little grateful for the opportunity to take a day or two off. Every Friday night we as a family light candles, have a nice meal and wish each other a Shabbat Shalom. That literally means a peaceful Sabbath. It's not something that's exclusive to my family. Jews all over the world greet each other with these same two words. They might not speak any other Hebrew, but most know what that means and why we say it. I think the feeling that comes with that phrase is so ingrained in me that even as I write this I sense that I'm breathing more deeply. That's good I guess, but I haven't even made dinner yet.
I have, however, finished this project:


A challah cover for a friend. On Shabbat it's traditional to eat challah, an incredibly tasty egg-based bread. The table is laid out and the challah is usually covered until a blessing is said. Thus the need for a challah cover. In case you don't read Hebrew, it says, from right to left, top to bottom, Shabbat Shalom.
I've made several of these before and I always enjoy improvisationally piecing the letters. It's fun to play around with the scale of each letter and to add and delete bits of fabric so they'll fit together.
This week I was particulary inspired to sew up some aleph-bet letters after I saw this wonderful wordplay quilt .
You might take a moment this weekend to check it out.

16 comments:

Carmen Rose said...

Shalom! Your bread cover is cool, even without knowing the meaning it looks cool. And the piece you linked to is amazing, especially if you look at it up close and see the text in the lighter colors. Very cool idea!

The WoodLand School said...

LOVE this!!!
I'm working on my very first challah cover and was stuck in a rut between embroidery and applique. This post opens up a whole new world for me!
Shabbat Shalom!

Rachael Adele said...

Oooh, I love it, too. Very inspiring! I love your work, especially as a fellow Jewish quilter. Thanks for sharing!

Anonymous said...

How clever to have the words incorporated into your design - so beautiful, too. Peaceful Sabbath.

Anonymous said...

This is beautiful. I'm going to try to take some of that peace away with me.

Andi said...

Shabbat Shalom to you too. (Although in Australia it will soon be Shavua Tov time)
A beautiful challah cover. I think I must make one!!
Maybe a Matza cover too.
Andi :-)

Amy said...

That wordplay quilt is spectacular. And I love your challah cover. It's a great idea. We use an old cloth napkin of my grandmother's but it would be nice to create on of our own to one day pass down to my kids. Thanks for the inspiration and Shabbat Shalom to you.

Amy said...

PS - may I ask you the measurements of your challah cover?

Anonymous said...

I LOVE the work on this little quilt. It's just gorgeous -- mod and random but it all works together!

shellysquilts said...

Love it!

Cynthia said...

just gorgeous! i love all your creations. (i think i tell you that everytime i check out your blog.)

i am a good mormon girl but challah is my FAVORITE bread to make and eat--you are right, it IS rich and eggy. I'm craving it right now!!

Cheryl said...

I did a double take when I saw you challah cover. I was reading...and looking at the picture just above. Very nice cover, I have wanted to make on but have not yet...we use one my son made about four years ago...

Nice to see another Jewish quilter!

Baba Nann said...

This challah cover rocks.

Susan said...

I just love this challah cover, and was so amazed to see your improvised Hebrew letters. I have been seeing lots of English words (especially from Tonya at LazyGalQuilts) but it never occured to me to do them in Hebrew! Thanks for the inspiration!

Birdie said...

Shalom! My ten year old daughter wants to make her own challah cover so I've been scouring the web for ideas. Yours are fabulous!

Cat said...

I love your work! I stumbled upon these Challah coverings while searching for some prototypes for my kids to make. We're Christians studying the Old Testament and Jewish Feasts this year and tomorrow we're celebrating the Sabbath with our study group. While we only have white napkins and fabric markers, I think my kids will have fun making theirs more brightly colored than the ones in our book--so thank you so much for the inspiration!! Shabbat Shalom!