Japanese Temari

Kyoto Kimono Kindred Sister

2012-02-21T11:08:00.005-05:00

You know you're with the expert when you go to Kyoto with Kyoto Kimono! Nancy spent some time living in Kyoto and took us to many of her favorite places on our trip last fall - temple markets, workshops with textile artists, meals at wonderful restaurants, and a hotel and ryokan chosen for location and great price.

Headed into Miyama

Explaining kimono at a temple market

Now she lives in New York and trades in kimono and other textiles.

Tour info at Kyoto Kimono's website. Small group, flexible schedule, personal attention - just perfect! If you can get on one of Nancy's yearly tours, you'll love every bit of it.

I still have, oh - a few hundred, more photos to share from the trip!

.....

Kindred (adjective): having the same belief, attitude, or feeling.

Sister (noun): a female friend regarded as a sister.

.....

Circular Obsession

2012-02-20T15:04:00.002-05:00

It's been a year! Over a year, in fact, since I started this blog. My goal was to have a place to share stories and pictures of our fabulous trip to Japan in October, 2011. It grew to be a place where I could share stitching projects, new classes, and additions in my little temari shop on etsy.com.

My first post was about being obsessed with round things. I still haven't pinned down exactly why we are so attracted to circles - turns out there are so many reasons that books have been written on the topic. One of my favorites is that we see so many circles in nature that are truly comforting from the loving eyes of mother to the very shape of our earth. Here are a few words that describe the meaning of circles for me and photos that I took in Japan. All comforting....

Focus

Centering

Infinity
Perfection

Completion

Size matters: big temari balls

2012-02-16T11:58:00.008-05:00

Now, now. Calm down. This is not an X-rated blog post!

Temari on the LARGE side

I'm teaching an online temari class where the ball is 42 cm circumference. Several of the students have spoken up that this is just such a big temari. Almost too big to handle. Well yes, it's a big one, to be sure. A "normal" temari will usually be around 27 or so cm in circumference.

BTW, if you didn't know, we use the metric system with temari because we have to divide the circumference into sections. Try dividing 9 3/4 inches by 24 and you'll find out really fast why we use metric!

When it comes to making temari, the more intricate the design, the larger the ball has to be. Yes, you can stitch with finer thread so the ball doesn't have to be quite so gigantic. But that requires more skill and accuracy in dividing, marking, and stitching. So it's actually easier to use our normal perle 5 cotton and just make a bigger ball. So if your temari making skills are improving, advancing, and you've got the desire to stitch some intricate, fiber-art quality temari, go large.

Back row from left to right:
1. Bin temari (in a bottle) bought on ebay. From Japan. 50 cm. Stitched with bunka left chained.
2. blue and white big softie! 51 cm bought on ebay. From Japan. Stitched with sewing thread? Styro core with delightful bell box.
3. Another softie! These two came together sold as vintage temari from the 1940's. C8 stitched with coral, pale green and pink sewing thread or maybe three plies of embroidery floss. Also Styro core with lovely bell inside. I want to stitch this pattern - maybe on TemariChallenge with the group.
4. This is the flower sampler temari from the TC group last year. 12 different flowers on a C10. 51.5 cm on a 6" Styro core. Stitched with Caron Watercolors. Most of this is documented on my blog.
5. Another ebay purchase from Japan. 56 cm circumference. Styro core. C10 stitched with bunka left chained. Very flashy with lots of metallic. I don't know how old it is.

Front row from left to right:
1. purple and green all-over from Japan purchased on ebay. Stitched with unchained bunka. I searched for Japanese balls and found this (not under temari). Got it for $20. 51cm on Styro ball.
2. tennis ball
3. I made this one after noticing how the hhg path looks, picking it apart, and putting it back together in colors so it seems to form circles. 45 cm circumference. 122 centers.
4. Great Grandmother Star
5. Grandmother Star (this is the online class)
6. needs a name - 41 cm. rice hull core. 272 centers (I think!). Stitched with perle 8. I made this for Temari Techniques book but didn't use it in the book. Will publish the pattern as soon as I can write it up.
7. TAST the GIANT - 60 cm made on an 8" Styro ball. I am experimenting with embroidery stitches for Sharon B's challenge on this ball.

Kokeshi Collection

2012-02-15T09:41:00.005-05:00

Here they are - all the girls and boys with their temari. New ones, old ones. Paper one in the middle made of washi instead of wood. Some in the back demurely peeking around the others. Some hidden by the taller folk.

Treasures from Japan - dolls, dolls, and more dolls

2012-02-13T17:18:00.004-05:00

I've never been much of a collector. No coins or stamps. No big fabric or thread stash. But over the last few years, it seems that I just can't resist the darling, wooden kokeshi dolls from Japan. Not all of them. Just the ones with temari, especially the older vintage dolls. Here are a few of my favorites. Don't they just make you smile?

Sweet Home by Posie

2012-02-03T15:41:00.001-05:00

A little bit of embroidery for my daughter. The pattern is Sweet Home from Posie. So cute!

Herringbone stitch for temari

2012-01-30T18:41:00.014-05:00

Add support lines to help
place stitches at the outside points.

Update - last night I stitched a new temari with this unusual technique of stitching a kiku herringbone at the inside points combined with a wide herringbone at the outside points of the circular motif. I really like the result!

Stitches are placed a little bit apart from each other.

The obi decoration is also
done with herringbone stitching.

In our TemariChallenge Yahoo group, we are making temari with the colors of glass artist Dale Chihuly. Upload a photo to Kuler and let the program select the colors. Here's a picture I took in Tacoma and the colors...

Week 5 stitch for TAST is herringbone! We temari stitchers use this one all the time. Most often it's a kiku herringbone. Sharon challenged us to go beyond what we've done before and try something different. I've never seen it done like this with the outside points made as a wide stitch instead of a sharp point. Needs work to make it neater but I think this will be a keeper.

I added an extra row of blue metallic on top like Sharon's double herringbone, version 2.

Feather and Cretan stitches for temari

2012-01-30T14:23:00.004-05:00

Week 3 TAST (take a stitch Tuesday with Sharon) is the feather stitch.
I used it to fill a triangle.

I've used this one before on temari to make sea weed for my Goldfish.

Week 4 - The cretan stitch is totally new to me. It's just a little change on the stitches we've done so far - buttonhole, fly, and feather. I stitched a single line with bright green thread and then tried filling a couple of adjacent triangles. Pretty cool!

Buttonhole stitch on temari for TAST

2012-01-29T11:15:00.001-05:00

Week 2 TAST challenge is the buttonhole stitch. I've used this stitch but am a little rusty with it so I did the basic version to outline two sides of a triangle. In looking through Sharon's options, I fell in love with the buttonhole bar and decided to use it to create a little blue flower. It's a bit messy, but I got the hang of it and can add that to my stitching repertoire now. This is great, Sharon. Thanks!

Fly Stitch on Temari for Take a Stitch Tuesday

2012-01-27T09:01:00.003-05:00

Finally! Yesterday, I was able to relax, watch some Downton Abbey on Netflix and stitch. I realized that I have not stitched for pleasure like this since November when I worked to finish the temari that Takahara Sensei taught us. So nice!

Sharon challenged us to stitch something we'd not done before and since I have used this stitch alot, I looked through her stitch directory and found a lot of variations to try. The border triangle is stitched with reversed fly stitch
http://inaminuteago.com/stitchdict/stitch/fly-reversed1.html
and the inside is made of single fly stitches arranged to make a snowflake pattern.

A whole lot of people are posting links to their pictures on Sharon's blog and it's so inspiring. I found someone who did this snowflake or medallion type design. So I just started and then kept adding fly stitches until the triangle was full. Sure would be easier on fabric where you could count and get exact placement for the stitches. I hope that judging stitch placement will improve for me as I go along.

Coming in March - A new temari book

2012-01-15T11:03:00.002-05:00

Happy as this little guy

2012-01-08T18:37:00.004-05:00

My life is super busy right now. I hope to be back to blogging about temari in a week or so. In the meantime, I hope you are feeling the smile!

Happy New Year 2012 - a traditional temari gift for you

2011-12-19T21:32:00.134-05:00

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!

Sparkling metallic and lustrous rayon threads make the stars glow in this high-contrast design. Before attempting the swirl stitching in these small triangles, be sure to perfect the technique on easier designs with larger shapes to fill. The thread wrap on the base of your temari ball must be very thick and tight for the short swirl stitches to stay in place. Be warned that it might be hard on your hands to pull the stitches through the thread wrap. Use a very sharp needle for stitching the design and use a thimble to help push the needle through the ball and protect your finger. This patterns calls for rayon perle. You can substitute cotton #8 perle and get a similar result. Or you could use Kyo or Fujix rayon perle thread from Japan.

Materials: Maxi-Lock Navy for the thread wrap; Rainbow Gallery GoldRush 18 GC26C (thick metallic blue) and Alabaster BG7 (thick metallic white); Sulky Metallic 8052 (fine metallic for tacking); YLI Pearl Crown Rayon 215 (Royal Blue - dark blue), 665 (Chicory - medium blue), 521 (Lucerne Blue - light blue), and 500 (White).

Techniques: combination 10 division, swirl stitching, continuous paths stitching.

1. Prepare the ball. Wrap a 42 cm ball in dark blue thread. Mark a C10 with thick metallic blue thread and tack all intersections with a fine metallic thread.

2. Fill each small triangle on the ball with swirl stitching. Using perle rayon thread, stitch 1 row dark blue, 1 row medium blue, 1 row light blue, and 1 one row white in each triangle. Alternate the placement of clockwise and counter clockwise swirl designs.

There are 10 small triangles in each pentagon.
Stitch half clockwise and half counter clockwise.

Begin swirl stitching in the right angle corner.

Test your stitching: fill in one triangle with all 4 rows to check that your stitches are small enough and all the rows fit in the triangle. The center should be empty to leave room for the continuous paths stitching and to show some negative space when all of the stitching is done. The stitches made for the swirl designs are very short - just about as small as you can make them.

After completing this test triangle to get your spacing right, continue by stitching 1 row at a time in each triangle. Your swirl design will be neater and stitched faster if you complete 1 row of each color in all the triangles in a 10-part pentagon before moving on to the second color on the second row. For instance, complete those triangles with clockwise swirls (1 row), then complete the counter clockwise swirls (1 row). After you make the stitches to complete a row in a triangle, stitch underground and come up to begin a new row in another triangle.

Stitch 1 row in each triangle. Go down
to end last stitch in a triangle and come up
to begin the first stitch in another triangle.

Complete all swirl stitching.

3. Continuous paths: with thick, white metallic thread, stitch continuous paths through the negative spaces to make a design similar to pine needles. This will add emphasis to the 5-pointed stars centered in the pentagons on the ball. Stitching pine needle designs in the traditional fashion is too difficult with this thick white metallic thread. You’ll get a straighter line by using conintuous paths.

Place the continuous paths so they cross the
4-part diamonds that show negative space.

Stitch under all swirl stitching
between those 4-part diamonds.

Use a very sharp and long needle (about 3 1/3” or 5 cm) for stitching and use a thimble to protect your finger in order to make that long underground stitch. Stitch one complete “X” in each diamond all over the ball (1 row). Continue by adding a second row to each “X” on the ball, and so on until all 5 rows are complete.

Bright and cheerful purples!

2011-12-16T12:14:00.004-05:00

Basketful of Purple Temari

Cheerful purples for sale!

Japanese Temari Newsletter

2011-12-12T09:04:00.005-05:00

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.

