There is so much to say about Jerusalem, concentrating on very narrow aspects works for me. I have photographed so much, I’m looking for a new angle. Tile and mosaics are of great interest to me, so let’s look at some Jerusalem tile
I wish I had taken a few more detailed pictures, there is so much going on here. This is a small synagogue for the Sepharadi Tahor community. Dedicated in 1924. ST itands for pure Spanish, those who were expelled from Spain in the 15th century and didn’t mingle with other Jewish communities. You wouldn’t believe the division among the Jews…. Anyway, what an ornate, gorgeous little building. Sure the tile caught mt attention, but there is so much more. From tile on the floor to the door and all the beautiful metal work. It’s what we European Jews would call ‘ungepatch’ in Yiddish. Overdone and kitschy to the point that it is almost attractive.
Nearby the municipality created this art project. In the late 19th century, mass production of floor tiles became popular. Cool tile floors are wonderful in a hot Mediterranean summer. (Not so much during cold Jerusalem wintered). So people were asked to Sen. In pictures of the old floor tiles. New ones were created and a wall of tile quilts is on display
Thats a quilt right there!
Or how about this one?
So many tiles, so many design options!
of course some of these old homes still exist with their tile floors intact. I am happy that the city created these tiled panels to share with the public, though once again, very few people notice. Some who saw me taking pictures stopped to look. I get it, in our busy lives our surroundings become invisible. Which is why I keep saying, even in your own cities, take a moment to stop and look around!
New skirt, old shirt, both made by me. I guess I’ll be keeping the shirt since it completes the outfit. 
This was stash fabric, you may recognize it from the cloth napkins I made recently. Now I can sit down to lunch wearing the skirt and using the napkin at the same time – how’s that for coordinated wardrobe!
I had to buy new skirt patterns. Yup, my waist has gotten thicket, age is doing it’s thing. 
I do like how this one has a large pleat in the front, just that detail.
I just bought the fabric downtown. The fabric district is such a hit and miss, right now I’m really not liking what the jobbers have dumped in the stores. I finally found one store that had some cute floral cottons as well as some bottom weights for skirts. The contrasting fabric is one that I found in my quilting stash. 
For me, button down shirts call for that extra oomph of contrasting fabrics on the cuffs or the collar.
This is all I had enough fabric for, the under collar, the collar stand, the cuff and the sleeve placket. Really this is all that I need, had I made the button placket out of contrasting fabric I think it would be overkill. Also, no pockets for me on this kind of blouse. Unless it is a super simple stripe, but I don’t see myself making that kind of shirt. Happy to use some of my cute mother of pearl buttons. 
I do love binding the bottom of the shirt rather than just making a hem. To my mind, it’s just one more elegant touch. All these little details add up to a one of a kind shirt, one that can’t be bought off the rack.
And I saw this horse! I think it might be a carousel horse. It might not, but either way – how cool is this! Having this in a front yard is cool, even if no one from the street can see it.
Remember these tiny siblings? I spent a week taking pictures. Towards the end of the week they were climbing on the rim of the nest and then they were gone. Never to return. Well I hope that they come back to the feeder. You know how we were told as children that birds live in nests? I don’t think so, I think the nest is only built as a place to lay eggs and raise the young. Otherwise they must move all the time, just so the predators don’t know exactly where to find them.
This is a narrow side yard right next to the street. There was a big tree that was chopped down, I hope because it was sick. I hate when a healthy tree is chopped down. They kept the stump and other pieces of the trunk and made this lovely no water garden. It will be interesting to see how it grows in.
This alien looking pod is a flower. 
Soon it will become bananas or maybe plantains, which are also bananas. I wonder if the owners ever harvest them or just have this strange looking bush on their property. 
Mid-century apartment building on Barrington, near my son’s house. There is a courtyard to the right, an nice open space between the building.
To the right of that courtyard is what I call the gay building. How could you not, the rainbow colors stand out among all the brown and tan. When I mentioned this to my son, he drew a blank, he simply hasn’t noticed this. It’s not enough to paint your building like a rainbow, people passing by need to look. Otherwise even this fades into the landscape.
The 
As you can imagine, I LOVE the bright colors of Bauer, I love how they display all the color families.
I did some damage, just a little. The bowl is the 
She found adorable fox images that went very well with the helicopter.
And the airplane.
Yoch made these great logs, some with leaves, some without. Perfect setting for a raccoon…
Or a fox….
Or a badger.
There were two tables and everyone enjoyed the decor.
I’ve been embroidering the quilt label. Clearly foxes and space go together well. So there is a little fox now on the label. It looks big here, but once the baby is born and I can share his name you will see how small this fox really is.
Have I mentioned how impressed I am with 
Look how elongated the badger head is. Also, no tail.
