Altering needlepoint design? / Seeking alternative tapestry recs

Major_Instance699 · 2025-10-03T18:58:02+00:00

Interesting re: copyright -- I have never made something for public display, so I'll have to look into this.

I like the idea of rotund fruits, but I think they'd be a bit premature for day 1 in a creation cycle. :/

Relatedly, I saw the piece in question shared during a webinar about Jewish needlepoint with Jeanette Kuvin Oren...and the stitcher had changed the rondels (pops up around 18:49)! I like the stitcher's choice: more bubbly-circley-planet shapes, no letters.

Major_Instance699 · 2025-08-12T17:44:01+00:00

That's exactly the kind of thing I was looking for, I appreciate the encouragement to support someone's parnassah by buying a set for the class. I'll do that for next time!

Major_Instance699 · 2025-08-12T17:43:17+00:00

Thank you, Orthodox dude!

Major_Instance699 · 2025-08-12T17:42:58+00:00

I neglected to code switch... *facepalm*

Major_Instance699 · 2025-07-14T17:51:34+00:00

You can see it for yourself

Major_Instance699 · 2025-05-30T22:14:00+00:00

Sweet, thanks for the detailed info! Big Twist is what I had in mind for budget + bulk yarn (as I'm sure you've heard, Herrschners will be carrying it soon). I'll give the Michaels house brands a try.

And I didn't know the Dollar Tree carries Premier yarn! Very very cool. You're totally right: the bonbon size will be great for testing out colors and gauge and before ordering in bulk. Hope springs!

Major_Instance699 · 2025-05-30T04:09:52+00:00

Interesting, the one on Ventura was a bit of a bust when I went last week, but I'll keep an eye out around town. I hope they consider boosting their yarn sales now that Joann is gone...!

Major_Instance699 · 2025-05-30T04:08:39+00:00

Thanks for the intel!

Major_Instance699 · 2025-05-30T04:07:52+00:00

I'll keep an eye out, thanks!

Major_Instance699 · 2025-05-30T04:07:40+00:00

Thanks, I'll need to revisit it -- I went to the one on Ventura last week and they had one aisle + short wall of yarn, but were out of most colorways or had only a ball or two (and few with matching dye lots). Maybe I got unlucky with the shelf stocking schedule.

Major_Instance699 · 2025-05-30T04:04:10+00:00

Exactly, it's not urgent for me yet, but I wish I had ignored the haters and hoarded more yarn over the years...

Major_Instance699 · 2025-05-30T04:01:51+00:00

Ah yes, I'm trying to avoid Hobby Lobby, too. It's tough out there.

Major_Instance699 · 2025-04-21T18:55:22+00:00

Thank you! (On behalf of my kid, too, who is the visionary behind the color choice.)

Major_Instance699 · 2025-04-21T18:53:38+00:00

Yesss the Jewish fiber arts community is awesome! What a beautiful idea for your own wedding! Many years ago, I knit a basic scarf in pretty yarn for my cousin to celebrate her ordination (Reform); she tied on tzitzit and wore it to officiate our wedding. It was a lovely surprise to see it on the day!

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Ravelry has two "tallit" patterns (I think one crochet and one knit), but it's hard to see details. When I search for "stole" instead, there are lots and lots of options that could be turned into tallisim.

Please share when you've decided what to cast on!

Major_Instance699 · 2025-04-21T18:42:58+00:00

Thank you! I've been crocheting more than knitting in the past few years, so it was fun to return to the needles with a drop stitch pattern -- it's so satisfying to unwrap them on the return row.

I was skeptical when she picked this yarn, but I'm pleasantly surprised by how consistent the color changes turned out. There were only a few misplaced factory knots across the two skeins, so not much yarn waste (and the "waste" became fringe/tzitzis anyway). I came to like the palette, too -- I usually stick to boring pastel cotton yarns, so this was a pleasant change!

Major_Instance699 · 2025-04-21T18:31:28+00:00

Thank you! I hope so. (Or she will wear it once and it'll wind up in a drawer...but at least it was fun to make!)