Now, I'm doing the same with my finished creations. Bins of temari that were stashed in closets have been emptied and sorted. There are now 66 temari on etsy and I still have another box of about 30 to photograph and list in the next few days. I hope you'll consider visiting the shop and sending your friends there as well. How do I price my temari? Simply by how much time it takes me to make them. Here's the link

Japanese Temari shop on etsy.com

Online Class with the Shining Needle Society

Several students requested a run of Grandmother Star online class, so that's where we are beginning 2012. This is an advanced class about multicenters temari based on the 6-part triangle. Sign up is open now. This time, you can choose between purple or blue threads. If you have taken this class from me before and want to audit this time, let me know. The audit fee is $25. I'm adding videos but everything else is about the same as before.

Grandmother Star Online Temari Class

Local Beginner Class

If you live near Raleigh, NC, and want a beginner class, please let me know. I'll refer you to Dana who is setting up a class nearby. Should be a good one!

Happy stitching and happy holidays to you,

Barb Suess

We will always remember you

2011-12-11T16:28:00.002-05:00

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

Online Temari Class - Grandmother Star

2011-12-09T14:27:00.003-05:00

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

2011-12-08T07:56:00.003-05:00

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

2011-12-07T11:48:00.004-05:00

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?

2011-12-04T09:37:00.012-05:00

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!

Temari display case

Gotenmari Competition Poster

Yubinuki (thimble ring) picture

Sometimes, I am really slow on the uptake. But in my defense, the goodies for sale in the shop were grabbing all my attention. When Ai introduced us to the shop keeper, Yukiko Ohnishi, I thought she looked familiar, but I didn't realize exactly who she is and where we were. Then I recognized her book as one of my favorites about yubinuki. I guess that author photo in the back of a book is a good thing!

Thimble Ring book by Yukiko Ohnishi

Ohnishi-san is a darling pixie of a woman, as cute as the thimble rings that she makes. So friendly and welcoming. Here are a few links to explore her tiny creations...
Her blog
Kaga Yubinuki - The Traditional Thimble
Exhibition Blog

After introductions were made, she excused herself to run up to the next floor and bring Takako Koide down to meet us. I think that's her mother but will need to check. Well, as soon as I saw her, I knew where we were and it was like waking from a dream. I remembered Koide-san's lovely face and smile from some web surfing I did last winter when I discovered an article and wrote a blog post about her as a kindred sister. And here I was meeting her face to face - a wonderful moment when recognition dawned!
Kaga Temari Experience (Monday, Feb 14)

Of course, we posed for a picture.

Koide-san led us to her temari classroom just behind the shop. Hers is set up much like Itoh-san's classroom in Uji with a large table in the center and cabinets of temari and supplies around the walls. More temari eye-candy from her classroom...

One of my favorite purchases at Mariya was a couple of bags of jingly bells to place in the cores of temari. So clear and loud. I took a lot of my favorite needles to Japan to give away and look what we all got in return - needles to make yubinuki and temari. The smaller one is really tiny for the silk thread used in making thimble rings. The large needle is steel, I guess. They told us to be careful because it would rust. I thought my needle was sharp until I felt the tip on this needle - it's super-sharp. Our two kindred sisters quickly put together little needle cases for us. Cut a piece of heavy paper about 1 1/2" wide by 8" long; cut a piece of felt to fit one side, about 1 1/4"wide by 3 1/2" long; fold the paper over the felt and staple the fold; insert needles. I love this presentation!

I've really enjoyed reliving this day with you. Be sure to explore the link to the shop website and the blog. There are so many wonderful pictures of yubinuki and temari as well.
Mariya

Her blog
Kaga Yubinuki - The Traditional Thimble
Exhibition Blog

Outer Banks Color Palette

2011-11-28T09:18:00.005-05:00

This is a post that needs no words really. Temari are from the new book Temari Techniques, coming next spring.

Silk Temari - Kyoto River

2011-11-23T13:23:00.004-05:00

Silk Temari - Kyoto River

I'm slowly getting temari photographed and posted for sale over on etsy.com. This is one of my favorites.

"Kyoto River"

Stitched with soft silk thread, the orange shades depict fallen leaves. The location is Kyoto by a river on a sunny day. Just a bit of blue and orange sparkle reflect the sun.

3 inch diameter temari has a core of rice hulls making a soft, huggable ball. A bell box deep in the center of the ball makes a jingly rattle when the ball is gently shaken. To display this work, a thread hanger is attached to the ball. You can also display Kyoto RIver on a stand as a single work of fiber art. Also included are a history of temari and a description of this particular temari, signed by the artist.

Shipping to US locations is included in the price. $65.00

A temari outing: our day trip to Uji, Japan

2011-11-22T14:55:00.004-05:00

We were so excited to meet Ai! After years of friendship on the internet, Glenna, Kathy, and I finally got to meet her and spend a wonderful day together. It was the first Saturday that we were in Japan - a day off from the tour's organized activities. Ai met us in the lobby of our hotel and we took a taxi to the Kyoto train station.

Uji was a short ride by train, south of Kyoto. There was a festival beginning on the market street outside the station - something to do with children or the local schools since there were a lot of activities for the kids and artwork they'd made. We watched as an adorable group of girls danced and lip-synced to some American rap/pop music. I didn't recognize the "song" and was glad to realize the girls and audience probably didn't understand the words exactly (if you get my drift)! After lunch (Japanese food, of course), we grabbed a cab to Itoh Sensei's house. Her class room is in the very front of her home - a tiny but quite adequate space filled with temari goodies of all sorts. She kindly let us take photos of all the temari - two large bookcases full. If you are a member of TC, be on the lookout for announcement that the disk is ready in a few weeks.

My photos from the day are in the picassa album (with the exception of all the temari that will be on the disk)

Happy temari stitchers

Snacks are beautiful and yummy, too

I started the ball in class. Ripped it out that night at the hotel and restitched the first row. After getting back to the US, I decided to save this one and make another to finish. I'm well on the way and will share the photo when I'm done.

The day was a really special one. I always felt like we were stitching blind - figuring out things ourselves as best we could. To be able to see our friend Ai stitch temari and have a lesson with Itoh Sensei was enlightening. Comforting too, realizing that we're not doing too badly on our own. My understanding of the Japanese language is very poor but I did hear Sensei mention to Ai that the pattern is very difficult and we were doing well. I'm not sure about the "doing well" part, though. We're sharing the tidbits of temari-making that we learned in our Yahoo group. One of the main things the three of us all noticed - they are more temari-crazy than we are. I was expecting to see temari toilet paper in the loo! Didn't, of course. Fun day.

Temari book from Japan - Dream in Temari 2010

2011-11-21T17:29:00.008-05:00

It's always exciting to find a new temari book out of Japan. While visiting Japan, we saw a book from a group of temari stitchers called Non-Profit Organization Japan Temari Cultural Association. They have a website here....

It's funny that on the way over to Japan, we were wondering about this group and if there would be a way for us to get in contact with them! There were not enough books for us to be able to take them home in our suitcases but they followed not long after by mail from Ai's bookstore. Ai will try to get more copies of this book and also copies of other books that this group has published. It will probably take some time, however. Unfortunately, their leader recently passed away and Ai is patiently waiting to re-establish contact with the group.

Here's the scoop:
8-1/2" tall by 12"wide, 64 pages, hardback with paper cover, all photos (no diagrams or instructions), full color with stunning photographs of all the temari. Five pages of the book are bios on the contributors. ALL of the temari are what I would call advanced. There are only a few simple divisions and they are very unique. Most are multis or C8s or C10s. Because I collect these books and am very interested in advanced designs, the book was well worth the hefty price. Purchase price in Japan is 5, 000 yen. With shipping and handling fee, you can expect a copy to come to around $100. That is, IF there are more copies to be found. If you would like to have a copy, I suggest you contact Ai through her shop website and ask her to put you on the list. When she gets more copies, you will be one of the first.

Here are a couple more photographs:

Unique weaving patterns.

Many temari in the book are multis like this -
a collection showing variations on a technique.

Everything under one shop roof

2011-11-20T13:10:00.004-05:00

No more foolin' around between website and shop for me! All temari goodies are in one place. There are sections so you can easily sort between supplies and books and other treasures. Thanks for looking and I hope you can put in your request for seasonal presents early!

Add a signature to your stitched temari

2011-11-18T09:37:00.005-05:00

As I am sorting through my photos of our trip to Japan, I keep finding ones to share. Here is a cool way to sign your temari - stamp your name on a bit of fabric and pin it to the ball with small, flathead pins.

This one is in Takahara Sensei's collection. I love the painted ball and stitching with silk ribbon!

Color-Blasted by Chihuly Glass

2011-11-17T11:04:00.005-05:00

October 16 flying into Seattle - a serene look at snow covered mountains

Then POW! Kathy and Calvin took Glenna and I to downtown Tacoma. The glass museum was closed but there was plenty to see. BLAST of color from Dale Chihuly!

There are more of my photos of the day on picassa....

In the gift shop at the glass museum, we came across a way to display glass balls. Gee, wonder what we thought would look good instead of those?

It's plexiglass with circular cutouts.

So before we even left for our trip to Japan, I was gathering ideas for future projects. Have a look at Google images for Chihuly. Then go over to Kuler or another color-picker on the web and select a bright palette for temari stitching. That's one of the projects at the top of my list.

Help! I'm drowning in stash.

2011-11-15T11:53:00.006-05:00

Stash busting sale begins

I just can't take the mess anymore. You know how it is when you can't find that one little thing? I was looking for a two inch styrofoam ball to use as a bell box for a much larger temari. I KNOW there is a bag of them somewhere in this room. But where? So I decided to destash right away.

Link to the shop on my website

Link to my etsy.com site (more thread there)

I've been adding temari

Orange Swirl Temari by Barbara B. Suess

and I'm working my way through threads and treasures and will keep adding photos through the rest of this week.

As they say, one woman's stash is another woman's treasure. Help!

"Shindigo" with Hiroyuki Shindo in Miyama, Japan

2011-11-11T08:16:00.002-05:00

Our small tour group boarded a bus that carried us from Kyoto to the mountain village of Miyama. The ride through the mountains was filled with hairpin turns, cedar forests (perfectly groomed to produce long, straight planks), and villages with gardens in full production. Here is a link to my album of photos from the day.

The village of Miyama, Japan

Before enjoying lunch with our Sensei, Hiroyuki Shindo at The Little Indigo Museum, we explored the village. The houses have thatched roofs that are built at an incredibly steep angle so the snow will slide off during winter.

Thatched roof with family crest.

Small "firehouses" are scattered through the village...

We had time before lunch to explore a temple

Barb (left) and Kathy (right) at the temple in Miyama

Shindo-san, a lively and gregarious person, gave us a fascinating tour of his collection of indigo-dyed pieces displayed in the attic area of his home/museum. The inner workings of the thatched roof cast a warm glow over the room.

Attic view of thatched roof

Then we moved downstairs to his studio area on ground level. Glenna, Kathy and I were amazed to see his collection of indigo-dyed balls. Glenna swears she will figure out this technique and make balls for stitching temari!

Artful display of "Shindigo"

Large thread-wrapped balls

Shindo-san explained his process of dyeing with "natural indigo, fermented with ash, lime, bran, and sake in vats sunk into the earth floor of what was once the farmhouse kitchen."

Hiroyuki Shindo, one of the world's leading indigo artists

Then we had our turn. Acting more like a teen than a 70 year old artist, Shindo-san scurried among us to help each person in our group create a stunning, cotton scarf.

Nancy of Kyoto Kimono and all the different indigo-dyed scarves

Wonderful day!

Quotation is from "Blue Sky Thinking, The Innovative Approach of Hiroyuki Shindo" published in Selvedge magazine in the UK in 2007.

Happy birthday to the Shining Needle Society!

