EVERYTHING OLD BECOMES NEW AGAIN....
BY THE
TALLITmaaven
"When it's Handmade, it comes from the Heart"
Gramma Rae married Grampa Si in 1932 and wore a fabulous ecru-coloured silk lace and organza gown cut on the bias. She must have been a size 4 or 6 in today's sizes! The family has been keeping the gown since she passed many years ago.
Just in time for Rosh Hashonah, 5773, the gown lives on, on Gramma Rae's granddaughter, Amanda, in a tallit set.
The tallit was created by hand, carefully dismantling parts of the gown and retaining others. Gestation, sewing and designing took over a year in Marilyn's workshop. The bias cut was saved at each end of the tallit. Complimentary embroidery camouflages tiny openings in the fabric after 80 years. The tallit bag is lined with the silk from the lining of the dress. The headcovering is edged with the bias organza that was around the original neckline.
RIGHT: Headcovering created from lace from Gramma Rae's wedding gown and the sheer silk organza that bordered the bias neckline of the gown.
RIGHT; The tallit, using Gramma Rae's wedding gown, adding an apricot dupioni silk for body and a lovely background behind the ecru. Care was taken to maintain the integrity of the original gown. Extra time is needed to create from a family heirloom.
NEW
LEFT: Chuppah created from Daddy's ties. The bride's dad passed away while the bride was beginning to prepare for her wedding. She wanted him to be an important part of the ceremony. Since, he couldn't be there in "body", the TALLITmaaven created a chuppah using the ties he adored wearing. They were arranged in a circle at the centre, representing the circle of life. The pomegranates representing the kallah and hassan, were crazy-quilted out of fabrics from some of his favourite ties. The pomegranates were embellished with embroidery and beading. This chuppah was equipped with a quilt hanger at the back so that it could hang in their home as a reminder of a wonderful wedding day and a very special father.
To create a special memory from a treasured family heirloom, contact MARILYN
Liza wanted a tallit that would remind her of her beloved Bobbye who was taken much too soon. She also loved the watercolour quilted tallitot on the TALLITmaaven website. A combination of the contemporary watercolour quilted technique and memoirs of Bobbye created this unusual tallit in 2007.
Notice the following;
1. Bobbye loved flowers. the flowers on Bobbye's stone were rubbed and sent to Marilyn so that an applique could be created with similar flowers to Bobbye's stone.
2. Bobbye always lit five candles every Shabbat. Her brass candlesticks were photographed and appliqueed onto the rear of the Tallit under the floral rubbings.
3. Lace from the dress Bobbye wore to Liza's mother's Bat Mitzvah was used for the collar/atarah of the Tallit.
1
2
3
4. Bias tape was created from the "dresses" that Bobbye wore so much and edged the whole tallit. The shawl style tallit was chosen to enable as many pieces of Bobbye's clothing may be used.
5. Two kippot... one created from Bobbye's everyday dresses and the other from Bobbye's lace dress she wore to Liza's mom's Bat Mitzvah. Both are lined with fabric from some more everyday dresses of Bobbye's.
6. The underside of the Tallit ends includes "veggies" from another of Bobbye's favourite dresses. There is an inscription "in memory of Bobbye, and an inscription for the Bat Mitzvah girl/Tallit Owner including dates.
7. The Tallit bag was created from another part of the dress Bobbye wore to Liza's mom's Bat Mitzvah so very long ago, including the glitzy decoration.
4
5
6
Using Bobbye's clothing to create the Bat Mitzvah Girl's Tallit, brings back wonderful memories every time Liza wears her Tallit. Every service is special to Liza when she wears her special Tallit.
7
RIGHT: Tom's mother crocheted three pieces of crochet. Tom sent them to me to see if I could make a tallit. Here are the pieces laid out on a piece of silk that does look great behind the crochet. This is one possible selection.
BELOW: A Toronto Bubbie crocheted a little kippah for Shane thirteen years ago for his Brit Milah. Shane loves it but needed a kippah to fit his adult-sized body for his Bar Mitzvah. He wanted it to coordinate with his new blue Jerusalem Tallit. The TALLITmaaven created this Jerusalem kippah to match his new Tallit from Jerusalem. The original kippah has been preserved so Shane will be able to use it for his son's Brit Milah if and when he has a son. Contact the TALLITmaaven to create something special from something meaningful.
These projects turned meaningful old items into even more meaningful new ones. We will be glad to look at your textile treasures to assess whether than can be turned into a future treasure. Remember that creating something new from older memories, requires ample gestation and creation time!
And the result is shown below.... a beautiful tallit with meaning to Tom and to his family in Florida. The colour of the raw silk (newly searched out by the TALLITmaaven), includes the soft cream colour of the hand crochet design. To make something beautiful and meaningful from something beautiful and meaningful, contact the TALLITmaaven
Tom and his entire family were absolutely delighted to see his mother's beautiful crochet lace turned into a beautiful tallit that Tom will use for many years to come. The tallit has become a living tribute to a beautiful relationship and a wonderful family.
ABOVE + RIGHT: a Toronto Bubbie crocheted the tiny kippah on the far left for Shane's brit milah. Shane wore his kippah until it became way too small. For Shane's Bar Mitzvah, Marilyn designed a spot in the kippah she created, so that his baby kippah would be worn at his Bar Mitzvah (and continue to be worn every Shabbat when he wears his Tallit and Kippah. Contact Marilyn to create something new from something "special".
In 2013, David was to celebrate his 65th birthday. He has been using his late dad's tallit and tefillin bags since dad's passing. His father attended services daily too. For his very special birthday gift, Marilyn duplicated the bag using today's technologies to duplicate as closely as possible, the beloved tallit and tefillin bags of 1930. The new tallit bag was first used for Rosh Hashonah, 5774.
All designs shown are the property of the Aatist and may NOT be duplicated without her permission
RIGHT: A Rabbi, a teacher at the Jewish Theological Seminary had an old wool tallit with its commercial ribbon atarah and pinot corners. His dream was an atarah with a colourful burning bush, the logo of JTS... Here is the atarah and new pinot corners attached to the heirloom Tallit.
FAMILY TREE challah cover created from silk fabric from Bubby's cushion. All children and grandchildren, parents, grandparents and great-grandparents' Hebrew names are embroidered on this challah cover. There is a quilt hanger on the underside so that the owner may hang it on her wall to admire. Want to honour your family with a FAMILY TREE wall hanging and/or challah cover? contact Marilyn to bring your wish to completion.
