Sari's chuppah -- finished!!

I finally got the finished chuppah hung up so it could be photographed. Here it is. It's doesn't really show that well but the tree trunk has the wording "simcha, sasson, chatan, kallah, gila, rina, ditza, chedva, ahava, achva, reut, shalom" appliqued and beaded onto it. The berries in the tree top are beaded, and the flowers on which letters spelling out "mazal" and "bracha" have been appliqued and beaded. The whole chuppah perimeter has ribbons which will be tied into bows on the chuppah frame. The photo doesn't do it justice.
I now have to finish the "Auf Simchas" crazy quilt but that shouldn't take too long and then I can stitch to my heart's content without deadlines looming.

Bar-Mitzvah

This morning was Yoni's Bar Mitzvah, at least the religious portion of it.
It was at the Kehila Centre, the main Sephardi synagogue in Thornhill. It was very interesting because although the prayer text is the same for both Sephardi and Ashkenazi Jews, the melodies, traditions and even the synagogue's architecture and decoration are very different, and that's even without going into the Orthodox (which it is) vs other Jewish religious streams.
Did I mention that I had to go out and buy a skirt for the event because women don't wear pants to Orthodox synagogues and the last time I wore a skirt was at Rafi's Bar Mitzvah a few years back. And shoes because my runners and black loafers didn't go with the skirt...
Water under the bridge. Yoni had a very long and difficult parsha (Torah portion)and also read the Haftorah. He did a great job and I'm sure made his parents and grandparents proud.
The only thing I didn't care for was the Kiddush luncheon. Food is set out on long tables in the most unappealing manner. There aren't enough plates, cups, cutlery and the food was all greasy. I'm sure that the party celebration tomorrow night will be organized much better because Penina put a lot of work into it.
Wednesday after work, Menachem took me to Fabricland and I bought the right colour thread for the chuppah and some fabric for Ami's curtains. Thursday morning before work I put the final stitches into the chuppah and it is ready. Sari might come over this evening to see it but she has such a busy schedule, I'm not sure she'll make it. And this morning before shul, I sewed Ami's curtains, so that's one less thing to do.
I didn't find fabric at Fabricland for the Auf Simchas perimeter and it's a good thing because I realized that I have enough fabric left from Elsie's mother of the bride dress so I cut the pieces and sewed them on.
I also sewed on Elsie's buttons. And now I am adding a few sequins here, a few beads there, and I think I'll forego the silk ribbon and maybe just quilt the perimeter instead.
We've started putting all the stuff we have to take up to camp in the living room and it's starting to pile up... I am doing laundry and getting all the bedding, blankets, pillows, towels, etc. ready too.
Anyways, it's gorgeous outside so I'm going there to sit and soak up a little sun.

Yikes!!

Last post, May 10th? I hadn't realized it's been so long. I do have a valid excuse, however. I had a very bad cold, sinuses, cough, etc. which totally zapped my energy. I came to work because Josh and I are alone in the office but I didn't last more than half a day each day. I'm finally almost better -- still the occasional cough, blocked head, etc. but much much better.

Friday afternoon we went up to camp. We usually go up the Victoria Day weekend, do some work and enjoy the surroundings. This weekend was raining, cold and miserable so scratch the "enjoy the surroundings". But we got our room set up so when Menachem goes up June 1st for the summer, we're all set. Our primary aim this weekend was to get the floor in the room next to ours (it's a duplex) painted. And we did. We also made an inventory of what needs to be done to have the room in good working order so that Ami, Menachem's brother who is coming from Israel to help him this summer, won't be roughing it too much.

We also did a few other things in preparation for our going up June 1st. But the weather was just plain miserable so we were out of there by noon on Sunday and home by late afternoon.

Monday morning, I got up bright and early because I wanted to finish Sari's chuppah. I got the ribbons and backing sewn on. I had hoped to take it with me in the afternoon to Sari's bridal shower but I need to put a few rows of stitching around the perimeter and on the fuschia bands so the backing is connected in the middle as well as at the perimeter and didn't have the right colour of thread. Never mind. Sari and David are in town next weekend for Yoni's bar mitzvah so we'll get together at some point and I can show them the finished piece. Quite lovely, if I do say so myself.

I would also like to finish the "auf simchas" crazy-quilt to give them for the wedding. I need to buy fabric to sew around the perimeter of that one too. I'll try to do that this week and take it and the embellishments up to camp so I'll have something to do in the evenings and also because I'm running out of time. While I'm at the fabric store, I have to buy material for curtains for Ami's room. Nothing fancy, but something to give him a little privacy.

My mother and Devora and Noam and Charles are going to Israel right after the bar mitzvah for two weeks. Mom and Charles will be staying with Inbal. I hope she enjoys them and isn't too stressed out about having them.

OK. Josh isn't here right now but I still have to get back to work.

And I'll try to post more often to keep myself on track.

Yes, I'm still here

I haven't posted in a while because I wanted to post photos but it just hasn't worked out.
Had a very productive weekend. Did I mention I finished sewing the borders onto the chuppah top? Well I did. And I beaded it as well. The lettering on the tree trunk was a little pale so I beaded it in golds, silvers and bronzes, both round and bugle beads. Then I beaded the mauve petals of the flowers and the flower lettering. And I finished it off with beading the berries in the tree. Does this make sense without the photos? Of course not, but this is a journal for me more than for you so I'll have a record of what I've done. Now I have to find ribbons for tying the chuppah to the poles. Not sure what colour or width. I guess I'll know when I see it. I want to have it totally finished for the bridal shower on Victoria Day. Guess what I'm doing this weekend...
I also did all the cutting for the blue cq quilts. One fabric I cut out backwards so I had to recut and had almost enough fabric. One piece out of the six will be wrong side, hopefully not terribly visible.
Oops. Gotta run to work. I will post photos. I promise.