2011-11-10T07:57:00.002-05:00

I recently got this happy email from Kate from the Shining Needle Society:

"Happy Birthday to Shining Needle Society!

Today we are four years old and we have almost 4000 members.

When Marie-Therese and I started Shining Needle Society in 2007, we certainly hoped that people would join and want to participate in the classes. I don't think we ever thought we grow so quickly and we keep growing. :-)

Thank you for your support and I hope you continue to enjoy SNS' class offerings. I will strive to keep bringing you "the best of the best!"

Happy birthday to us!

Kate Gaunt
Shining Needle Society"

Congratulations for the successful venture, Kate!

More from the Nishijin Textile Center in Kyoto

2011-11-08T13:19:00.002-05:00

Our first stop on a Sunday morning was to this colorful textile center in Kyoto. The second floor was filled with thousands of goodies to purchase and demonstrations in spinning, weaving, painting on fabric, embroidery and other textile arts. Of course, the temari grabbed my eye right away!

Temari at the Nishijin Center

This was where I discovered Japanese "happy, happy." That's what I saw in so many places - little items that just made me smile....

This Grandma and Grandpa are favorite characters

Even the kitties smile

Happy, happy weaver

I'm smiling looking at these pictures now. I hope you are too!

I uploaded all my pictures from the textile center into an album online. Enjoy! And be sure to notice the purses, woven wallets, and kimono fashion show.

Temari on display, Japan Center in Raleigh, NC

2011-11-05T12:18:00.004-04:00

What a delight is was for me to work with Dana and Keiko Raymond to put together a display for the upstairs classroom at The Japan Center! I learned so much about display and creating a cohesive show. Dana challenged me to combine nine to twelve temari in hanging displays to cover four different spots on the wall. I sorted the temari into four groups and constructed a bamboo hanger by bundling five thin pieces together. Dana and Keiko help me arrange the temari for each wall and I attached them to the bamboo rods with perle cotton.

Basic Shapes (from below)

Geometry

Hana Temari

Chidori Study (from below)

Two hangers are positioned between windows.

Box of temari near the front door

We're back from Japan!

2011-11-04T16:06:00.019-04:00

Safe and sound. Full of inspiration and admiration. Glenna, Kathy and I joined Kyoto Kimono's textile tour of Japan for two weeks of fun and learning. I've got lots to share beginning with this massive loom at the Nishijin Textile Center in Kyoto. No one was working at the loom when I filmed this video but I couldn't resist recording it's size and complexity. The fabric is very intricate!

Loom at the Nishijin Textile Center video on YouTube

I love the text on the main page for the Textile Center -

"At Nishijin, each of the seasons is represented.
'Spring sings of the scent of flowers.
Summer speaks of days gone by.
Autumn indulges herself in simplicity and serenity.
Winter applies a delicate dusting of snow to the patchwork of roof tiles.
No one is inferior to any other in this world, lavish with beauty.
Savor contentment with the elegance of Nishijin, conceived in the midst of history and tradition.' "

I hope that in these autumn days, I can indulge in simplicity and serenity. I will not let the advertising world here in the US send me into a frenzy because of "the holiday season." Gosh, the commercials here are almost unbearable! Culture shock.

Temari Glossary and Stitch Directory

2011-10-10T08:00:00.004-04:00

It's Monday morning and I realize that, once again, I'm swamped! In a good way, for sure. As my time quickly winds down for our trip to Japan, I am also trying to finish several big temari projects. When a big project is completed, it's champagne time around here and I've chilled a bottle for Saturday night. My part will be done then. I think there are always little gremlins waiting around to stir up trouble so I can't say the release date for this big project is absolutely set. It's just an estimate and I'll let you know as soon as I can.

Anyway - no new posts here on the blog for a while. Glenna, Kathy, and I meet at Kathy's in Tacoma on Sunday. We leave for Japan on Tuesday and meet up with the tour group from Kyoto Kimono. When I return from Japan in the first week of November, I'll be sharing LOTS of photos. But until then, I encourage you to make use of the

Temari Glossary and Stitch Directory

on my website. I spent a lot of time making this tool that is easy for temari stitchers to use. There are photos where you can click and get to a pattern or a closeup view of the temari. With more complicated terms or concepts, I've dedicated an entire webpage to the topic and you can get to that page through the glossary. As I've worked through the JTA certification process, I learned a tremendous amount about the nitty, gritty details of terminology and technique. If I can help you in any way, please let me know!

Temari Treasure

2011-10-04T08:29:00.006-04:00

Temari Treasure
by Barbara B. Suess

An early morning visit to the antique market one fall yielded treasures galore – bits of antique chandeliers, beads, and metal medallions snipped from found objects. We sorted through bins to find the perfect treasures to repurpose in the creation of unique temari art.

This four inch diameter temari has a core of rice hulls and a rattling bell box filled with beads and positioned deep in the center. Thin black metallic thread makes an almost invisible marking (a simple 12-division). Kiku herringbone designs stitched with satiny-looking rayon thread surrounds the antique metal medallions positioned at each pole, north and south. Coppery ribbon and sparkling green netted thread zigzag around the temari's equator and create frames for bamboo-colored embroidered flowers.

Harvest Moon Japanese Temari

2011-10-03T08:47:00.003-04:00

Harvest Moon
Japanese Temari by Barbara B. Suess

Yesterday, cherry blossoms

Tomorrow, red maple leaves –

Today's moon. (Buson)

In Japan, a full moon symbolizes autumn, just as cherry blossoms signify spring, and snow is the sign of winter.

Moon viewing parties introduced from China celebrate the full moon of mid-autumn. Offerings of thanks for a good harvest are set upon a small table facing east. A display of autumn grasses sets off a pyramid of balls made especially for the season from rice flour, or a careful arrangement of melons or other harvest fruits. This is a time to gaze at the moon, sip green tea, and reflect upon the wonders of nature.

Harvest Moon is a large 42 centimeter diameter temari wrapped with soft yarn and dark red thread around a five inch diameter Styrofoam core. It was marked with fine gold metallic thread into 272 centers. Bamboo-colored perle cotton was wrapped over the marking lines. Triwings were stitched in blue, green, and red perle cotton. Small hexagons were then stitched around each center.

To display this work, a black stand purchased at the museum shop of the Japan Temari Association in Tokyo is included. Also included are a history of temari and a description of this particular temari, signed by the artist.

Shipping is by priority mail to US locations and is included in the price. If you are located outside the US, I will send you an invoice for the extra postage needed to send Harvest Moon to you.

Visit the shop page for this temari

Unfolding Kiku

2011-10-02T12:58:00.003-04:00

Unfolding Kiku
Japanese Temari by Barbara B. Suess

It's time for me to raise some funds for my trip to Japan and time to destash! I have a lot of temari that I need to find homes for and the first is up for sale in my shop. I'll put it on etsy as well. Please have a look at Unfolding Kiku and consider adding this unique Japanese temari to your collection of fiber art.

Link to this item in my shop

Moonlight Temari

2011-09-29T12:47:00.006-04:00

Moonlight
Japanese Temari by Barbara B. Suess

A fellow temari stitcher recently wanted feedback on her stitching and reminded me of how nice it is to be inspired by haiku, like in my first book, Japanese Temari, A Colorful Spin on an Ancient Craft. She shared one she did with the moon as her topic. Got me going! I love reading through my haiku books and picked out this one by Issa.

Snowflakes fall
In twos and threes
A splendid moonlight night.

I stitched a temari that's tone on tone. 32 faces filled with layered kiku herringbone designs. Stitched with Vineyard Silk and Rainbow Gallery metallics. This one will be for sale very soon.

And here's a variation in hot pink silk

Moonlight Temari Pink Variation
by Barbara B. Suess

Save the Date!

2011-09-23T15:56:00.002-04:00

Japanese Temari Class at The John C. Campbell Folk School

One year from now, I'll be in the mountains of North Carolina for a full week, indulging in temari stitching. I hope you can join me. The Folk School is like camp for grown-ups where you do just your favorite activity for a whole week. Fun!

September 23 - 29, 2012

Update on Thread Sale

2011-09-07T13:27:00.002-04:00

Wow! The thread is going fast.

I've sold out of Nordic Gold 300 yard spools in the gold color and all the Gold Rush thread.

There are still three colors of 300 yard spools of Treasure Braid Petite (1 gold, 1 copper and 2 silver).

I probably won't place another order until just before Christmas so please don't delay if you would like to get some nice metallics.

Japanese Temari Shop

Thread Sale

2011-09-03T08:52:00.002-04:00

Rainbow Set of Nordic Gold

Metallic thread is a staple in any temari maker's kit and I've restocked the Rainbow Gallery thread that is so popular. A while back I posted a photo of the drawers full of thread here in my studio. Almost all of the spools sold out quickly and the sets of cards of thread were getting really low.

Sets of cards are 20% off now. The spools are always a bargain. Have a look and treat yourself to some new colors. Early Christmas shopping?

Japanese Temari Shop

300 yard spools of Treasure Braid Petite

Fall Exhibition at the NC Japan Center

2011-09-01T13:45:00.005-04:00

Opening Reception: SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 10 from 4 - 6 PM

Greetings!

We are now enjoying comfortable days. The summer must be coming to an end. We hope you are doing well.

The Japan Center wants you to join us at our reception celebrating the fall exhibition, which is coming right after the Labor Day weekend. This time we are presenting two artists, Reiko Chosokabe who is originally from Tokyo, Japan, and Barbara Suess from Raleigh, NC. Reiko has been living here in NC since 1992. Her whimsical paintings are abstract creations in acrylic. Some of Reiko’s inspiration comes from the Japanese language school where she currently teaches. She also works at the NC Japan Center.

Barbara Suess’s works are temari, which are intricate, decorative balls. She is an expert at this traditional Japanese craft. Barbara is a certified teacher and also a published author of temari books. She lived in Japan for four years in the 1980’s and continues to carry and develop the ancient techniques.

We hope you can join us and meet these remarkable artists. We are also looking forward to enjoying an interlude by Onju-kai, which is a musical combo including koto, flute, and viola.

We hope you can set aside this date to join us:

Saturday, September 10 from 4-6pm at the NC Japan Center.

The NC Japan Center’s exhibition program has blossomed with success due to the continuing generosity of support by Eiko Goti and Yoko Yamagishi. Our sincerest gratitude to both.

Sponsors:

Southern Bridge Int’l, Inc.

US Remac, Inc.

Dana Raymond

Art Curator, NC Japan Center

Certification Classes for JTA 2011-2012 are open

2011-08-22T16:02:00.002-04:00

JTA brochure

If you love making temari, you're self-motivated, and you want to experience a journey of challenge where you'll discover new techniques as well as improved stitching and pattern writing, then Japan Temari Association certification is for you.

I've just opened the sign up for Level 1 and Level 2 classes. I hope you can join me!

"Temari is so easy!" at the EGA Rocky Mountain Region 2011 Seminar

2011-08-09T09:15:00.004-04:00

Beginner class in Japanese Temari

I've just returned from a long weekend in Denver, Colorado, where I taught a beginner temari class to a lovely group of gals who are members of the Embroiderers' Guild of America in the Rocky Mountain Region. The seminar was hosted by The Foothills Chapter at the Doubletree in Denver. The creative and joyous spirit of the seminar participants lingers with me even as I quickly try to prepare for another trip in just a few days. There were smiles everywhere, all the time, except perhaps when students were concentrating very hard to learn the new techniques. When the moment of understanding and accomplishment came, that smile reappeared. Yes, temari is so easy!

Daffodil palette in the color wheel

2011-07-30T08:59:00.011-04:00

Yesterday, I shared one of my favorite color palettes for choosing threads for temari - a palette based on colors from a photo of daffodil blooms against a blue sky.

