In 1981 while living in California, Barbara Esmond read in her temple bulletin about the Pomegranate Guild of Judaic Needlework, and it piqued her interest. She had recently purchased a painted needlepoint canvas, all the rage in the early ’80s, and had started working on it. She knew only one basic stitch and was quickly becoming bored with it. She yearned to increase her cache of needlepoint stitches to make her project exciting.
So she went to the San Fernando Valley (California) Chapter meeting, thinking she’d stay for one visit and learn a bit more about needlepoint stitches. She walked into the woman’s home who was hosting that gathering and literally became hooked on so many different ways to stitch. Thirty-two years later, after being connected to the San Fernando Chapter since that momentous visit, she started the Tucson Chapter of the Pomegranate Guild.
Not only did she improve her needlepoint stitch repertoire, she also learned Brazilian embroidery, blackwork, Tenerife lace embroidery, counted cross stitch, Sashiko, crocheting, you name it. She enjoyed Brazilian embroidery so much that she devoted a number of months to making a 6’ x 6’ chuppah, with four side panels, all in Brazilian, for use at her son’s wedding and subsequently used for other family simchas.
“I lived in Israel from 1991 to 2008 and thought of starting a Pomegranate chapter there, but the other members didn’t live near each other. So when I moved to Tucson, I was eager to get a chapter started,” Barbara says. She is now the president of a devoted group of Tucsonans, aged 14 to their 70s. What exactly is the Pomegranate Guild of Judaic Needlework? In 1977 a group of Jewish women, all professional needle artists and educators, got together in New York City with the desire to create and design ornamental objects for Jewish homes and synagogues. Over the years the group morphed into an international organization, now with more than 500 members of amateur as well as professional status. They adopted the name of Pomegranate from Exodus 39, verses 24 and 25: “And they made upon the hem of the robe pomegranates of blue, and purple, and scarlet and twined linen,” describing the garments of the High Priest Aaron. The Guild’s logo, which was designed by one of the founding members, Tsirl Waletsky, is a stylized pomegranate, the stem of which is a threaded needle.
The Guild issues a quarterly publication, The Paper Pomegranate. A recent issue that emphasized the history of the organization, now in its double chai (36) year, notes: “Guild and Chapter meetings are a rich blend of needlework, culture, tradition and religious practices as they relate to Judaic textiles. … Through these efforts we hope to perpetuate our Jewish heritage for generations to come, thereby fulfilling our Judaic teaching, ‘As my father planted for me, so shall I plant for my children.’ (Talmud).”
Members of the Guild create their works for a variety of reasons. Some hope to perpetuate their Jewish heritage by teaching, l’dor v’dor, from generation to generation. In the Tucson Chapter, started in June of 2012, there is a grandmother, her daughter and her two granddaughters: three generations of continuity. Some feel the urge to replace ceremonial objects and heirlooms lost in the Holocaust. Others revel in the camaraderie of other individuals who are willing to teach and learn needlework together.
Currently chapter members have their choice of making two very different challah covers. A Tucson member designed a challah cover using Hebrew calligraphy of the words Shabbat Shalom. Now many chapter members are at work on their own challah covers, embroidering this design in satin stitches, outline stitches and French knots. Other members are at work on challah covers with fringes, hem stitching, counted cross stitch and Brazilian embroidery.
One of the first projects Tucson members tackled was Hanukkah gelt bags embroidered with Tenerife lace (also called chicken scratch). Members also are stitching a needlepoint sampler to be used as a Mizrach for the eastern wall in their homes. This spring they will be make crocheted kippot as well as learning peyote stitch beading. The women teach each other their own skills.
The chapter meets twice a month, the first Monday evening, from 6:30 until 8:30 pm, and on the first Friday of each month, from 10 am until noon. Members can attend either one or both of the group meetings. All of the gatherings are held at the Jewish Federation Northwest, 190 W. Magee Road, Suite 162, Oro Valley, AZ. Annual membership in the Guild is $36. Members can attend meetings, learn new stitching techniques and access online archives of hundreds of projects.
There is also a Phoenix Pomegranate Guild chapter, called the Desert Cactus Chapter. Their contact person is Sharon Ziv (phone: 480-585-8420, or sziv@cox.net). Their next meeting is Sunday, Nov. 17, which will be an afternoon Hanukkah celebration in a private home. Usually the Phoenix chapter meets at Temple Chai. Desert Cactus Chapter will host a national Pomegranate Guild Convention in Phoenix or Scottsdale for three days in late spring of 2015.
To learn more about the Tucson Chapter, President Barbara Esmond can be reached at 520-299-1197 or brealjs@gmail.com.
