DYI Tribey Crafts

I stumbled across a beautiful Shabbes quilt not long ago, and when I inquired about it, I was pointed towards various resources online for Jewcy-crafty types. I had no idea! Anyway, sewing and general Martha Stewarting (I know, I know, I want to resent her, too, but sister makes some great stuff) is sort of a secret pleasure of mine, so here's what I know:

For some inspiration, try my two faves: hit the campy and wonderful Judaikitsch: Tchotchkes, Schmattes & Nosherei by Jennifer Traig for projects like the Neil Tzedekah Box and a beaded matzah purse. With a description of "what would happen if Martha Stewart was abducted by a tribe of trailer park rabbis"--- it's obviously useful and hilarious. Then check out Jewish Holiday Style by Rita "Jewish Martha Stewart" Milos Brownstein. A few other good reads you might find some inspiration in: Jewish Holiday Crafts for Little Hands by Ruth Esrig Brinn, and Jewish Holiday Treats: Recipes and Crafts for the Whole Family by Joan Zoloth & Lisa Hubbard.

The Pomegranate Guild members are reviving Jewish traditions and stories through their work with textiles, here we read about Marci Greenberg’s “Knitting by Torah” project, and here is a great article about Knitzvah, Skitch & Kvetch (modified from the popular Stitch and Bitch) and Not Your Bubbie’s Yarn. (And check out this alef-bet chart.)

The fabulous Dreidel Crafts offers Jewcy-themed buttons, a nice selection of rubber stamps, several clasps and charms, appliqués, quilt supplies, fabric, candy molds, and on and on. Such great stuff. So fun. And they even offer gorgeous quilting patterns, like this Torah Quilt and tons of other Jewcy quilt designs. Here Elizabeth Rosenberg sells patterns for her stunning quilts, (Oh, speaking of Jewish quilting, read this interesting piece about Jewish and Palestinian quilters coming together for a peace quilt.) Fancy Delancy by the way, specializes in hard-to-find Jewcy fabrics.

Blackwork Archives has these beautiful pomegranate needlepoint patterns (Rosh HaShanah napkins next year anyone?) while Crafty Needle has several patterns for tallis bags and needlepoint. And, will you get a load of these DIY wedding resources? This from Do-It-Yourself Weddings and this from Martheleh Stewart. Rumor has it, The Artful Bride by April Paffrath and Laura McFadden is a really great DIY wedding book, but, uh, yeah, I'm no authority on weddings, yo.

Chadis Crafts offers all sorts of tribey bead projects like adorable “beadie” dreidles that would surely be a hit with kids. A DIY seder plate would be a cute project, too. For more fun resources for kids’ projects, Making Friends has a jewish crafts section, (I say “kids’ projects” but, hello?, I’d totally make the Magen David napkin rings.) and this dreidel would be a cute projects for a bit older kids. Then again, a friend of mine decoupaged beautiful dreidels a year or two ago, so maybe we can have just as much fun as the wee ones on the dreidel craft department. I mean, even Martheleh gets into dreidels. Oh, and see her other Chanukah craft ideas here. Oh, oh, and her matzo cover here. Uh, and of course she makes candles for Chanukah.

Of course, if you’re not so keen to make things yourself, you can always hit a design-your-own site or commission a tallis to be woven for you, or look through hundreds of sites for Jewish artisans (like here and here) and still reap the benefits of having beautifully handmade Judaica.

What about you folks out there in Jewcylvania? Any craftiness you want to share?

(My mother, by the way, is going to plotz over this post. She's so crafty. Must be where I get it from.)

As we gt ready to see 5767 off and welcome year 5768...

In the last few days of 5767, the external is about finished. The next few weeks are all about lookin inward and taking stock and checking in with ourselves to see how we are doing, how we've done this year, and how we can do better in the coming year.

Tonight, my awesome rabbi made some good points I want to jot down here to remember.

1. He likened a shofar blast to a factory whistle. Discuss.
2. He discussed "bitchy" Hunter S. Thompson, comparing his muttering in the weeks before his death about being too old and "living seventeen years longer" then he wanted or needed to, in his estimation, to a little girl in the congregation asking a 97-year-old woman if she was old-- the woman told the little girl, "No, I've just been young for a very long time." Life being what you make of it, perspective, making choices, deciding to live or exist.
   
3. There is some discussion lately about Mother Theresa and some letters she wrote that she wanted to be destroyed. The letters, it seems, were written by her over the years expressing doubts in herself, her beliefs, her views on the world, the ether, what she thought about g-d.
1. The letters show her to be pretty human, really.
   
2. Doubt is ideal, wrestling constantly with ideas means you are considering the meaning of life and the world and how you exist in each, instead of living mindlessly, and believing in what you "should". So why is it that so many religions don't allow room for doubt and discussion, but instead hold in rather high regard persons who have unshakable, unquestioning belief in something laid out for them? (Admittedly, that is a hard concept for us to "get" as Jews. Judaism is nothing if not about thinking and wrestling and deciding and doubting. In fact, I don't think we, as Jews, expect something to make sense to us at fifty-five that made sense to us at thirty. How un-Jewy, right? Life changes, people change, we dig on that a lot. This is probably why the word "faith" isn't a terribly popular one with us; It's not really a concept we identify with so much.)
   
3. How can a religion, a belief, a human being, thrive without doubting, wresting and questioning continuously?
4. While she did do good work, is it fair to say that perhaps it might have been better to help the poor out of poverty rather than minister to them? And was she wrong asking them to put stock, absolute unwavering stock, in something she herself wrestled with, especially when she was highly resistant to admitting her doubt, seeing it as weakness?