Temari class in Virginia at Jinny Beyer Studio

Last weekend, I had a wonderful trip to the Jinny Beyer Studio. On Saturday, I taught a class to customers with the help of The Temari Twins, Karen Heppin and Jen Weber. Team teaching is definitely the way to go! We were able to teach 14 students at once and still give a lot of one-on-one attention. Sunday was a a repeat with Jinny and her staff joining us to learn how to make temari. They smiling faces? Yes, they were happy to be learning!

Temari class with Jinny Beyer and staff

Karen Heppin, Jen Weber, and Barb Suess

Beginning Temari - The Basics!

Originally written for a national embroidery organization, this course is now available for everyone! Hosted by the Shining Needle Society, it's perfect for absolute beginners to the craft of temari.

To sign up, visit this page on my website.

The Stunning Symbiosis between Math and Knitting in Scientific American

A notable scientific publication has noticed Japanese temari and its math element!

The Stunning Symbiosis between Math and Knitting in Scientific American published an article by Evelyn Lamb.

"A meeting of the minds at the intersection of mathematics and fiber arts yields eye-popping creations" is the subtitle for the article.

Carolyn Yackel put together a show at a meeting of mathematicians in Baltimore last month. Her "truncated" temari were part of this fascinating exhibit. Congratulations to you, Carolyn!

Temari by Carolyn Yackel, Mercer University

Need thread?

I've got thread!

A new shipment from Rainbow Gallery has arrived. Please check out the supplies section of my shop.

I've got cones in interesting colors....

Metallics for Japanese Temari

and I've got cards...

Sampler metallic set from JapaneseTemari.com

and more cards...

Sampler metallic set from JapaneseTemari.com

Thanks for looking!

A new pattern! Pink Christmas Cactus Temari

Pink Christmas Cactus temari pattern by Barbara B. Suess is available now

Pattern available for instant download in the shop.

This simple 10 division temari is an intriguing woven puzzle. At first glance, it appears to be stitched the same as a 5-point star, but look closer and you will see kiku herringbone designs that intertwine in an unusual way!

I love etsy's instant download feature! As soon as your payment goes through, you receive an email with a link with directions on how to download the pattern. Save it to your computer to use. Zoom in to the photos on the pdf to see every minor detail. Print a copy if you like.

I really enjoyed stitching this temari! It was a request from a temari stitcher in Australia. If you would like to request a pattern, just let me know.

Pink and green diamonds interlock around the equator
in a new temari pattern by Barbara B. Suess

Beautiful and meaningful temari by Cindy Coleman

Cindy Coleman lives up the road from me in Hickory, North Carolina. Well, it is a bit of a drive up towards the mountains on I40 towards Asheville.  She has been making temari for a few years now and sharing it with her community. I'm happy that she shares it with me via email. Cindy expresses the challenges of designing temari. Oh, but the results are fantastic and well worth the effort!

From Cindy:

"I am attaching three photos of a temari display I made for the permanent Holocaust collection at Catawba Valley Community College where I teach.  The project took me longer than expected because I had to rework my design several times on a smaller thread ball.  So many prototypes had to be dismantled. I transferred the final design to a 4-inch temari; the final result you see is a 5-inch ball.  It is asymmetrical which provided a bit of problem solving.  So that folks could see both top (Star of David) and bottom (kiku flame), I mounted the temari on to a 3-inch clear-glass candlestick which was glued to a 12”x12” piece of glass.  The temari sits freely on the candlestick.  At the base is rusty ring of barbed wire and a fabric Star of David on which was written 'Jude.' (The fabric star is impaled on one of the barbs.)  My husband found the glass cover online.  All in all, I  think it turned out well. The curator of the collection is Jewish by heritage, so I gave the 4-inch temari to him.

While working on the project, I discovered the meaning of the word holocaust is 'sacrifice by fire.'  The stitched Star of David was an over-under form which the curator told me is the preferred way.  This I didn’t know either."