It seems too easy! Just to satisfy my need to look at how these colors are arranged on the color wheel, I returned to Kuler to play around with their interactive wheel. To get there, click on "Create" and then on "From a Color." Wow! What fun it is to slide around the wheel creating an infinite number of color combinations!

Here is the photo of the temari I stitched with the daffodil palette and Kuler's selection of colors. I did a little tweaking by moving the circles in the photo until I got the colors from my daffodil photo.

Daffodil palette - green, blue and yellow/orange

Two of the main colors in the palette, yellow/orange and deep blue, are directly opposite each other on the wheel so they are complimentary. I clicked "Complimentary" to reach this screen:

Complimentary colors are opposite on the wheel

Then click on "Analogous," set the main color as green, and slide the dots so there are two shades of blue and two shades of yellow/orange.

Analogous colors are side-by-side on the wheel

It's nice to know why I like this group of colors so much. It's based on color wheel theory.

Have to share this - a little music that makes me smile! I hope you like it, too.

Bright and cheery daffodil palette for temari

2011-07-29T10:00:00.005-04:00

Daffodil palette for temari

How do you select thread colors when planning your temari? Often, we just look through our stash and grab a few threads that inspire us.
In a previous post, I mentioned how I like to use a photograph to select a palette of colors for thread. Here's another palette that I designed from a photograph of daffodil blooms and their spring green leaves against a bright blue sky. After using the Kuler web tool to help me select the basic yellow, green, and blue colors, I printed the result and visited my local needlework shop to match thread colors. Alas, the shop no longer exists so now I have to use my thread charts at home.

DMC colors:

1. 907 light parrot green

2. 905 dark parrot green

3. 727 very light topaz

4. 726 light topaz

5. 972 deep canary

6. blanc white

7. 800 pale delft blue

8. 334 medium baby blue

9. 322 dark baby blue

10. 823 dark royal blue

I always like including a very dark color and very light color to use for contrast. Most thread companies offer a nice range of shades in each of the colors and I like to pick up a few of these so I'll have several options when I get home and begin stitching.

A pile of temari stitched using the daffodil palette

Are you inspired? Send me your photo and I'll post it.

Temari in Indonesia

2011-07-28T19:07:00.004-04:00

Thanks to Rebecca's blog at Temari Addict Australia, we know we have more kindred sisters in the South Seas!
http://temari-addict-australia.blogspot.com/2011/07/temari-making-in-indonesia-makes-news.html

Certification Classes for the Japan Temari Association

2011-07-12T07:26:00.003-04:00

Are you interesting in challenging yourself to improve your temari stitching and pattern writing ability? In late August, I'll be starting classes for preparation for the examinations to be held in June, 2012. Please read the information on my website and fill out the form to add your name to my mailing list. I'll be in touch in August when I've got the class materials ready and the prices set. In the meantime, happy stitching!

JTA certification information

JTA certification results are in. It's champagne time!

2011-07-04T08:33:00.002-04:00

Congratulations to Rebecca from Perth, Australia, and Glenna K. from California, USA, for passing their level certification with the Japan Temari Association in Tokyo.

Rebecca took my certification class for Level 2. She produced three temari with patterns with combination 8-division and three with combination 10-division. Her pattern writing is superb and her temari stitching is gorgeous!

Glenna is a friend who independently passed the TOP level - Level 4 - which means we can now call her Professor! Her temari are simply stunning. The level of artistry that she brings from other types of needlework to temari is so inspiring.

Congratulations to both Rebecca and Glenna and to all others who passed!

Brochure from the JTA

Picking temari thread colors from a photo

2011-07-03T13:27:00.002-04:00

Mother Nature and Kuler

Go to Kuler. Upload a favorite photo. Let the program pick the colors. Adjust if desired. Pull threads to match. Easy!

Cape San Blas, Florida - A little slice of heaven

2011-07-03T12:26:00.002-04:00

Tide out

Pathway to heaven?

Speckled trout

Temari stitcher's husband

Shallow water - lots of life

my happy face

Skate skating along

photo by Katherine

On a break.......

2011-06-15T17:19:00.000-04:00

On a break for summer fun!

I'll be back in plenty of time to share news of our fall trip to Kyoto and Tokyo. Glenna just got news that Takahara Sensei has agreed to meet us for a class and Ozaki Sensei teaches on the day we plan to visit the Japan Temari Association in Tokyo. Jackpot!!!

Flower Temari Challenge - Forsythia

2011-06-01T09:48:00.008-04:00

Forsythia stitched on a Japanese temari

Finally! Diagrams for forsythia! Time flies when you're having fun, right? Well, I've been having lots of fun for the past few months since I consider teaching temari fun :) Now, it's time to catch up with a lot of other projects that have been on hold.

Divide each short line
into six sections.

So here I am, back to diagramming flowers. Forsythia has lots of tiny yellow flowers and is absolutely one of my favorites!

Guidelines - thin metallic. I used Treasure Braid Petite High Gloss Copper (PH13) by Rainbow Gallery to add the guidelines. I love this thread! It is strong yet fine and looks just like metal on the ball. Hint, hint - there are some 300 yard spools left in my shop if you hear it calling your name!

Yellow flowers - variegated yellow/orange. I used Caron Watercolors 275 Daffodil (separated to one strand). Filled with light yellow Caron Watercolors 131 Banana.

Brown twigs - light brown. I used the browner parts of variegated Caron Watercolors 189 Gingersnap (separated to one strand).

To make all the little flowers, I decided to subdivide the pentagon. The first step is to measure a short line, divide by 6, and place 5 pins along each line to divide each one into 6 sections. Then pretend like this is a multicenters temari and add guidelines until all of the pins are connected and you have a grid of tiny triangles all over this C10 pentagon. If you were dividing the entire temari like this, it would have 482 centers.

Stitch to connect pins and
create multicenters.

The next step is to find the smallest shape in the center - it's a pentagon. Stitch a tiny herringbone around that center with the stitches placed on the long lines, inside the pentagon. Place stitches on the short lines just outside the pentagon. Then locate the five hexagons surrounding that tiny pentagon.

Stitch a tiny herringbone.

When stitching the hexagons, you will stitch inside the hexagon on each guideline. Place stitches outside the hexagon just over the flat side of the hexagon. There won't be a guideline there for you to use to place that stitch so just eyeball it and place it out over the side of the hexagon. Extend it past the side a couple of needlewidths so you'll have room to interlock it when you stitch in the hexagon next door. Interlock all shapes as you stitch by weaving under and over.

Using the same thread, fill in most of the hexagons with the exception of a few in each corner where you can place brown pine needle stitches to represent the twigs on the forsythia bush.

The last step is to stitch around each of the hexagon centers (one row) with light yellow to add a bit of fill for those flowers. I love the look of all these teenie flowers. Hope you do too!

Gratitude

2011-05-30T20:28:00.002-04:00

9,999 page views on this blog.

Thread drawers emptying here as I enable stitchers with their addiction to temari (I love doing that!).

Emails asking for patterns.

"Thanks for all you do for us" comments.

Tomorrow, I'll upload the last part of the pattern for the C10 "Blue Stars" online temari class. Then I'll be able to get back to finishing up the flower temari challenge that I've had to neglect.

I just wanted to take a minute to say THANKS! to you. So many folks from all over the world who keep me going with their interest in making temari.

I bet when I wake up in the morning, we'll pass the 10,000 page views mark!

Cool sites for playing

2011-05-26T09:18:00.005-04:00

WeaveSilk

When I have time on my hands (like, NOT now!), I go to Stumbleupon for inspiration. I'm looking for sites that are artistic, fun, and just plain feel good. Here are just a few of the coolest places on the web. I saved them for you, just for this day.....

WeaveSilk

Their Circular Life

Sistine Chapel

http://www.zefrank.com/snowflake/

Won Park Origami

Jackson Pollock

Create Your Own Snowflake

Street Art Utopia

Tai Textile Art

Kagedo Japanese Art

SRI Textiles

Chip Conley: Measuring what makes life worthwhile

Good news, bad news

2011-05-20T16:40:00.026-04:00

Drawers full of gorgeous metallics!

So, which would you like first?

The bad news is for those of us who live in Raleigh - TWO local needlework shops closed at the end of last year! I am really at a loss for making quick purchases when I'm feeling inspired and need to stitch with a particular thread right away :(

Yes, that is a big frown :(

The good news is for you. Since I'm spoiled and really want to have my choice of thread available to me when I get the urge to use it, I decided to place a wholesale order for my favorite Rainbow Gallery metallics. It has all arrived and I'm in heaven!

They are all listed in the shop on my website so I can share my stash with you.

Knowing that we temari makers need lots of metallic for marking and adding sparkle to our creations, I ordered some 300 yard spools of the ones we use the most. Save some bucks by ordering the spools.
Nordic Gold cards of 25 yards each in lots of colors:
Gold (ND2), Silver (ND3), Bronze (ND15), White (ND4), Red (ND6), Green (ND5), and of course Purple (ND10)

Nordic Gold spools of 300 yards each:
Gold (ND2) and Silver (ND3)

Treasure Braid Petite in cards of 25 yards each:
Gold (PB01, Silver (PB04), Red (PB07), Green (PB06) and High Gloss Copper (PH13).

Treasure Braid Petite spools of 300 yards each:
Gold (PB01), Silver (PB04, and High Gloss Copper (PH13).

A temari maker's dream - so many metallics!

More good news? Sure, why not? When I was organizing my stash, I realized that I still have some jewelry left from 2003-2004. It's already "Kristy-from-Australia" approved. She ordered a couple of pins and let me know how much she likes them. When I travel to teach for EGA guilds, the ladies snap up the pins, charms, and earrings so fast. And, since I ran across this stash of jewelry that I forgot about, I think I will include pins in the kits that I supply for my online classes. Well, I will include them if the jewelry stash holds out until the next class, that is.

The jewelry has it's own special page on my website

and is also listed a ways down on the shop page.

Four different designs for pins, charms, and earrings

I loved working with Kathy Hewitt, my good temari buddy, to design and order this series of four different temari jewelry designs. If you know Kathy, I'm sure you can see her touch in the lovely lines of each design and in the description that is so meaningful.

Maybe I should clean out more often! If you want to order an assortment of lots of thread and/or jewelry pieces, ask me for a discount. I'm sure to give it to you as I know you are a kindred sister (or brother) temari stitcher addicted to my favorite craft.

Easy interacting

2011-05-19T16:10:00.102-04:00

I'm teaching a temari class online for experienced, intermediate stitchers and something came to mind when I was writing this week's lesson. It's a basic technique for temari - what do you do when two motifs intersect? We are stitching on a combination 10-division temari in class but these four techniques can be worked on any division. In fact, it's one of the first things temari makers learn.

It turns out these different ways to combine stitched shapes are very unique, each making for a brand new temari design. This is kind of exploration makes temari so fascinating and so much fun!

1. Overlapped stitching
Completely stitch the first shape, then stitch a second one right on top.

Overlapped Squares

First stitch the green herringbone.
Then overlap the purple herringbone stitching.

2. Interlocked stitching (nejiri kagari ねじりかがり)

Create knotted-looking designs by weaving between stitches. Stitch all rows on one shape then begin a second. Weave the threads of the second shape under and over the sides of the first shape as you go. To weave, turn your needle around and slip the eye end under the threads of the first shape. Try not to catch any of the thread wrap. Continue to add rows to the second shape, weaving each row under and over the sides of the first shape like you did for the first row.

Interlocked Squares

Add all stitches to complete the first kiku herringbone
design. Then, when stitching the next one, weave
through the first to interlock.

