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.
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 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.
