Making a Mizrach, Part One

At least as planned right now, this is going to be a five part series.  Each update will summarize work done up to that point, and end in a recent photograph.

"Mizrach" is the Hebrew word for East,  Because Jews face towards Israel when we pray, and in America that is East, "a Mizrach" has come to mean a special wall hanging, hung on the Eastern wall of the room where one prays.

A year and a half or so ago I sat down to make a Mizrach.  That wall hanging, which I did not end up using as a Mizrach, was a row of Jewish stars, each in a different blue or blue and white material, on white background.

Today I sat down to take up the project again.  My new Mizrach will have a blue print background.  It will say "Mizrach" in Hebrew, the letters made in strips of gray print and brown print.

At the time of writing this update, I have hemmed the background in my best stitches, which, admittedly, are not very good.  I have also started the lettering, but I meant to post this before I did that, and the picture below does not show any letters.