Ethiopian Bat Mitzvah Project 2012

I can’t believe it has been an entire year since I last blogged! I guess I have been keeping myself busier than I thought! I took a technical and marcom writing course - I finished my internship and am doing technical writing part-time, doing some graphics and websites, as well as knitting shawls and other gift items.

I am teaching embroidery again at the Mercaz Klita (Absorption Center) for the 2012 Ethiopian Bat Mitzvah Project. I have 17 girls and their mothers (only a few of the mothers already knew how – one mother learned from me last year with her older daughter). This project was for the mother’s to help their daughters. Basically the mothers and daughters learned together.

mothers and daughters working side by side

 

Most of these immigrants have been in Israel for a year or less.  I have a wonderful assistant; she is a mother of 5 children and works for the Mercaz Klita, who has been my translator.

a beautiful embroidered pomegranate

 

The first learning design I gave them was a pomegranate. A circular shape is an easy shape to begin with. They also did flowers and candles in candle holders.

daughter helping her mother

Some of the girls and women picked it up rather quickly. Some pull the threads too tightly pulling the material so it no longer lays flat.  That is the hardest thing to teach them – pulling the thread enough that it’s not too loose, but not too much so the material forms a curve in the middle.  This year, the girls are helping their mothers finish up their final project.

wine bottle covers before finishing

This year the girls are making a Shabbat Shalom wine bottle cover that will tie around the bottle.  The girls will be able to use this every Shabbat with their families.  The women are making challah covers (a special cloth placed over the special Shabbat breads until after the blessing of the wine is recited) that will be given as presents to their twin family from England. Each family is matched up with a British family who also has a son or daughter who will be Bar or Bat Mitzvah this summer. All the children will have their Bar and Bat Mitzvah together in Jerusalem.

I will fix anything that might come undone in time (because of cutting the thread to close that it will eventually come out of their stitches). I will then iron their projects and then finish the edges of the girls’ projects and put a lace tie on them.

The women’s challah covers will also be ironed and then I will sew lace around them with a backing and ironed again. This will make nice finished challah covers.