1.25″ x 3″ on handwoven linen Zoom in on the details at Flickr Gifted to Friend The seven rays of silver are for the six days of creation and the sabbath. The black and white beads are the black and white fire of the Torah — the sparks of the Divine used to create the world. The shin is white and black fire, again echoing the tradition of the Torah being black fire on white fire. I left the fringed selvage edge for the top, because I thought it made a nice bit of edging. The rays are couched blended filament floss and the shin is black and white linen floss.

Technorati Tags: mezuzah, creation, light, dark, embroidery, couching

Dimensions: 1″ W x 3.5″ H
Stitches: cast-on, french knots, colonial knots, stem/outline, detatched chain, blanket
Zoom in on Details on Flickr

Private Collection

This mezuzah case started as an exploration of cast-on stitch flowers done with the new DNC linen floss, with nothing else in mind. I love cast-on stitch because of the texture and dimension that it can bring to work. I really wanted to do something that would showcase the linen floss, and have a linen on linen piece. I love the matte color of this new linen line that DNC has produced. It’s really nice to work with — a little stiff — which is good for raised stitches like this. The crown at the top is another fun thing. It’s blanket stitch looped through blanket stitches to create a lacey look that stands on its own. It’s basically a simplistic needle lace technique. Each flower petal is made of seven cast-on stitches. Once I did the first one and realized I needed to pick a number, I decided on seven. Seven for the 3 patriarchs and four matriarchs. The shape is meant to evoke a tree, i.e. the tree of life. This is a super petite mezuzah and would work really well on an inside door or attached to a piece of clothing or purse!

Technorati Tags: embroidery, cast-on stitch, stem stitch, blanket stitch, needle lace, linen floss, mezuzah, linen