Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Echiro Temari - Book Give-Away!

Echiro Temari, a book in Japanese
Echiro Temari No ISBN. 68 pages. Published in 2005.

This is a small hardback book published to showcase the work on a temari teacher from Echiro. There are many striking black and white designs like these on the cover and also a series of traditional blue and white temari. There are no diagrams. This is a collection of photographs of intricately stitched temari.

When we went to Tokyo last fall, Sensei Ozaki gave each of us a copy of this book. I've already got a copy and decided right away to give it away here on my blog. Finally, six months later, here we go!

1. To enter to win this book, post a comment before Sunday, June 10, midnight, EST (US east coast).
2. Be sure that your name is given. Do not put your email unless you want it displayed here.
3. Tell me why you like to make temari. Use lots of adjectives! How does stitching them make you feel? Do you love to give them away or get satisfaction from selling them? What's your motivation?
4. Make sure you are subscribed to my email list. I have a new service for this just last week. If you aren't sure, then please fill out the contact form on my website.
5. On the morning of Monday, June 11, check back here and I'll announce the winner.

Good luck!

[Update Wednesday, May 29 - I'm so impressed with the eloquence of your comments! You've captured my feelings about making temari too. Keep them coming.
To leave a comment, click on the link at the bottom of this post that has the number of comments. Scroll to the bottom of that page and type your comment in the white block. Make sure you give your name. Select anonymous in the drop down menu. Publish.]

Thursday, May 24, 2012

Sneak peek inside Temari Techniques

Click on this link to have a look at the contents and some other pages from the new book.

Did you get your copy yet? I'd really appreciate your review.

 Please click on this link and add your review in the comments section.

Ready to order? The books are here and waiting for you. Please visit my website to order.

Update: today is Thursday, May 24, and the mailman will pick up the last of the books that were preordered! Poor guy must be as worn out as me. Everyone who has ordered from me should have their book by Monday or Tuesday next week if you live in the US. All parcels were sent by priority mail. Packages going overseas were also sent priority and should arrive within 6 - 10 business days. 

Monday, May 21, 2012

Reviews of my new book Temari Techniques

Did you get your copy yet? I'd really appreciate your review.

 Please click on this link and add your review in the comments section.

Thanks! Barb

Saturday, May 19, 2012

Quick post

Just to let you know that I'm at the Carolina Fiber Fest for three full days. Friday, I met lots of "internet" friends face-to-face. It means so much to make that connection! Groups came from New Bern, Wilmington, Richmond (Va), Cary, and of course Raleigh. This is SO much fun. Honestly, I'm having a ball :)

Book news: Yes, it finally arrived! I managed to send out 50 copies before Fiber Fest and I'll get back to the rest next week. If you ordered through PayPal, you will get a notice of shipping. Please be patient. I'm working like a dog here trying to get everything done. It's it weird how everything happens at once!

Friends Meg and Richard gave me flowers and champagne for my 60th birthday. Aren't these lilies beautiful!


Sunday, May 13, 2012

A Mother's Love



Present for my mother, a musical temari ball
It's funny how sometimes you keep running into stories that express the same feeling, the same idea, the same quality of human nature. This happened to me four times this past week so I thought I'd better pay attention. Enjoy this moment, be present with it, and learn. The message is that when you make something by hand and thoroughly enjoy the process, you put something of yourself into that creation - your love and good spirit. Be sure you give some of these things to your children and loved ones. You will strengthen your family bond and pass on your love of creativity.

I've been watching the PBS series Craft in America. Have you seen it? The first episode is called "Memory."  This episode profiles several craftsmen and women who explain what their work means to them and their families. I particularly like the story of the family in South Carolina that has been passing on the skill of weaving baskets with native grasses for several generations.

"Unlike fine artists, who perhaps capture a moment in time, and are more concerned with an artistic style and technique, craft artists, through their objects, go beyond telling where we were, making a statement of who we are. Their objects will create memories for us, because the artists give selflessly of their memories in creating the objects. "

Sensei Ozaki wearing Glenna's corsage
I came upon this same thought when I was looking for something online and came across a translation of a newsletter from the Japan Temari Association. This was not part of my search but Sensei's words made me think of the PBS shows that I've been watching.
 
"A message from the President  of the  Japan Temari Association, Ms. Thoshiko Ozaki.

