Projects with Personality

I have always loved needlepointed items whenever I spied them in a store: belts, key fobs, pillows ~ you name it.  The combination of beautiful handicrafts and a dash of preppiness really speaks my language!

My first needlepoint projects were toddler-sized belts for The Cuties that we all loved and eeked every last bit of wear until they were practically cutting off their circulation.

I adored that I could slip my work into my purse and work on it in the car, during a meeting, on planes or while I watched television.

The biggest project I’ve tackled to date was a zippered pouch for Big Cutie’s tallit {prayer shawl} for her Bat Mitzvah.  And this month I picked up the tallit bag I finished for Little Cutie’s upcoming Bat Mitzvah.  She helped me pick out the pattern and we adjusted colors as we wanted.  She has very strong opinions, that one!

These are labors of love, and I adore imagining my girls having them forever more or passing them on to their daughters some day.

And just in case it should ever be left at synagogue…..

As I was tucking the bag away where we keep the rest of the family’s I was struck by how perfectly each daughter’s bag she chose is a reflection of her personality.  Little Cutie is carefree and likes things a little less structured than her sister.  Big Cutie prefers symmetry and pattern in her design aesthetic {gee, sound like anyone you know?}:

They’ve both made this clear for as long as we can remember.

So when I had their bags side by side, I was reminded of this particular picture, taken many years ago, when they each spent an afternoon building a house out of Legos…

Care to take a guess which Cutie built which house? 😉