Only when I started editing the photos did I notice something is missing! His nose and mouth! I showed him to my knitting friends this weekend and nobody noticed.
From the back, these fellas look just fine.
Side by side with his buddies, the lack of features stands out.
Even if the fox is a little ‘off’, he isn’t symmetrical, but there is a big difference between an off kilter ear and no nose.
This looks better doesn’t it?
Especially with that twinkly eye. I may have mentioned that these three critters aren’t going to a baby. Sometimes you can replace safety eyes with embroidery. I really feel that the charm of these guys is by using these eyes.
Time for another group photo, now I am happy.
I went back and redid block 3, the one on the left is the original, a little wonky, so with paper piecing and a few changes in color, I redid it. The pink was out of place, and the overall appearance is much neater.
Even a simple block like this demands taking time to get it right. After I shared my first post on this project, a friend joined in. It is fun to have a real life friend going through the journey at the same time. 
I eliminated the pink and am trying to stick with a green, orange, purple, blue color way. Every now and then, fussy cutting, like the little snail here.
Or the fox here! I’m noticing less people are posting on the 
We were asked to stick to the patterns and not make changes. Some quilters are practically redesigning each block. I make small changes here and there, enough to personalize but not radically change. So happy that I had this tiny hoop among my embroidery tools.
This is a block I changed, the embroidery was based on a crochet doily and the designer included an embroidered crochet hook, sorry that was too over the top for me.
I made this block twice, I really have to force myself to slow down. 6.5″ blocks are very demanding. I am also getting to the point where I have to rely on my own techniques and not necessarily follow the designer exactly. I’m finding that often designers like to put too much into a small block, this is their chance to shine. Less is often better. This block would be lovely in a 9″, it’s a little overkill in a 6″.
No needle turn appliqué here! I fused the birds and free motion sewed them on, deliberately emphasizing the pointy wings. Once I cut this down to 6.5″ I realized that the lower bird will probably have the tip of his wing cut off when I piece the top. I actually like that, it will give more movement to the birds, have something cut off by the frame.
15 blocks, that is because there is a bonus, along the way they release more bonus blocks, which is good, since by the end, I may prefer a bonus to one of the original blocks – we’ll see.
Another bonus block.
I started with Percy, the airplane. Adorable isn’t he? 
Notice I am using a space theme fabric for the backdrop. 
Then we have Herb, the helicopter. 
Only difference between the two of them is the details. Exact same body, one has wheels and wings, the other propellers and rotors.
Here the two cuties are side by side.
Aytan already tried to claim them, we’ll see after the baby luncheon he and Shira might get these two. One thing I know is that I will be making more patterns by Melly. Most are animals, maybe I should suggest she design some more vehicles, boys sure love their cars, trucks and airplanes.
I have had this pattern in my stash for a few years now. At one point I thought I’d make it with some polyester I had in stash. I hated the fabric and threw it out. I recently bought some rayon and decided to give it a go.
Rayon is slippery. There is a very interesting gathered detail on the front of the dress. This was a time to pull out the needle and thread and hand baste it. Which I did. I should have hand basted my sleeves as well. I didn’t, but I won’t show close-ups of them either.
1940 style dresses can be very tight and form-fitting, even the sleeves. There are a few darts on the sleeve to give it shape, and the sleeves are tight on my arms. The dress fits me well, but I think I’m used to dresses that have a little more ease.
I was photographing all over the yard in different light. High contrast gives an idea of the pleats on the dress.
Here is a close up of that fiddley part. This close it doesn’t look perfect, but no perfection when sewing a rayon dress! I’ll leave that for my tiny patchwork. I didn’t notice how off kilter this is until I enlarged the picture. So no one else will notice either. This is simply proof that I am human and not a machine.
Flattering light!
Too bright, but you can see the whole dress from the front.
And from the back.
I’m happy with the dress. This was a project that demanded slowing down. I have had occasion to wear this and I like it very much. I won’t be making it again, although I’m sure I will be making other clothes with just as much detail.
Nose is a little sharper. Also gave him a bandana, which he will probably lose as soon as the baby gets its hands on him.
This is an improvement but I”m still calling him a fox-bear because he is simply too bear like. I looked at the photo on the pattern and realize that so be it. Their version looks very similar. I was so excited to find this fox pattern I didn’t look closely to see that it wasn’t that fox-like.
This little fox, who looks foxy got his bandana.
The shape of the head, the ears. I should just stick with her patterns.
Two friends, now, I’m thinking that the bandanas need to be a tad larger.
Raccoon is in the works! I have sewed something as well, that will be for another post. Not sure what I’ll do with all of these when the lunch is over. I may keep a few, I have a feeling the older grandkids may want some of them. That is yet to be determined. Meanwhile, it’s back to knitting!