3. Layered stitching (kousa kagari 交差かがり )

A layered design looks very intricate when completed yet it is easily accomplished by a slight change in the order of stitching. For the first step, begin by stitching one row on each of the shapes, overlapping new thread on top of previous stitches without weaving. For the second step, add another row to each shape. Continue with more rounds, adding a new row on each shape until they are the desired size. A secondary design is automatically created where the threads from the shapes cross.

Layered Squares

Something magical happenswhen you stitch layered
triangles like in this design from Fun with Temari.

4. Woven

Used to create a specific design - Do more than just interlock - weave over and under individual threads to create more intricate designs.

Woven to make a specific design

Checkerboard woven bands.

Play around with these techniques to combine stitched elements on the ball and you'll end up with a bowlful of different designs.

"They delight the eye and satisfy the soul."

2011-05-18T08:32:00.004-04:00

The Art Museum of Greater Lafayette sent me brochures for the upcoming exhibition that include three of my temari.

Here's a quote from the brochure:
"This is a fabulous collection of work that celebrates the imagination by showcasing splendid crafts from invited, nationally renowned artisans. The works are creative and innovative in form and materials, including glass, metal, fiber, wood and clay. These objects were chosen because they delight the eye and satisfy the soul. We sought uncommon beauty and good design in common objects. All of the works will be for sale."

In the East and McDonald Galleries, through September 8. 2011.

"They delight the eye and satisfy the soul" ..... exactly how I feel about temari.

She moved so fast, she almost disappeared

2011-05-17T09:20:00.006-04:00

If you have children in school or you are in school yourself, you know that the month of May is always packed with end of year events and activities. This year, our younger daughter is graduating from high school so it seems there is even more going on than usual. All fun, memorable, impressive even. Last night was the awards ceremony for seniors where she gathered a metal and several pins of accomplishment to wear on her graduation gown. She flew across the stage so fast, she almost disappeared!

Afterwards, the cafeteria was the place to gather for snacks and drinks and hugs and congratulations. She's on the right. Big smiles from everyone!

Embroidered thimbles - Yubinuki

2011-05-06T08:11:00.005-04:00

Yubinuki ring being used as a stand for a temari

Here's a quick post today to shoot you over to Needleprint blog to see a beautiful presentation of yubinuki or embroidered Japanese thimble rings.

A description of the case is in the next post.

I've made a few of these and really loved making larger bracelets or napkin ring sized rings that can also be used as stands for temari.

This site from Kanazawa has a bit more information.

Beginner Classes Online

2011-05-05T15:56:00.002-04:00

Boxes of thread and stitching supplies arrived at my door! Feels like Christmas but it's just another class opening. Tomorrow, I will open Echo Star Temari as a permanent class online.

Echo Star Online Temari Class

Check out all classes at my website.

My head is still in the mountains

2011-05-04T13:13:00.024-04:00

"The Folk School’s motto, 'I sing behind the plow,' reflects our desire to find happiness, expression, and art in our daily lives."

I spent this last weekend teaching temari at the John C. Campbell Folk School in Brasstown, North Carolina. From where I live in Raleigh, it's best to drive up to Asheville and then head southwest through the Blue Ridge mountains to the folk school campus. "Blue" is so right! These old mountains are thickly covered with trees that look all shades of blue from a distance. It's a beautiful place. Beautiful setting. Beautiful spirit.

Folk School with mountains in the distance

We started our mornings in the large, wood-floored meeting room, listening to some locals entertain us (well, wake us up) with English folk songs one day and Appalachian music on the second day. Meals are served family-style in another large hall. I tell you, this place is just like camp for grown-ups. You pick one activity that you love and work on that in a small group setting. Try blacksmithing, jewelry, knitting, quilting, painting, bee keeping, growing mushrooms, or wood carving among others. There aren't more than twelve students in a class and if the class gets to eight students, then an assistant is hired to help. Lots of personal attention.

Museum

Fiber Arts and Quilting Studios

Our temari class had just four students making a nice, cozy group. They all did really well and accomplished everything that I had hoped for the weekend (and more!). I was delighted to discover one of the gals had been stitching temari for 30 years and is herself a teacher! Definitely a kindred sister. Here's a photo (that's me in the middle). This picture shows only a small part of the studio. The rest is filled with looms for weaving classes.

Temari at John C. Campbell Folk School

Since it was May Day weekend, we were treated to several dances including a May pole dance.

May Day dancers at the John C. Campbell folk school 2011

More dancers

When I got home and opened my email on Monday, I found an invitation to return to teach there for a full week next year. I felt like kicking up my heels just like this clogger!

Clogger kicking up her heels!

Here are links to videos of the dancing that I made with a small Flip camera
May Dance 1
May Dance 2

.....

Kindred (adjective): having the same belief, attitude, or feeling.

Sister (noun): a female friend regarded as a sister.

.....

Quilt for Japan - finished and sent!

2011-04-26T16:15:00.006-04:00

It's been a long time since I made a quilt and finished it so quickly. After the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, Luana of Equilter.com asked for donations of finished quilts to be sent to Mission of Love. They are putting together a container full of all sorts of things to be given to the disaster victims. I made a blue jean quilt with raggedy seams on the outside. It was so much fun to make and easy!

Blue jean quilt with some temari touches

Of course, I couldn't resist adding a few touches of temari...

From my stash: a temari that was embroidered by machine

The note got slipped into the pocket
and the temari hooked over the button closure.

I used assorted squares of orange and yellow fabric for the "flat" side of the quilt. Here's a brief list of the process to make a quilt that is 10 squares by 14 squares:

1. Cut 140 squares denim from old blue jeans. Each square should be 6" on a side.
2. Cut 140 squares of assorted cotton and/or flannel fabric also 6" on a side.
3. Pair up a square of denim with a square of cotton, wrong sides together. Treat this as one piece of fabric. Make another 9 sets for the first row. It's 10 squares across.
4. Sew the sets together with about 3/4" seams. They can be a little bigger but not smaller. You'll be clipping them later. Make sure all the seams are on the same side. Make sure all the denim is on the same side.
5. Stitch together 13 more rows.
6. Stitch all the rows together. Stitch around the outside of the quilt to stabilize the edges. Add pockets or other decoration. Some people will decorate each square set with applique as they are paired.
7. Clip all seams, spacing the clips about 1" apart. You can buy a special tool for this at fabric stores. I highly recommend it!
8. Wash and dry the quilt at least six times. After each wash, take the quilt outside and shake off all the little threads. Tumble dry and clean out the filter several times during each cycle.
9. Give it away!

Hooray for Fiber Art!

2011-04-25T10:20:00.004-04:00

Packing up three of my temari babies for the gallery in Indiana

A few weeks ago, I got a a surprise email from The Art Museum of Greater Lafayette to participate in the Making It In Crafts National Invitational exhibition beginning May 20 and running until September. Exhibiting temari as fiber art has been on my to-do list for a long time and I'm thrilled that the guys from the museum in Indiana discovered my website and sent me an invitation! I only wish it were closer to North Carolina so I could go and see all the other fiber art on display.

It seems that fiber art is headed towards acceptance into the art world of paintings, prints, photos, and sculpture. My daughter just got back from a trip to Chicago and came across a display of fiber art at The Art Institute of Chicago.

"Overview: The inaugural exhibition of the soon-to-be reopened Elizabeth F. Cheney and Agnes Allerton Textile Galleries, Contemporary Fiber Art: A Selection from the Permanent Collection explores how fiber art has developed as an art form from the middle of the 20th century through today. During the 1950s, as a battle was waged against the hieratical distinctions between art mediums and “high” and “low” art, more and more artists began to incorporate fibrous materials and textile techniques in their works. The flexibility and variability of the medium encouraged artists to explore the potential of different fibers and methods, and, by the 1960s, fiber art had entered the international stage. Contemporary Fiber Art charts this exciting trajectory with 61 works by 52 artists including Magdalena Abakanowicz, Peter Collingwood, Lissy Funk, and Jolanta Owidzka as well as artists with strong Chicago ties such as Lenore Tawney and Claire Zeisler, who both studied under Alexander Archipenko at the Illinois Institute of Technology. "

Hooray for fiber art!

Here are my entries for The Art Museum of Greater Lafayette Making it in Crafts National Invitational. Opening Reception May 20, 6-8 p.m. "This exhibition will feature the art of invited craft artists (clay, glass, metal, wood-working and fiber) who make a living creating and selling fine art crafts. Many of the most renowned craft artists from our area will be joined by top crafts-makers from throughout the country. This will be one of the most exciting varieties of crafts ever seen in Greater Lafayette."

Unfolding Kiku Temari
by
Barbara B. Suess
$260

Harvest Moon Temari
by
Barbara B. Suess
$375


Star Swirls Temari by Barbara B. Suess $325

If you make it to the exhibition, be sure to say hi to my temari babies for me!

How to stitch on a thread-wrapped temari

2011-04-23T10:20:00.010-04:00

It seems like forever ago that I wrote a bit here about how to make a temari ball.

Wrap your temari with blue thread.
Stitch happy, sloppy daisies with pearl cotton.

Spring has arrived here in North Carolina and I thought I'd share how to stitch happy little flowers on a temari. No adding guidelines or anything. Just use your embroidery skills, some pearl cotton, and bring these bright colors into your crafting. The daisies are made by stitching detached chain stitches or lazy daisy stitches grouped together in a little circle. Then you fill the center with yellow French knots. You'll need to use a sewing method rather than a stabbing method since you don't have access to the wrong side of the work like in regular embroidery on fabric. A couple of tips for you ...

First, how to start stitching on a temari. There is no back side like with a flat piece of fabric, so what do you do with the knot?

Thread your needle, leaving a small knot in one end.
Cut the tail short. Enter the ball a couple of inches
away from your starting point.

Come up at your starting point.

Gently pull the thread through the ball
until the knot pops down under the
thread wrap. It's gone!

At this point, I'd recommend going over to Mary Corbet's site for her wonderful video tutorials or pulling out an embroidery book from your shelf. Stitch, stitch, stitch until the ball is covered with flowers. How to end off? Pretty simple....


Finish the stitch (a triangle is shown here) and come up a couple of inches away.


Clip off the extra thread right at the surface of the ball.

Sometimes a bit of pearl cotton will show through the thread wrap when starting or stopping. You can gently push it down "underground" with a blunt-tipped object, like the eye end of your needle, and slide the thread wrap around a bit to cover the pearl cotton.

French knots can be a bit more challenging when done on a temari. You'll need to wrap 3 or 4 times to get a decent sized knot that doesn't get sucked down into the thread wrap. Stitch over a couple of threads to keep the knot on top. When exiting, try to position your thread at a spot where you want to stitch the next knot. If you can't, then just stitch away out into an open area, then stitch back to where you'd like to place the next knot.

It's all about hiding those starts and stops!

New temari goodies!

2011-04-20T13:34:00.005-04:00

Gosh, I am so busy with family life, trips, and getting ready for class that I haven't had any stitching time at all. So sad! But it's like Christmas around here with all the boxes of temari goodies arriving for the Blue Stars Online class.

Just for this class, I ordered a retractable tape measure with a temari design.

Tape measure with temari design

I have a few extras that you can find in my shop. You'll also find some of my favorite threads by Rainbow Gallery.

There are 2 kits left (of 72) for the Blue Stars class. Going, going........

Get one before they are gone. I'd love to stitch a combination 10-division temari with you.

