Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Monday, October 29, 2012

Hurricane Sandy

We are away from home, visiting our daughter in Madison, WI.  Our neighbors on the Pamlico River said Sandy passed and the water did not come over the bulkhead.  Our house is located on the west side of the Pamlico Sound and the wind was from the west pushing the water away from us. We are flying back to Raleigh this afternoon and do not expect any problems. Pray for those to the north!

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Upcoming demo and class


I hope to see you!

Saturday, November 3, 2012

Dana Watson and I will be stitching temari all day in Chapel Hill. Bring your temari and sit, stitch, visit.

The Ackland Art Museum
BUNKA NO HI | Japanese Culture Day    文化の日
10:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Free and open to the public. An all-ages event.

Join the Ackland on Bunka no Hi (Culture Day), a national holiday in Japan that celebrates culture and the arts. In addition to exploring the Ackland’s exhibitions of Japanese art, participate in workshops and events, learn about Japanese art forms like bonsai and temari (embroidered balls), and get creative with do-it-yourself activities available all day.

Saturday, November 10, 2012

Temari class at my home in Raleigh, NC

Temari class by Barbara B. Suess



Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Great review from Library Journal!


Verdict: thumbs up! Your local library can now access the review and purchase Temari Techniques for their collections. Please spread the word. 


"Suess, Barbara B. Temari Techniques: A Visual Guide to Making Japanese Embroidered Thread Balls. Breckling Pr., dist. by Independent Publishers Group. 2012. c.209p. illus. photogs. index. ISBN 9781933308326. pap. $29.95. FIBER CRAFTS

Embroidery and geometry collide in temari, a traditional Japanese fiber craft of spheres embellished with colorful thread. In this comprehensive guide to temari, Suess (Japanese Kimekomi: Fast, Fun, and Fabulous Fabric Handballs ) introduces the basics of the craft, beginning with creating the core of the temari ball and progressing to selecting a design for the outside and hand stitching techniques for temari. The patterns range from simple wrapped designs to detailed combinations of wrapping and hand stitching. Diagrams for the designs are provided.

VERDICT Embroiderers of all skill levels, as well as fans of Japanese culture and handcraft, will find themselves inspired by Suess’s creations."

Monday, October 15, 2012

A surprise in an out-of-print temari book

Out-of-print temari book from 1992

Since I contracted this crazy addition to making temari, I have collected books on the craft from Japan. At first I ordered a few from Japanese book stores. Then my husband stopped by the JTA shop in Tokyo and bought me a few when he traveled there for business. What a sweetie! Ebay has always been a good source but you really have to watch the prices and make sure you don't pay too much, especially with shipping added.

Sometimes, an out-of-print book sneaks on to eBay, one that I haven't seen before. I just got my hands on a copy of the New Life Series 7 book about temari titled Tanoshii Temari Nyumon (Temari Lessons for Beginners) ISBN 4-522-01307-8. It was written by Chiyoko Ozaki and published in 1992.

This copy is in perfect condition! I'm so lucky to find a mint condition book even though it's twenty years old. It's 125 pages and like most of the temari books from Japan, the color photos are grouped in the front of the book with instructions in black and white placed at the back. It's too bad this book is out of print. It would be a wonderful resource for beginners. The instructions are brief like so many of the Japanese books, but there is a lot to be learned from the photos and diagrams. It teaches simple divisions, as well as combination 8 and combination 10 (beginning with a simple 10). Most of the basic stitches and designs are represented - wrapped bands, spindles, and lot of variations of herringbone stitching for example.

The surprise? Just a little something I've not seen before.  It made me smile. So simple - the ball on the left in the scan below uses a very different path for the kiku herringbone stitching. Can you see it? You can click on this scan to make it bigger.


The inside point and outside point are taken on the same guideline. Then you'd skip a guideline. The artist must have adjusted the guidelines before beginning so they are paired (another novel idea). This is a simple 16 division. How fascinating!

The middle temari in the scan uses the same technique but skips two guidelines. And the guidelines are evenly spaced at the top. This is a simple 15 division - very unusual.

The swirling effect in the ball on the right side is a slightly different path. After stitching at an inside point, go back one guideline to make the stitch for an outside point. Then skip over a guideline to make the stitch for an inside point. Once again, it's a simple 15 division.

There is always something new to learn with temari!

Thursday, October 11, 2012

Date change for Desert Spirit temari class

I've changed the date for temari class to Saturday, November 10. Hope you can make it!

Sign up for Desert Spirit temari class

Temari class on November 10, 2012

Sunday, October 7, 2012

Unfolding Kiku temari pattern is ready for download

Much requested pattern for advanced temari stitchers....
Ready!

Purchase by download on my website

Saturday, October 6, 2012

All day temari class at Barb's house


Saturday, November 3, 2012, at Barb's house in Raleigh, NC.
6 hour class beginning at  9 AM.  Please bring your lunch and a ball already wrapped and marked into a simple division.

Desert Spirit temari is a study of the herringbone stitch, elegantly executed on a simple division temari. It is photographed on page 16 of my book Temari Techniques. This class is suitable for advanced beginners who are able to make a large, round ball and mark it into a simple division temari. You should also have experience with herringbone stitching on temari and be ready to learn several variations.

We'll begin at 9 AM and take 30 minutes for lunch during the day. Please bring your lunch so you don't miss class time running out to eat. I will have lots of temari on display and my collection of Japanese temari books available for you to see. Let's talk about temari designs that you'd like to see me write up for future patterns. Bring show and tell. We'd love to see what you have been stitching!

Preparation: bring a temari already made and marked. I'll give you details when you sign up for class. You can use your own threads in colors of your choice or purchase a kit from me before class begins. If you decide to purchase the kit from me, you'll need to stop by and pick it up or have me mail it to you in time for you to make and mark the ball before class begins. Also, be sure to bring other temari already made and marked for practice stitching, especially if the stitches are new to you. I'll also give you details for those temari when you sign up.

Sign up on my website. I hope to see you soon!