Sunday, April 8, 2012

The Chuppah Adventure

The next item on my "to do" list is a chuppah.  It is a wedding canopy that is a traditional part of a Jewish wedding ceremony.  Why is a chuppah on my "to do" list?  My youngest son is getting married at the end of June.  He and his wife really want to get married under a chuppah.

So this mother is making one.  I am creating it as a quilt so they can hang it on the wall after the ceremony.  I envision a design with a tree and leaves.  The tree of life is a very important Jewish symbol. To make the chuppah personal and meaningful to the wedding couple, I sent out leaves (backed with fusible web)  with pens for people to write their  good wishes.


A traditional chuppah measures 6 foot square.  Since my design is very symmetrical, I have decided to make it in quadrants as 36" squares.  For the most part they will be identical. 

The first step is to quilt the background.  I will do this before I add the fusible applique.  I didn't think a 36" square would be that big, until I cut it out and spray basted it to the batting.  It is pretty big.

So far I have quilted 2 of the squares, which means I am halfway there.  Since I am doing straight line quilting, it is not very challenging at this point.  This gives me lots of time to think.


  The wedding is taking place at our summer home on a tiny lake in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania.  We have been spending summers there since this son was 3 years old.  He will be 27 by the time of the wedding.
I hope to set the chuppah up on our dock using a couple of quilt stands. 
 (The logistics are my husband's job.)


The vision of this couple being married by Rabbi Peter Hyman, who has become a family friend, on Whitney Lake, that is so beautiful and has been a part of our family life for 23 years, brings tears to my eyes.  Maybe I'll get all the crying out of the way now!

I can't show you the design yet.  I don't want to spoil the surprise for the bride.  I am planning on unveiling the chuppah at the rehearsal dinner, so stay tuned until the end of June.  I promise to share.





5 comments:

  1. Great ideas with the leaves, Cheryl! Keep us posted with the progress. It's really soon!

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  2. Cheryl,
    You are so good at combining symbolism and family and friends into your quilts. I know this one will also be beautiful and meaningful to the bride and groom. What a good idea to make the chuppah so they can hang it on the wall afterward. Looking forward to seeing the finished quilt in the future.
    I hope you are having a Happy Passover too!

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  3. I can hardly wait to see the finished project! Looks like a beautiful place!

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  4. Oh Cheryl, this is such a lovely story. What a blessed family you are and the newly married couple are going to start life together surrounded by such love in such a meaningful setting. I just can't imagine a more perfect way to start married life. You go ahead and cry (just don't stain that beautiful Chuppah!) I can't wait to see the final results, the leaves are such a great idea! I hope you'll post wedding photos in July!

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