Blue Stars Online Temari Class

Extra patterns

Blue Stars Online Temari Class - only 5 kits left

2011-04-12T07:45:00.002-04:00

Registration closed Sunday with 67 students - what a wonderful group of stitchers from all over the world. Since thread comes in boxes of 12 skeins, I've ordered enough supplies for 72 kits. So, there is room for 5 more students. If you would like to join, please send me an email. This is your chance to conquer that C10 division!
Class description for Blue Stars

Weddings and a Prom

2011-04-10T18:35:00.001-04:00

Not much temari for me right now. We are celebrating a couple of weddings in our family so I'll be traveling. This weekend my daughter attended her senior prom. There is so much to do with her during these last couple of months in high school. Exciting but busy, busy, busy! Here she is - all dressed and ready to join her friends...

Part 2 - April Temari Challenge - 20 Faces to Fill

2011-04-05T11:16:00.043-04:00

Quick post today. This is a follow up on the challenge 20 faces marking sampler going on in TemariChallenge Yahoo group.

Here are a couple of photographs of the temari I stitched with this marking:

Variety of herringbone designs stitch on 20-faces temari

Diamonds at the equator are filled with pine needle stitching

Color! This combination of natural, muted colors has always been in the back of my mind. Susan Briscoe inspired me to choose the perle cotton colors in her book Japanese Taupe Quilts.

Many thanks to Susan for the inspiration. Except now, I've got to go stitch some of her quilts!
Visit her site for more inspiring books and patterns.

Barb

April TemariChallenge - 20 Faces to Fill

2011-04-01T10:30:00.004-04:00

Marking a combination division temari is often daunting to beginners. But after stitching a simple division temari, with one design on the north pole and one design on the south pole, the next challenge is to mark a temari that has more than two faces. There is an easy way to skip ahead to marking multiple faces on the ball without going the route to the combination divisions.

20 Faces Special Marking Temari

There are many ways to add support lines to further divide the ball. I'm leading the April challenge in our TemariChallenge Yahoo group to share how to turn a simple 12-division into a temari with 20 faces.

I hope you can join us!

March Temari Challenge

2011-03-30T13:31:00.008-04:00

I've talked about TemariChallenge Yahoo group often. Have you joined yet? I sure hope so. Joan led us through a pattern that she figured out from one of the temari books published in Japan. I just finished putting the final touches on mine....

March Challenge Temari

I especially like the way Joan talked us through variations on the pattern and in the end, she wowed us with her photos of the design stitched on other divisions. Nice teaching job, Joan!

Now, if I only had time to stitch all those variations...

Yes, in answer to your questions, I WILL get back to the flower temari challenge and add more flowers to my C10. Right now, I'm busy, busy, busy with finishing the quilt for Japan and taking registrations for the next online class. Thanks for writing!

Remembering Jerry Kreinik

2011-03-25T10:25:00.003-04:00

Sad news from Kreinik thread company. Jerry Kreinik passed away March 23. You can read the obituary by clicking on this link. A good soul has passed.

Stash of Kreinik thread for temari

You can see I'm a fan! The company has always been very generous to me as a designer and author. I'm sure that's part of Jerry's doing.

Blue Stars Online Temari Class - learn a combination 10-division

2011-03-24T08:36:00.003-04:00

Blue Stars Online Temari Class

Registration opens today for Blue Stars online temari class. Please visit this page on my website for all the details.

Extra patterns that come with the class

I hope you can stitch with me online!

Spring Sakura Showers

2011-03-21T11:46:00.005-04:00

On this first full day of spring I was caught in the middle of a shower while on my morning walk. Not a drop of rain. Thousands of cherry blossom petals swirled around me like a blizzard! Every year this happens and every year I think back to the days in Yokohama when I took our young daughter to the park to get her shower of petals. I want to run and twirl and reach up to the sky like she did!

"I'm going to take off running.
Can you catch me?"

Down the hill,
through the cherry blossom petals,
her skirt billowing.

We love spring!

Jane over at World Embroideries posted a lovely cherry blossom temari. She made a combination 10-division temari, stitched large, layered 5-point stars until their points almost reached the pentagon centers.

Then she stitched pentagons in dark pink to isolate the flowers. The process is detailed on pages 30 and 31 of Cosmo 2. Beautiful, classic design!

Easter, 1989

Happy spring, everyone.

It's winter in northern Japan

2011-03-17T10:30:00.006-04:00

Japanese temari from my book

Did you see the snow falling on the rescuers digging through the earthquake and tsunami rubble in northern Japan? It's cold there now. Yesterday I got an email from Luana Rubin at equilter.com about sending quilts to Japan. She is partnering with Mission of Love to ship supplies to the victims of this horrible disaster. I think this is a wonderful way to reach out personally to help. Luana is working on the logistics and I'll be posting about it as soon as she lets us know. I have an idea for a quilt to give.

I've pulled out a box of old denim jeans from our attic. I was saving them to make quilts and this is the perfect opportunity to use that fabric. It's so simple. Cut squares of denim, place wrong sides together with a print fabric, and sew them together with a 1 inch wide seam. The seams remain on the outside of this quilt. You clip the seams, wash and dry the quilt, and the seams get all fluffy when they fray. I bet some kids in Japan would love quilts like this. Denim - made in America - I'll attach a small temari and hope they'll know how much I care.

Denim squares backed with orange print fabric.
No, the cat's not real!

Be back soon with more details on the quilts.

David's recent comments bring us all back down to earth.

This is a good site to get accurate info on the nuclear situation

And here is another nice post to give perspective

I love this marking!

2011-03-16T09:29:00.011-04:00

Back to the Flower Temari Challenge for a bit....

Someone in our TemariChallenge Yahoo group asked about marking the 10-part pentagon on a combination 10-division so you end up with a small pentagon in the center surrounded by small pentagons.

Thanks to NanaAkua who photographed her grandmother's temari and put them in a Flickr album, we can see an example of this. Of course, we are enjoying the beauty of all her temari but they are also a great source for study on how to make them. NanaAkua photographed one of her grandmother's temari that is marked like this.

It's a perfect marking to use when you want to stitch flowers with 5 or 10 petals that fit nicely into pentagons. In the usual multicenters marking, the center pentagon would be surrounded by hexagons. Making all pentagons instead gives this marking that pleasing symmetry that is so attractive in temari.

This is an unusual way to add support lines but, after playing around with the idea on the computer for a bit, I figured out a method that works fairly well.

Divide the pentagon short lines in half. Stitch a small pentagon on those points.

Divide a side of the pentagon by 8. Place pins along the pentagon side: 1/8 out from the center in each direction. (Note that the center of the side of the pentagon is actually the center of the 4-part diamond)

Place pins on all 5 sides of the original 10-part pentagon in the same way.

Stitch support lines from a pin to the corner of the small pentagon and then to the other pin on the same line. Do this for all sides.

Then add support lines within each of the new small pentagons to divide them into 10 parts.

I've stitched some quirky looking plums in the pentagons and will try to get a photo uploaded soon.

Good news that my husband's boss made it back from Japan yesterday. He was visiting the plant located between Yokohama and Tokyo. After the earthquake, the plant had to shut down because of loss of power and his hotel closed for the same reason. I've heard from friends and business suppliers that all are OK.

Earthquake Sadness

2011-03-13T21:53:00.004-04:00

Shock and disbelief.
Profound sadness fills my days.
Can you help?

Japanese Family Crests and Designing for Temari

2011-03-09T09:33:00.024-05:00

Want to add meaning to your temari designs? Need inspiration on arrangement of stitched motifs? The Elements of Japanese Design, A Handbook of Family Crests, Heraldry & Symbolism by John Dower has been one of my best sources. And we all know every artist needs her sources, right?

"The Elements of Japanese Design is a library of traditional Japanese design motifs in the form of more than 2,700 family crests (mon) compiled and drawn by a Kyoto publisher and bookseller early in the twentieth century, and selected and interpreted by John Dower, a leading American scholar of Japan.

First used for identification on the battlefield beginning in the twelfth century, mon developed into symbols of family pride and fortune and quintessential expressions of the Japanese design sensibility—especially in their economy of means, exquisite detailing, and boldness of composition. The motifs employed in these family crests are also a fascinating window into the symbolic system of traditional Japan, which drew from a rich palette of natural phenomena, plants, animals, abstract devices, and man-made objects." (from the publisher)

Although the book was first published in 1971, it will always be valuable as a historical reference for any artist, including temari stitchers, who wish to add meaning to their work and be inspired by the arrangement of motifs within the circular mon. I am almost overwhelmed by the numerous mon for each topic. For example, bamboo (take) is represented by almost sixty different mon!

"Versatile, graceful, and auspicious, from ancient times bamboo has played an extraordinarily large role in Japan. Originally brought from China to grace the gardens of the Japanese nobility, approximately 150 varieties are now estimated to exist in the country. The strength and flexibility of bamboo has taken it far from the nobility's gardens over the centuries: fences, lattices, ladders, and pipes; arrows and spears; flutes and writing brushes; baskets, brooms, hats, and sieves are merely a few of its daily guises.

The bamboo has admirable connotations....and its endurance throughout the seasons has caused it to be associated with such virtues as constancy, integrity, and honor."

A simple band of thread wrapped around the temari can represent bamboo. Do you know someone who has these virtues (constancy, integrity, and honor)? Why not make a temari for them and include bamboo in the design?

New Temari Class Begins on Tuesday

2011-03-07T18:53:00.011-05:00

Echo Star Temari Class

I’m excited to be introducing so many people to this ancient needle art. We are beginning the class with almost 80 students! We are from:

Alabama, Australia (New South Wales), California, Canada (Alberta), Canada (British Columbia), Canada (Ontario), Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Germany, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Saudi Arabia (Jeddah), South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, United Kingdom (Surrey), Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin. WOW!

My daughter and I enjoyed packing each kit with all the right ingredients for success. Everyone who signed up by the deadline date should have their kit by now and be enrolled in the Yahoo group created by Kate of The Shining Needle Society. Tomorrow morning, I'll post the first part of the pattern and open the discussion.

Did you miss the sign-up? It's not too late to join. I've ordered items to fill about six more kits and you can join anytime. The group will be open all summer so there is plenty of time to stitch these temari and have the chance to ask questions in the group. Please send me an email about signing up: barbsuess@nc.rr.com

Here is the group of temari that we will be stitching over the next three weeks:

Echo Star temari class opens tomorrow

Next week, I'll open the sign up for an intermediate class - Blue Stars

Class opens next week

Hinamatsuri in Japan (Doll Festival or Girls' Day) March 3

2011-03-03T08:27:00.012-05:00

Miniature Emperor and Empress

We moved to Yokohama in the late 80's when my husband got a transfer to help DuPont Japan set up a research facility. Wandering through department store displays of dolls for Hinamatsuri was heaven for my daughter and me. As soon as the New Year's decorations disappeared, the dolls came out, arranged on platforms with the Emperor and Empress at the top. Some were traditional-looking dolls. Others, like those in the photo above, were an artful representation of the royal court. The shiny black, lacquered, platform is about six inches across. Shells painted with metallic gold rest on now faded purple cushions. Tiny wooden carved dolls represent the members of the royal family.

Have a look at all these images from a Google search!

Here is more information on the happy day and some adorable dolls!

Royal court resting in a sea shell

One of my Japanese friends gave me this set of dolls in a sea shell as a thank you for teaching her English smocking. She said her mother, in her 80's and almost blind, made it. The dolls are tucked between rolls of brightly colored cotton cloth. You can see it's so tiny that it rests in my daughter's fingertips!

What does this have to do with temari? At one time temari were given as gifts to young girls on March 3. I don't remember seeing any among the dolls in the store displays but I may have missed them. We were really overwhelmed by the dolls.

