Wrapping and Weaving

I finished this one last night; I stayed up to finish it so I could show you today. I really like how it turned out, and it was a very new pattern for me.



I was shocked by how much thread this one took. I had to make a thread run before I could finish it. It is a s6 division, and the thread is wrapped around the ball at the equator. You control the threads with "keeper pins" while you are wrapping and then stitch around the whole bundle at the end. I hadn't done that before, and I was skeptical, but it worked well. There are a lot of patterns that use that method, now I have my feet wet I will be trying more of them.

There are 3 directions of threads in the woven parts. You dive under the hexagon at the pole to keep the center clear. I was very grateful to Terry for a visual lesson (on TemeriKai.com) on how to keep the weaving organized. Using her method made the weaving almost the easiest part of this temari. The pattern called for 3 threads in each round, but since I was using a smaller mari, I only did 2. The weaving is the same as you see on cane chair seats; that pattern has intrigued me since I was young, and I'm glad I took this chance to work it. One of the next temari I'm looking at also has that type of weaving, so you should see it again.



The kiku at the poles has six points, the 6 kiku at the equator each have 8 points. The ones at the poles are outlined in a darker red and the way I outlined them make a very interesting star shape in the center, a very happy accident. The equator kiku have a touch of green at the center for a little bit of interest.

I think the overall effect is good. I didn't follow the pattern exactly. That is one of the reasons I think making temari is "my thing." I seldom change patterns or colors in my other needlework; in making temari I think I only followed the pattern exactly once or twice, in the early days. (Maybe a few more times than that! LOL) The ideas just flow.