feast of the harvest

Recently we celebrated the feast of the harvest.  Also known as Sukkot.  We were lucky enough to be invited to friends who create a "Sukkah" every year for this holiday.  A Sukkah is a temporary structure where the family eats for this week long holiday.  It is meant to be open to the outdoors, a 'wilderness shelter', and is usually well decorated with branches and other symbols of the outdoors and the harvest.

I thought that pomegranate shapes might work and chose various fabrics of red shades. Two fabrics were placed, wrong sides together, with a stiffening fabric between. I sewed a satin stitch along the perimeter but as I was sewing the satin stitch, I was also laying the cord between the pomegranates down the centre of the shape so that the cord could be one continuous piece. 

 

I also decided to string beads on the cord between the shapes.  This had to be done before the next shape could be added, so it was a process of machine sewing, hand beading, machine sewing, hand....well you get the idea.  The beads are hand made paper beads from Rwanda that I picked up when I was living there.

The family is very happy with their new addition to their sukkah and plan on hanging it every year.  They are considering placing it in a way that it could be used as a Christmas mistletoe encouraging Sukkot kissing!  I love the multi culture embrace!