Happy New Year 2012 - a traditional temari gift for you

I have been so blessed, so lucky this year in all my temari adventures. Thank you everyone! A New Year's gift of temari from mother to child is a tradition in Japan. This is my gift to you - a sparkling New Year design. Enjoy!

Bright and cheerful purples!

Basketful of Purple Temari 

Cheerful purples for sale!

Japanese Temari Newsletter

Happy Holidays!

Are you feeling the rush to get ready? I sure am. There are so many people shopping online this year. I'm busy almost every day with my shop, trying to get temari and supplies in the mail and photographing more temari to add to the group for sale in my shop on etsy.com. Thank you so much to everyone who helped me move "stash" from my place to yours with a purchase. The sale was a huge success and I've sorted my stitching supplies and can actually find things around here again.

We will always remember you

Here is a moving video from Japan about the earthquake and what the people are thinking today

Online Temari Class - Grandmother Star

At long last, I've got time to get back to teaching online! I hope you'll be able to join me in making Grandmother Star, a floral design stitched on 32 centers. This class was requested by several people recently so we'll start with this multicenters beauty.

Registration is open now. It closes Friday, January 6, 2012. Kits will be mailed by January 27, 2012 (by Priority to US or by First Class to Canada or by First Class to all other countries). Class begins Friday, February 3, 2012.

If you took this class from me before, please ask for the audit price (no kit).

Visit the class webpage to sign up

TAST (Temari Variation) with Sharon B. 2012

Sharon B. will be running Take a Stitch Tuesday in 2012!

See the logo on the sidebar to the right? That's the page I've created where I'll share what I stitch. I hope I'm not the only one stitching on temari. If you are also in the challenge, let me know and I'll put your link on the page. I'd love help and inspiration for the extra challenge of stitching all those wonderful embroidery stitches on temari!

BTW, I'm tagging this post "Kindred Sister." Anyone who stitches as much as I do and shares it on the web is absolutely my sister :)   You're an angel, Sharon.

Here is the link directly to Sharon's site

Grandmother's Hydrangeas on Temari

It's a cloudy day in Raleigh, but I am forging ahead and photographing more temari for my etsy shop. 

Grandmother's Hydrangeas Temari by Barbara B. Suess

Japanese Temari on Etsy.com

Meeting kindred sisters in Kanazawa - was it a dream?

Photo in the stairway to Mariya 

We climbed the small staircase to visit a one-room shop on the second level above the busy street in Kanazawa. I knew our guide was leading us to a specialty shop called Mariya, where we would find temari and supplies to make them. The displays on the way up were promising!