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| Out-of-print temari book from 1992 |
Since I contracted this crazy addition to making temari, I have collected books on the craft from Japan. At first I ordered a few from Japanese book stores. Then my husband stopped by the JTA shop in Tokyo and bought me a few when he traveled there for business. What a sweetie! Ebay has always been a good source but you really have to watch the prices and make sure you don't pay too much, especially with shipping added.
Sometimes, an out-of-print book sneaks on to eBay, one that I haven't seen before. I just got my hands on a copy of the New Life Series 7 book about temari titled Tanoshii Temari Nyumon (Temari Lessons for Beginners) ISBN 4-522-01307-8. It was written by Chiyoko Ozaki and published in 1992.
This copy is in perfect condition! I'm so lucky to find a mint condition book even though it's twenty years old. It's 125 pages and like most of the temari books from Japan, the color photos are grouped in the front of the book with instructions in black and white placed at the back. It's too bad this book is out of print. It would be a wonderful resource for beginners. The instructions are brief like so many of the Japanese books, but there is a lot to be learned from the photos and diagrams. It teaches simple divisions, as well as combination 8 and combination 10 (beginning with a simple 10). Most of the basic stitches and designs are represented - wrapped bands, spindles, and lot of variations of herringbone stitching for example.
The surprise? Just a little something I've not seen before. It made me smile. So simple - the ball on the left in the scan below uses a very different path for the kiku herringbone stitching. Can you see it? You can click on this scan to make it bigger.
The inside point and outside point are taken on the same guideline. Then you'd skip a guideline. The artist must have adjusted the guidelines before beginning so they are paired (another novel idea). This is a simple 16 division. How fascinating!
The middle temari in the scan uses the same technique but skips two guidelines. And the guidelines are evenly spaced at the top. This is a simple 15 division - very unusual.
The swirling effect in the ball on the right side is a slightly different path. After stitching at an inside point, go back one guideline to make the stitch for an outside point. Then skip over a guideline to make the stitch for an inside point. Once again, it's a simple 15 division.
There is always something new to learn with temari!
