Crunch Time

>> Sunday, March 24, 2013






When I was in college (in the olden days), the dining halls had a bread table, and on the bread table sat a box of matzah -- presumably left over from Passover and set out until consumed. During my first year, I learned that there were people who actually liked matzah. This was a revelation, as I could not fathom how one could enjoy the taste of cardboard. It turns out that when one does not eat it for 8 days every spring, one can like it. I mean, it still boggles my mind, as I limit my matzah consumption to small amounts on Passover, but still, there's something in there for the psychologists to think about.



A friend recently enlisted my help in a gift project, and to help her, I realized I needed to figure out how to piece certain Hebrew letters, notably the tzadik (above). Rather than make a lonely letter, I decided to make a word -- matzah -- and then make it into a matzah cover. This was timely, since Passover starts tomorrow night. I kept things simple and made white letters and used a blue/green ombre fabric (Marimekko scraps). I wanted the quilting to evoke matzah (which is sort of grid-like in appearance) without sewing over the letters. I tried out some straight-edge free-motion quilting which, I learned, is harder than curvy free-motion work. Or maybe I just need more practice. I like the effect, imperfectly sharp lines and all.


I dug into my scrap bin for the back and played around with some improv curves. I think I might make a bigger quilt with curvy columns. Usually I choose my binding to make a quilt pop, but this time I decided to emphasize the ombre fabric and use it to bind the quilt. It blends along some edges and pops along others. I like it.

6 comments:

Lisa March 24, 2013 at 4:30 PM  

Great job! I'd love to find a paper pieced aleph-bet pattern!

felicity March 24, 2013 at 9:54 PM  

Gorgeous! I found that square stipple a bit harder to get but once I did, I found it to be more forgiving than the curved one because I didn't care if I crossed over my previous quilting lines.

~Michelle~ March 25, 2013 at 5:44 PM  

The label-maker lover in me completely adores the idea of making a matzah cover that says matzah on it.

Anonymous March 26, 2013 at 8:39 AM  

I like the quilting - I think the slight curviness of it is fun and a little funky, and not as rigid as perfectly straight lines and square corners would have been.

Anonymous June 7, 2013 at 12:36 AM  

Gorgeous! I found that square stipple a bit harder to get but once I did, I found it to be more forgiving than the curved one because I didn't care if I crossed over my previous quilting lines.
Estetik

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