Holocaust temari by Cindy Coleman

Detail of Holocaust temari by Cindy Coleman showing the mirror beneath.

The Holocaust display from April 8, 2013.

This is a recent display at Cindy's library. 

If you have a temari exhibition, please let me know. I'd love to share it for you.

Temari exhibition in Stuttgart

Don't you love seeing temari on display as art? I'm sure this cafe in Stuttgart was one special place to be! The owner of the blog was gracious enough to share her photos with us.

Hashimoto san the master and organizer of the TE-MARI exhibition 

& 

Antje san, one of the Te-mari artist.

Temari perched on a shelf

Hanging temari displayed with a white background

The branch on the wall has hanging temari.

It's always good to provide information for viewers.

 If you have a temari exhibition, please let me know. I'd love to share it for you.

Snow Crystals temari pattern

Temari pattern by Barbara B. Suess

I've finished writing the pattern for this sparkling winter temari! It's short and sweet - just the basics. I realized yesterday that I made this temari from threads in my stash and they are from four different companies. So, instead of subjecting purchasers to a wild chase around the internet to order them or shopping trips to several local needlework shops (not a bad thing of course!), I decided to remake the temari with threads all from Rainbow Gallery. I've asked John to set me up with similar products. AND - how about stitching this one in red for Christmas? We are working on that as well.

It will take a couple of weeks to get the thread and rewrite the pattern to include the new thread choices. Then I'll have it available in my etsy shop with optional thread purchase. The pattern will be $4.99 (instant download). Thanks for your patience!

I've had such good response to my new pattern writing. Thanks so much to everyone who has written requesting patterns! I'm working on them every day. If you have one you'd like to request, send me an email with a photo or a link and I will give it a shot.

Winter Night - A Temari Short Course

New! I've developed an intermediate level temari course from Winter Night, a temari I submitted to the Japan Temari Association for teacher certification. You receive the text by instant download from the shop, work at your own pace, and if you have questions, send me an email. I'll be happy to help!

Please visit my etsy shop to purchase this course.

Temari Course by Barbara B. Suess

Woven Spindles are featured on Winter Night

Combine several herringbone variations to make snowflakes

Joy is Round

"Ingenious little jewels"

Joy is Round
Article on National Geographic

Thanks to Kathy and her sister who found this article, here is a charming story about soccer balls. History (of temari balls) repeats itself thanks to the "joy of round."

"In the 30-odd soccer-loving localities she visited, in countries from South Africa to Ivory Coast, balls are spun into being with whatever’s at hand: rag or sock, tire or bark, plastic bag or inflated condom. Each might last days or months on a field of gravel or hard earth. Wherever Hilltout went, she swapped the store-bought balls she kept in her car for these “ingenious little jewels,” most of which were made by children."

Link to National Geographic article.

Photo Gallery

Rali's Temari Exhibition

Excellent craftsmanship and a beautiful display. Congratulation, Rali!

Have a look at her photos and be inspired.

Rali preparing for her temari exhibition

Rali's JTA certificate and temari on display

Roll Tide football "temari"

Leola from Foley, Alabama, sent me these pictures of a temari-style football.

All I can say is ROLL TIDE! Great job!

Need thread?

Cones of metallic thread from Rainbow Gallery

I will be placing an order next Monday for 300 yard cones of thread by Rainbow Gallery. Please let me know by Sunday midnight (January 12) if you would like to order. Send an email to barb@japanesetemari.com
I will let you know the total with shipping and send you an invoice through PayPal or you can send me a check.

Here is a link to the Rainbow Gallery website.

Treasure Braid Petite is $24.75 for a 300 yard spool. This is the finer thread that I use for C10 divisions and all more intricate embroidery.
There are two pages of photographs for this thread.
page 1
page 2

This temari is marked with Treasure Braid Petite high gloss copper (PH13)

Treasure Braid Petite also comes in a high gloss product and is the same price $24.75 per spool.
Here is a link to those colors on the company's website.