Split Kiku (2 colors, 4 needles)

2011-03-02T09:26:00.016-05:00

In a diversion from the flower temari challenge, I'd like to share a new temari with the kiku (chrysanthemum) design stitched in 2 colors. I guess I needed a break from all those flowers!

If you need any help with temari terminology, please have a look at my website glossary and stitch directory.

Kiku design temari stitched with two colors.

This is a combination 8-division temari (C8), 35cm circumference, with the squares outlined with one row of Caron Watercolors 084 African Sunset. Yes, even though I'm not stitching flowers, I still have that box of Caron threads handy. I split the 8-part square into 16 parts by adding support guidelines with the same marking thread (a very thin copper).

The inside points for the kiku herringbone design begin 0.7cm from the center (I used a paper circle guide). The outside points begin 1cm from the square's metallic guideline. As I worked my way around the 8-petal kiku that makes up the first layer, I changed colors by starting the new colors with a new needle. Threads: Caron Watercolors 084 African Sunset and 089 Caribbean. This photo shows the last stitch of this layer made with Caribbean.

8-petal kiku

Next, I stitched the remaining 8 points, changing to the new color and new needle as I worked around the center. It's a bit tricky figuring out where to stitch with each of the four needles. I planned the design so the "red" thread is used for 5 points, then "green" for 3 points, "red" for 5 points, and finally "green" for 3 points. Here's a shot of the last stitch to complete the first row.

Second part of the 16-petal kiku

Add three more rows with the Caron thread then one row with metallic (Kreinik #16 braid 024 and 029). I'm not totally satisfied with the centers yet. One option that is shown in the first photo is to use the Kreinik braid to stitch spokes in between the inside kiku points.

View from my window...
spring is on the way in North Carolina!

And my doggie Zoe wants me to get off this computer and go for a walk. Bye for now...

Rosemary has "a penchant for puzzles"

2011-02-25T09:26:00.011-05:00

Isn't this temari lovely?! Rosemary, a member of our TemariChallenge Yahoo group, shared a photo of the temari that she completed for our flower challenge.

Rosemary stitched this C10 division with silk ribbon. She said, "I have just uploaded 2 photos to the flower sampler folder. One is a closeup of the roses. I chose roses for October because that is the month of the Rose Festival in East Texas--probably not a month for roses in other parts of the country, but here they are splendid then. The other photo shows the camellia for January (at the top), pansy for March, and Iris for April.

The 36 cm mari was wrapped in RAINBOWS SUPERIOR #849 (sand castle) thread and marked with eighth inch bamboo caning strips. All flowers are done in silk ribbon embroidery, but what I'm most proud of, is the marking with bamboo.

As I mentioned before, the challenge was both frustrating and exciting. I just loved doing it. I did a lot of sailing down the RIO ADIR! (that's my acronym for Rip It Out And Do It Right.) but overall I'm very pleased."

Rosemary's temari is truly a work of art. Attaching strips of real bamboo to the the ball as borders and stitching with silk ribbon are both very unique and creative accomplishments.

This Texas gal has been stitching temari for only a few years. Last year, she passed both Level 1 and Level 2 certification for the Japanese Temari Association. For Level 2, she demonstrated her ability to stitch temari and to write patterns using correct terminology by submitting patterns for six different temari. With this original design for the flower temari challenge, she is well on the way toward Level 3 which requires eight original patterns. Way to go, Rosemary!

The Mineola Monitor published an article about Rosemary's "penchant for puzzles."
If you live in east Texas, be sure to look for Rosemary's classes at the League of the Arts.

Rosemary photographed by the Mineola Monitor

Thanks for being a part of TemariChallenge, Rosemary. You are an inspiration to us all and I'm happy to have found you as a kindred sister.
.....

Kindred (adjective): having the same belief, attitude, or feeling.

Sister (noun): a female friend regarded as a sister.

.....

Poinsettia - Flower Temari Challenge

2011-02-22T08:01:00.004-05:00

Here's another face done for our temari challenge. This one started with the name red daisy but I switched it to poinsettia whenI discovered that I don't really need any more summer flowers for this temari. I do need one for December, though. We are stitching on a combination 10-division temari that has twelve faces (pentagons) to be filled with flowers. The goal is to select one for each month of the year.

First post on Flower Temari Challenge gives info on making and marking the ball.

This one is probably hard to figure out without seeing the diagram. Do you see the kite shapes? I've colored one red and one blue. Since this is a 10 division, there are 10 kite shapes layered around the center intersection. I added 1 row on each at a time until the spaces between them were filled. All threads are Caron Watercolors.

1. Stitch support lines: place a pin 2cm out from the center on each of the 10 division lines. Stitch at the pins making a 10-sided shape (dashed line in the diagram). You will use these support lines when stitching the sides of the kite shapes.

2. Mark the spots for the stitches taken for the top of each kite shape (the points closest to the center). Measure out from the center 1.5cm and place a pin on each of the ten division lines. Actually, I like to print out a circle guide for this step and just pin it to the center.

3. Mark the spots for the stitches taken for the bottom of each kite shape (those towards the outside of the shape). Place pins 1.5cm from the outer edge (the triwing stitching).

4. With #078 Pearl, stitch 1 row on each kite - layer the sides of the kites over each other as you work your way around the ball until all 10 kites have one row done.

5. Continue adding rows to each kite, one at a time to make a layered design. Add a total of 5 rows #084 African Sunset on each kite or until the edges touch.

6. With #209 Iris, stitch a herringbone around the outside edge of the kites. Then add spokes across the center, one for each division line. Stitch a spiderweb backstitch around the center.

I've got to get busy stitching more flowers - only a few more to go! Are you a member of TemariChallenge Yahoo group? If not, please join us. Other members are adding their flowers and the folder of flower photos is beginning to bulge!

I woke up today to news of the horrible earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand, and my heart is so sad - I could not watch without tears coming to my eyes. Our family spent two wonderful, amazing weeks traveling around this beautiful country. There's no place like it on earth. Let's keep them in our prayers and offer any support we can.

Hydrangea - Flower Temari Challenge

2011-02-17T09:09:00.007-05:00

Fluffy poofs of lavender, purple, blue, and pink hydrangeas are my daughter's favorite flowers and are at the top of my list for the Flower Temari Challenge.

Hydrangea

The first post on Flower Temari Challenge gives info on making and marking the ball.

Lovely shades of variegated Caron Watercolors thread makes this flower fun to transfer to a stylized design on a temari. Once again, I've irreverently disregarded the shape of the 10-part pentagon. Since I wanted to represent each petal with a small square, I stitched a grid with copper colored metallic thread, laying the lines 1cm apart and at right angles. Here's the diagram:

After stitching the grid lines, I placed groups of pins where I would stitch the squares to form each flower head. Threads used for the squares (all are Caron Watercolors): #232 African Violet and #267 Wisteria.

With #124 Sunglow, stitch French knots in between the squares and a few around the edge of each flower head.

Then add more grid lines, this time on the diagonals. You can stitch under the flowers. Secure each intersection of grid lines with a small cross stitch (#271 Wasabi). I guess you could add these diagonal lines and the cross stitches before stitching the flowers.

I love the way the French knots raise the stitched design so it looks and feels very textural. The grid in the background offers a contrast with its fine, almost elegant look. I just wish my camera could capture that feel.

Kaga Temari Experience (a kindred sister)

2011-02-14T10:08:00.001-05:00

Well, I didn't intend to write about other blogs or websites when I started this blog, but I just have to share another interesting webpage that just popped up on my Google alert for temari.

Kaga Temari Experience (click here)
The author visited Kaga Temari Master Takako Koide in the shop where she teaches in Japan.

Kaga Temari Master Takako Koide

There's a little bit about temari history and how they make them. I always love studying the pictures to see if I can puzzle out the pattern.
Another kindred sister!

.....

Kindred (adjective): having the same belief, attitude, or feeling.

Sister (noun): a female friend regarded as a sister.

.....

Inspired to Blog by Boggon (a kindred sister)

2011-02-12T06:39:00.006-05:00

Craft Month: Why Should Crafters and Artists Blog by Sharon Boggon
or

Sharon b is an inspiration to many of us who use the internet as a learning, teaching, and sharing tool. Every day (almost!) she writes about a project or event of interest to anyone who likes to make things by hand - including embroidery, crazy quilting, and even computer art. On a regular basis, I am inspired by her blog and her online directory of stitches as sources to improve my own work with Japanese temari. Now, she has helped me understand why I started a blog and how it can also help improve my work. Thanks to my kindred sister, Sharon!
.....

Kindred (adjective): having the same belief, attitude, or feeling.

Sister (noun): a female friend regarded as a sister.

.....

Be sure to follow her blog Pin Tangle

Follow Sharon at Pin Tangle

Lantana - Flower Temari Challenge

2011-02-11T09:48:00.007-05:00

Lantana

Lantana is one of my favorite plants for thriving in the hot summer here in North Carolina. When I saw Caron Watercolors #276 Tequila Sunrise, I knew right away it would suit these little flowers that vary in color from hot pink to red to orange and yellow. Use it for all the stitching in this pentagon.

The first post on Flower Temari Challenge gives info on making and marking the ball.

1. Add support lines in fine metallic green thread. Divide each pentagon short line into 3 sections. Stitch concentric pentagons and then add the remaining support lines like a 122 centers marking.

2. With Caron Watercolors #276 Tequila Sunrise, stitch individual flax designs in the center pentagon and in 5 hexagons surrounding it. Note that these hexagons line up point to point with the pentagon (not flat side to flat side). Begin by stitching a pine needle design in each shape.

Then stitch a herringbone for the border of each little flower, taking stitches at the inside points under the pine needle stitches. Place stitches for the outside points just outside the shape. Interlock the outside points with those of other shapes where they cross. For the center pentagon, extend the outside points on the pentagon long lines.

3. With the same thread, stitch a spiderweb backstitch around the center of each flax design (3 rows).

That completes the lantana flowers. I will probably add some leaves or other touches to this design later on - after I've completed all the pentagons. Then I'll be able to see any empty spots that need to be filled with more stitching.

Happy stitching!

It's a small world (how far is it from China to Raleigh?)

2011-02-10T09:16:00.008-05:00

New video from Komusume-Rita. Looks like she was on TV.

I "met" Rita on Facebook in a very roundabout way - an Around-the-World amazing way, through our computers. I have a Google alert set for "temari" so every now and again, I get an email with links to websites and blogs that include the word. Most of them are about the Japanese cartoon character Temari, not the thread-wrapped and embroidered handballs that I love so much. A few months ago, an alert came in to a blog written by an American (I think) living or travelling in China. She posted photos and wrote about Rita, who was showing her temari at a craft show. Not selling them; she was just there to display them. The blog author had a link to Rita's Facebook page so I raced over there to see her lovely creations. Of course, it was just a click or two away and I didn't have to go all the way to China. Too bad, really - I might be up for that!

Lo and behold - look what I found among her temari photos:

Kiku and Fans by Komusume-Rita

Rita travels to Japan where she studies temari. She had purchased the latest book from the Japan Temari Association that includes one of my patterns. I love her choice of colors and her display is simply elegant.

Kiku and Fans by Barbara Suess
JTA Level 3 Design

Here's the cover of the book

Color Coordinated Temari: Seasonal Events
(Irodori no Temari - Saijiki)
by Toshiko Ozaki

Rita has other videos on YouTube. Search her name KomusumeRita and you'll find some interesting clips of her macramé, beading, and other crafts - so cute!

Thanks for sharing your love of temari on the internet, Rita! Xie xie! I can't wait to see more from my kindred sister in China.

'Thank you' in Chinese is 谢谢 or xie xie in pinyin (pronounced 'sheh sheh').

.....

Kindred (adjective): having the same belief, attitude, or feeling.