We are enjoying Temari making from ancient days; now we also can create many modern designs and enjoy stitching them into our Temaris. The pleasure that it gives us when we finish making new Temari is incomparable to anything else in the world, and such a beautiful feeling of achievement saves us from other small worries that are brought to us in our daily lives. As we continue to learn more about Temari making, we must nurture our feelings THAT CAN FEEL BEAUTY in this world, and convey this kind of knowledge to others. Further more, this kind of gesture will help our Temari making to flourish even more in the future. I feel that in every stitch that we weave into our Temari, we are stitching into it various feelings as well as memories, and this is how we create new Temaris. Please treasure such important feelings and memories that go into making Temari to produce your own Temari in the future. Continue to pass on the tradition to the next generation. This is my sincere wish that I like to convey to the members of Temari Association. Thank you.
(translated by Tomiko san)"


Hometown Temari  by Arai
This morning I picked up my new book, the advance copy that my publisher sent me, and flipped to the page about the book Furosato no Temari or Hometown Temari by Tomokazu Arai which was published in Japanese in 1990. The last paragraph (yes, I wrote it so you'd think I would remember) helped me make the connection between the PBS show, Sensei's words, and the words of Mrs. Nori Furuta (below).

From page 8 in Temari Techniques: The author traveled across the country and interviewed temari makers to document how they learned the craft as well as their techniques and designs. Furosato no Temari is filled with photographs of temari and the stories behind them.

From its very beginning, temari has exemplified a mother’s love for her child. In many regions, temari are handed down from generation to generation. The one thing all temari have in common is that they were made by mothers to show love for their children. Mrs. Nori Furuta said, “Every time I hold these temari my mother left for me, I remember my mother. They make me happy but a little sad at the same time since I feel that my mother is still talking to me.”

Yesterday, I got the best mother's day present from my daughter who is away at grad school in Wisconsin. Four times in one week - that same message! I was a bit dismayed when she decided to work in a lab but she assured me that she can be very creative there. She's a very talented gal and could have been an artist or a writer (my motherly pride is showing here). Anyway, she sent me a photo titled "Pretty colors today." Yep, that's my kid. I guess I succeeded in passing on my love of color and creating. I love you, Alison!

Creative chemistry


Friday, May 11, 2012

What's this mess?



Rebecca over at TemariAddictAustralia participated in a similar event not long ago and she found some clear acrylic boxes. I found a supply here in the States. Makes a nice, attractive display. 


I've got a bin full of kikemomi balls that just MUST go!


I'd like to bring the kimono and temari mobile but I'm not sure yet how to hang it at the festival.

Hope to see you there!

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Sunflowers Class Schedule and Book Update

Oh my goodness, I am swamped with orders for Temari Techniques and with people signing up for Sunflowers Online Class. Thank you all so much for your support and joining me in my addiction to temari!

Book Update - my publisher just told me that Temari Techniques will arrive at her warehouse on May 9 unless there is a customs inspection to delay it. She said she's never had this happen before so let's cross our fingers. This is about two weeks later than expected when she placed the order but things happen, ya know? At least now we have a date.

If you haven't ordered from me yet, please do it now so I can get a book for you from my publisher. I'll start at the top of the list of orders (by date) when I begin to mail. Here's the link to the order page.



Sunflowers Class
- Hard to believe but it's been two years since we last ran this class with the Shining Needle Society. I get requests for this one on a regular basis and decided it's time to run it again. This one is for experienced beginners. If you've made temari before and are pretty good at making the round ball and marking simple divisions, join us to learn a combination 8 division and many different ways to stitch a kiku herringbone and triwings. This time I'm adding videos of the whole process beginning with making the ball. So you'll be able to watch over my shoulder as I stitch the three temari in the class.

Why the big price jump? It's scary how much things have gone up since I ran this class before. When I priced the kit this time, almost everything has increased, including postage. I added a bit more to my teaching fee since I'll make the videos. There is an audit option for those who have taken this class from me before. I sure wish I could do something about this, but believe me, I've kept it as low as I can. Still, I think for the big kit and four weeks of instruction and a group that stays open for many months, it's not a bad deal. You don't have to travel and pay for a hotel. Stay at home and stitch in your PJ's!

Here is the link to the sign up page for the class. I hope you can join us.