300 yard spool of high gloss copper

Nordic Gold is $20.25 for a 300 yard spool. I use Nordic Gold for most temari. It's wonderful for guidelines and for adding more sparkle to the ball.

Temari marked with Nordic Gold

The company will put any of their threads on a spool. I can get a quote for you if you know of other threads you'd like. One of my favorites is Silk Lame Braid #18. This is close to the size of pearl cotton 5.

Get set for stitching in 2014!

The Temari Twins

Karen and Jen have a new website!

Karen and Jen, The Temari Twins

I met the "temari twins" when they drove down from Maryland to stitch with me at the John Campbell Folk School in Brasstown, NC. We had a whole week of stitching together. I was so impressed! They came with a mission - to learn as much about temari as they could with patterns and wish-lists in hand.

Temari by Karen and Jen
http://www.temaritwins.com/

Their joy and enthusiasm for the craft was certainly contagious and I'm so happy to learn they are teaching workshops and still exploring new patterns. To find out more, visit their website The Temari Twins.

We will be teaching together at Jinny Beyer Studio in Great Falls, Virginia, on Saturday, February 15. Contact Karen and Jen about travelling to you.

Best of luck, Karen and Jen!

Santas Galore!

Beverly E. stitched up a jolly batch of Santas for her book club!

Stitching Santuary

I think the last time I cleaned my office/studio/sewing room was when I began writing Temari Techniques, sometime in 2009! Yes, I have sorted and rearranged and dusted and vacuumed a bit along the way. My stash busting sale on Monday went so well that I was inspired to keep digging. I found several projects that I'm eager to finish and have been working on them while binging on MI5 on Netflix and stitching is fabulous. I was going to say relaxing, but if you've seen MI5, you know the show is NEVER relaxing!

Here are some pictures so I can be reminded to clean up again some day. It's such a cozy place. I'm truly fortunate to have this sanctuary.

Stash Busting Sale - I need your help!

It's been two years since I cleaned out my studio/office and had a stash busting sale. I've spent a happy weekend playing with thread and sorting skeins and cards of metallics into attractive groups for stitching lots of different temari designs.

All are photographed and for sale now in my shop.

Will you help me restore order and downsize? You will find some great bargains.

Today is the day!

It's the last day to sign up for Desert Spirit online temari class. 

I've got just a few thread kits left and when they are gone, they are gone!

Deadline to sign up is 6 days

Hi!

The deadline to sign up for class is next Friday, September 27.

This online class is six weeks long and begins October 8. This promises to be an exciting class with students who live all over the world. Over 110 temari stitchers have signed up! There are a lot of people who have never tried temari and are eager to get a jump start on making gifts for the holidays this year. The first four temari we make are perfect for gifts - quick and unique! Many students who have taken all my previous classes have loyally returned to study the herringbone stitch in detail.

I have just a few kits left and hope you can join me. Please don't delay in signing up. Here is a link to the page where you can purchase the class.

There are many basic skills covered in this class making it suitable for the absolute beginner and intermediate stitcher as well:make a ball from scratch, mark a simple 10 division, mark a simple 12 division, mark a ball with 20 centers, stitch wrapped bands, pine needles, layered open shapes to make a framework, make a hanger for the ball, and stitch six different herringbone variations. The larger ball, Desert Spirit, looks like a combination division with so many small shapes to be filled. But it is based on a simple 12 division and is so much easier to mark than a combination division!

Deadline to sign up for class is Friday, September 27.

It's time to sign up for temari class!

Open for sign up! Check out my web page to sign up.

Temari class sign-up begins this week.

Temari class sign-up begins this week.

Desert Spirit Temari - close-up view of diamond

Desert Spirit Temari Class - ball 3

Desert Spirit Temari Online Class

Finally!!! I will be getting back to work and teaching a temari class online. Heads up! Registration begins next week for those on my email list and on September 9 for those on the Shining Needle list. The class will last six weeks.

Are you on my email list? Here is a link to the sign-up page