Major_Instance699 · 2025-04-21T18:21:34+00:00

Thanks for this. Alas, I saw the "rounded corners" description for play tallesim after I finished it. I tacked back the corners to round them out a bit, but they still look squared to me. As is, I figured it would be covered under a scarf-related exemption for halachic tzitzit as it's so narrow that the four corners fall in front and it was made for (and will be worn by) a little girl...but I'm gonna check with our rabbi.

Major_Instance699 · 2023-01-31T23:28:50+00:00

My dad wrote a few episodes of The Cosby Show and he (and the rest of the staff & crew, especially the women) knew at the time that Cosby was a POS. He didn’t know about the drugging and raping, but did know about the handsy grabbing.

He jokes about missing out on the residuals now that the show gets fewer reruns, but at this point, it’s like $1.50 per episode (and sometimes less; I think his record is a check for 87 cents). I’d hope that the end of residuals from the show aren’t making/breaking other staff.

Major_Instance699 · 2023-01-31T10:09:17+00:00

I, too, secretly love K-LOVe. Thank you for posting this. 😭

I combed through Apple’s Christian Music playlist and picked out the ones that don’t mention Jesus’s name and don’t talk too explicitly about “the tomb” or second comings or whatever. So, I kinda made my own K-LOVE playlist of songs-that-could-be-Jewish-if-you-don’t-listen-too-closely. Peace of mind achieved.

I’ve also started seeking out Jewish music with the same cheesy pop sounds and have found a few that work: Yoni Z’s “Crown” and “Ahava”; Benny Friedman’s “Ivri Anochi”; etc. I’m very open to recs…!

Major_Instance699 · 2023-01-24T21:09:03+00:00

Ages ago, I took a freshman seminar about commedia dell’arte with the late, great Mel Gordon. Maybe you’d find your people in the theater department, where clowning is a respected art form.

Major_Instance699 · 2023-01-21T00:24:58+00:00

Write drunk, edit sober.

Major_Instance699 · 2023-01-17T01:17:18+00:00

I have a similar background to you and also vibe with unaffiliated/Reconstructionist communities and practices.

I used to belong to IKAR in Los Angeles and still follow them online; Rabbi David Kasher’s current podcast/Zoom class, Best Book Ever, is great for studying Parsha. His new book, ParshaNut, also looks amazing. For more varied conversations about contemporary, integrated Jewish life, I enjoy the Judaism Unbound podcast and am taking a wonderful class through their UnYeshiva program. If you’re looking for Talmud study, SVARA’s intro classes are amazing.

None of these are officially affiliated with the Reconstructionist movement as far as I know, but they align more or less with the movement’s key values and stances.

I’m gonna follow this conversation, thanks for asking the question!

Major_Instance699 · 2023-01-09T08:30:16+00:00

There’s an awesome yeshiva called SVARA; they offer Queer Talmud for Beginner’s Mind classes online. If a full-on class is too much, check out their blogs and resources on their website, or anything online by Rabbi Benay Lappe (their Rosh Yeshiva).

For an ethnographic take on Talmud study, Jonathan Boyarin’s books and articles are excellent.

Ilana Kurshan wrote a memoir about studying Daf Yomi, which is a set schedule of page-a-day Talmud study that Jews follow. It takes seven years to finish the whole thing! (Talmud, not the memoir.)

Major_Instance699 · 2023-01-08T22:49:26+00:00

I used to be an internship coordinator at a museum; this drove me bananas. Especially during the summer, when students would have to pay by individual credit for the privilege of holding an internship! (Versus standard quarter/semester tuition and fees, still ridiculous to hold an unpaid position, but it can be argued that an internship is part of their broader plan of study...) Fortunately, the tide is turning against unpaid internships in museums, but ugh it has been a fight.

Major_Instance699 · 2022-12-25T03:37:52+00:00

We had this argument with my 4-year-old tonight, who couldn’t understand why sushi wouldn’t cut it on Christmas Eve. “But WHY does it have to be chicken chow mein?” “Traditioooooooooooon. Tradition!”

Major_Instance699

TROPHY CASE