>> gift guide • -do Eclectic American Cuisine Ourcbtirs Bistro/Cigar Bar Portion of the ChanuCats quilt shown The finest (Wagyu) Steaks and Seafood features on our Fall Menu Executive Chef Matt Barkach Crafting Chanukah A Hours: open daily for lunch & dinner, Thurs - Sat late night menu *State of the art ventilation system 113i5troAtigar 116 S. Woodward Birmingham MI 248-647-4555 Tigar 13or 6635 Orchard Lake Rd. West Bloomfield MI 248-855-0300 Gifts you won't find anywhere else. Creative pop-up books - Chanukah Lights plus 30 others Designer toys and collectibles - Windups, cars, watches, clocks, ornaments, calendars, etc. Vases, bowls, paperweights - Glass - metal - wood - ceramic Exclusive selection of hand- made gifts by Michigan artists. Mention this ad to receive 10% off the purchase of three or more red glass cherries. Seven sizes. BLUARCH COLLECTION Downtown Birmingham 142 West Maple Road Birmingham, MI 48009 bluarchcollection.com 248-792-9954 1794660 58 November 15 • 2012 whimsical ChanuCats quilt, created by Ruth Lenk and featured in the new book Jewish Threads: A Hands-On Guide to Stitching Spiritual Intention into Jewish Fabric Crafts (Jewish Lights Publishing) puts a fun, feline spin on the Jewish Festival of Lights, which begins this year at sun- down on Dec. 8. Jewish Threads was written by Diana Drew with Robert Grayson. The award-winning 56-by- 30-inch ChanuCats quilt took second place in the Simplicity Creative Group's Seasonal Holiday Celebration Contest, which required all submissions to be based on Simplicity patterns. Lenk's inclination was to design a quilt that echoes the uplifting character of the Jewish seasonal (winter) holi- day of Chanukah, which celebrates the triumph of Judah the Maccabee and his small band of freedom fighters in the second century BCE against the oppressive Syrian- Greeks. However, all of Simplicity's holiday patterns had Christmas motifs—in costumes, decorations and ornaments. None focused on Chanukah. Undaunted, the artist decided to improvise, basing her design on one of Simplicity's baby blanket pat- terns and adjusting it for a different "Holiday Celebration"—the Jewish Festival of Lights, Chanukah. Hence, ChanuCats, a fanciful take on the chanukiah (menorah) that's especially appealing to cat fanciers. Jewish Threads spotlights the spiritual intention behind 30 fabric pieces and five inspirational pieces created by artists from throughout the United States and Israel. Author Diana Drew spent a year and a half sifting through a myriad of projects from throughout the United States and Israel, choosing those that reflected deep-rooted connections to Jewish heritage and contempo- rary Jewish life. Jewish Threads is available at major bookstores and online. ❑