Outer Banks Color Palette

Silk Temari - Kyoto River

Silk Temari - Kyoto River 

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

A temari outing: our day trip to Uji, Japan

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.

Temari book from Japan - Dream in Temari 2010

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....

Everything under one shop roof

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!

Color-Blasted by Chihuly Glass

Help! I'm drowning in stash.

Stash busting sale begins

"Shindigo" with Hiroyuki Shindo in Miyama, Japan

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

Happy birthday to the Shining Needle Society!

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

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

Temari on display, Japan Center in Raleigh, NC

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)

We're back from Japan!

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.