Sister (noun): a female friend regarded as a sister.

.....

Sanuki Temari (a kindred sister a world away)

2011-02-07T09:21:00.004-05:00

Some members of Sanuki Kagari Temari Hozonkai
Eiko Araki is sitting on the right.

Eureka! I've stumbled upon a couple of new blog posts about temari from Japan. The blog author (David) visited Eiko Araki and her group of temari makers.

In the first post, David relates the history of Sanuki temari shared by Araki-san.

"How to make Sanuki temari" is the subject of his second post.

He filmed a video of the ladies working

Thanks, David!

Kyoto Bound (and Tokyo, too)

2011-02-05T10:49:00.004-05:00

Golden Pavilion in Kyoto (Kinkakuji)

It promises to be the trip of a lifetime! Kathy, Glenna, and I are traveling with Nancy of Kyoto Kimono and a small group of intrepid and enthusiastic women to Japan in October, 2011. I've kept in touch with Nancy for a few years now and have longed to go back to Japan on her annual tour and buying trip to Kyoto.

Click on this link to get the scoop on our trip.

In the late 1980's, my husband, baby girl, and I moved to Yokohama for four years. Needless to say, after so much time passing, I don't remember much of the "survival" Japanese that I learned to speak while we lived there. I do recall some of the most important expressions like where's the bathroom, where's the train station, and I'm so sorry. Most often the replies to my broken Japanese queries came in lovely, well-spoken English. I also remember how to hail a cab and show the driver a piece of paper with my destination written out. Works wonders for a lost traveler to make her way back home to the hotel.

Glenna and I will begin our trip by traveling to Seattle. We'll meet up with Kathy who lives nearby and all fly to Kyoto together. After 10 days in Kyoto, we'll take the bullet train to Tokyo where we will stay for a couple of days before flying back to Seattle together.

Plans for our day-to-day activities are coming together nicely. I'll post those another time. Now, I've got to hurry to yoga class so I can be flexible enough to sit on the floor!

TTFN!

Barb

Chrysanthemum - Flower Temari Challenge

2011-02-04T09:55:00.005-05:00

A traditional temari kiku (chrysanthemum) design fills this pentagon on the Flower Temari Challenge ball. The kiku herringbone stitch is used in a layered fashion with the stitches packed closely together to cover much of the thread-wrapped surface.

First post on Flower Temari Challenge gives info on making and marking the ball.

Begin by using a thin metallic thread to divide the pentagon into twenty sections. Place the stitches for the inside points very close to the center intersection. For the outside points, place stitches for the first row 1.5cm from the outside border (the triwing stitching).

Using Caron Watercolors # 057 Buttercup, stitch a layered kiku herringbone design, adding enough rows so you almost reach the triwing stitching. Leave enough room for two more rows. Stitch these with #206 Guacamole. (Don't you just love the names of the thread colors?!)

Fill the center with French knots using #057 Buttercup. Use one strand of thread in the needle and wrap three times for each knot.

Add a bit of sparkling green metallic between the kiku sections in the centers.

Finished!

Forget-me-nots - Flower Temari Challenge

2011-02-03T10:02:00.008-05:00

In my last post Weaving Designs for Fill, I wrote about a hexagonal weave (mutsume ami). That's the one I used to fill a pentagon and create a grid for stitching little forget-me-not flowers. I always type forget-me-KNOT and then have to go back and correct! I guess that comes from writing so many patterns :)

First post on Flower Temari Challenge gives info on making and marking the ball.

How to fit a hexagon-shaped woven pattern into a pentagon? Very carefully! Start by stitching a line with thin metallic thread like the blue line in this diagram - from the point of the pentagon to the middle of the opposite side. Add parallel lines that are equidistant. I spaced them 0.5cm apart. To align the remaining threads crossing through the pentagon, it really helps to use a paper template shaped like a hexagon (pink hexagon in the drawing below). Pin the paper hexagon to the ball and use the sides to align the first line in each direction.

All design threads are Caron Watercolors.

Stitch the flowers with #234 Celestial Blue. Bring thread up a 1 and make a long underground stitch from 2 to 3. Try not to disturb the grid lines by pulling them out of place with the underground stitch. Between stitches, always lay your thread above the needle (towards the outside of the design) so your stitches will all be the same and a neat circle is formed.

Continue stitching a hexagon shape by going down at 4, up at 5, etc.

With the same thread, stitch another row. This time make short underground stitches. Both rows will close in towards the center.

To fill in the center of the flower, use # 275 Daffodil. Use doubled thread and make a small straight stitch through the center. Leave it a little loose but neat.

Stitch more flowers over the grid leaving a few empty spaces which you can fill with pine needle stitches ( #271 Wasabi).

All done!

Weaving Designs for Fill

2011-01-31T09:32:00.010-05:00

The TemariChallenge group "Flower Challenge" is still challenging me! I'm working on the third of 12 pentagons to be filled with some of my favorite flowers. I've chosen the cute, little forget-me-not flower for the next one. For the background, I've stitched a hexagonal weave and will place the blue and yellow flowers on top. What's a hexagonal weave? The topic for today's post - that's what it is.

There are lots of different ways to fill shapes (like pentagons) on a marked temari. Recently, I did some research on the art of Japanese basketry and found a gorgeous book called Masters of Bamboo: Artistic Lineages in the Lloyd Cotsen Japanese Basket Collection by Melissa M Rinne, et al.

They have actually traced the art of basketry through generations of teachers and students from 19th century bamboo artists to today. The back of the book has descriptions and diagrams of techniques - eureka! I found names (in a Japanese context) for my favorite weaving designs that I like for temari fill.

Each of these designs includes the Japanese word "me". It means "eye" in Japanese. Do you see all the eyes in the designs below? A bit freaky right? Consider this: all those eyes are a good thing in Japanese lore. They are looking for evil spirits and will fend them away. So don't be freaked out :) The name of the design is determined by the shape of the eye.

Yotsume - the "eye" has four sides. Yotsu is a counter for the number four. We call this one a box weave or square weave. Threads cross from two directions. Very simple; you learned how to make it in kindergarten.

Mutsume - the "eye" has six sides. We call this one a hexagonal weave or triaxial weave. Threads cross from three directions so it's most often used for filling hexagons or triangles.

Yatsume - the "eye" has eight sides. Based on the Japanese name for this design, we can call this one an octagonal weave. You'll recognize it from chair caning and basket weaving as well.

I've added these names to the temari glossary on my website - an effort to help us all understand each other and make temari stitching easier. You can always find the link to the glossary at the top of every blog page.

Happy stitching - um, or rather - happy weaving!

Oh - and here are the forget-me-nots in progress.

Sunflower - Flower Temari Challenge

2011-01-29T08:05:00.011-05:00

Sunflower Temari

I can't count the number of sunflowers that I've stitched on temari - so many! This is the first one with a woven center. Usually, I fill the center by stitching a lot of French knots or by just stitching around the guidelines (around and around and around from the center outwards). This version is more stylized than the others with having so much open space for the petals. I did a lot of frogging (rip it, rip it) and restitching to experiment and am finally happy with the result. Since I might use this temari for my JTA Level 4 certification one day, I want to make each flower look new and different by combining some traditional temari stitches with some traditional Western surface embroidery stitches and other fiber techniques. So far, so good.

First post on Flower Temari Challenge gives info on making and marking the ball.

Unfortunately, I forgot to take pictures in progress! I have a really nice set up in my office/studio/sewing room. My desk is by a window so I can watch the birds and squirrels gorge themselves at the feeders outside. I have a computer on the desk and a light box with camera set up on a table just to my right. The table is actually and old interior door that sits on top of two filing cabinets. So I can sign on to Netflix, watch an instant download TV show or movie, stitch, snap photos, and make notes on my computer, all within easy reach. I'm in heaven! When I stitched this sunflower, I was so wrapped up in watching Doc Watson on Netflix that I totally forgot about stopping to take pictures. Sorry about that! I know they are a big help. So I've done some extra drawings to replace those photos. I lived in Cornwall, England, for a few years during my wild and impetuous youth so I love the scenery, the villages, and even the characters in Doc Watson. They remind me of some fun but challenging (dirt poor) times.

Back to the sunflower - here's the quick version of what I did. All thread is Caron Watercolors.

1. Woven center: pin a 1.75cm radius paper circle guide to the center of the 10-part pentagon. Outline the circle with inconspicuous thread (stem stitches). Remove paper circle. With #164 Cinnabar, stitch parallel rows of single thread straight across to fill the circle (like a satin stitch shown on Sharon B's site). Next, use the same thread to stitch and weave at right angles to the first stitching. Weave under 2 and over 2.

2. Layered pentagons: pin a 2.0cm radius paper circle guide to the center. Place pins at the edge of the paper circle next to all guidelines. Remove paper circle. Stitch 2 pentagons, layered, with #275 Daffodil (7 rows on each pentagon). Make sure the first pentagon rows cover the edges of the woven center.

3. Herringbone: first add extra guidelines. With copper metallic thread, stitch on top of the original 10-part pentagon guidelines, going under the woven area in the center.

First row herringbone: place guide pins for the outside points of the herringbone 1cm inwards from the end of each guideline (from the edge of the triwing stitching). The inside points of the herringbone begin in the woven center, near the edge. With #275 Daffodil, stitch one row herringbone on each set of guidelines to make a layered herringbone design.

Second row (same thread): stitch 1 row kiku herringbone, placing stitches at inside points under and around the previous row. Place stitches for the outside points very close to the triwings (leave room for one more stitch).

Third row (same thread): stitch around the outside of the flower, connecting the outside points.

That's it! A new sunflower.

Queen Anne's Lace - Flower Temari Challenge

2011-01-27T07:25:00.014-05:00


Queen Anne's Lace

In our TemariChallenge Yahoo group, we have a challenge going to stitch a flower sampler with 12 different flowers. Each person picks their favorite flowers and shares pictures and tips on making it. This is definitely advanced stitching so if you are new to temari, please don't be blown away! You can stitch the same flower on a ball that isn't marked or you could mark a simple division and stitch a flower on the north pole and another on the south pole. This idea with the challenge is to work at your own level, learn from everyone else, and enjoy stitching flowers. I realize that we don't all speak the same temari "language" so if you have trouble understanding me, have a look at the glossary on my website. I hope that will help.

Here's the first one I've done - Queen Anne's Lace. This has been one of my favorite flowers since I was a kid. It's also known as a wild carrot. Yes, you really can eat the root.


Step 1

Here's a quick overview of how I made this one. Wrap a 51cm circumference temari with MaxiLock Spruce thread. Mark in a combination 10-division with inconspicuous thread. All the stitching is done with Caron Watercolors separated so you use just one strand in the needle. With #206 Guacamole (yellowish green), stitch a solid hexagon in the center of each 6-part triangle (4 rows). Then stitch continuous triwings ( 2 rows #065 Emerald and 1 row #089 Caribbean). Now the ball has 12 pentagons ready for filling with flowers.

Step 2

Make paper templates for 3 flowers. One should be a full circle about 4cm diameter; one should be an oval about 3cm by 2 cm; one should be a half circle that is a 5cm full circle folded in half. Fold each into 8 sections and mark the section lines with a pencil. Arrange the paper shapes in a pentagon. Place pins at the outer edges of the circles at the pencil lines.


Step 3

Remove the paper templates and use metallic green thread to stitch guidelines. For each flower, stitch a herringbone with #206 Guacamole. Add lots of French knots (3 wraps for each) with #078 pearl. Use #206 Guacamole to make the flower stem (stem stitch, of course!).

I'm not sure which flower is next. I have lots of favorites. Maybe I'll go for a sunflower.