Quiet week

It's been a quiet week for needlework. The rest of my life seems to be in high gear, and at this time of the year I'm not equipped to handle it. I haven't finished any temaris this week! I finished my class, and I am working on 2 SALs (Stitch-a-longs) with different groups, but on those I don't want to forage ahead too far, because then, what's the point? You miss the fun of stitching with everyone else. I have done some more work on a very intriguing division that I noticed in the Japanese book "Kii." It's trying to pretend to be a combination 10 with its 12 pentagons and 8 hexagons, but it is actually a simple 12 with extra dividing lines. I have the marking done, so now I just have to do the stitching. I haven't started stitching on my 122 centers yet (besides the centers of the flowers). With both of those it is a question of picking out the colors.

So, in my quiet, at-home evening last night, did I pick up a Temari? Of course not! I picked up one of my PIGs (Projects in Grocery-bag). I have several of those sitting around the house, and I am trying to clear them out. They are similar to a WIP (Work in Progress), except there is more of an aspect of storage, than of work.

Last spring I fell in love with the Lizard Ridge afghan from www.knitty.com, so much so, that I started in on it. Finding all the yarn to use (you need 24 different skeins) was like a treasure hunt, and I could knit a square in one evening, which gave a great sense of accomplishment. So when I got done with the knitting, it became a PIG. Last night, I decided not to arrange the squares, but to just stitch them together in the order they were resting in the bag. I don't think it will make a big difference in the way the overall afghan will look. I got almost 1/2 the squares attached together in just one evening!



After the squares are all stitched together, they get a simple crochet edging around the outside, but that should not be a problem at all. I may have a finished afghan in a week's time!

Our final assignment for class was to write instructions on how to make this Temari. I succeeded in making the ball without any instructions, but I have not written my instructions yet. I wish I had gone with the traditional Victorian colors (maroon, cream, green) instead of making a statement.



I also prepared and marked 3 additional mari: the blue one is for the c8 to c10 challenge, the green one is a s6 with additional lines that really intrigued me, and the white one with gold stitching is my multi-pole, 122 centers, ready to begin stitching. They aren't very exciting to look at, but they are very meditative to make.



I have to make one more mari, on a smaller base, a s12 for a obi/thimble ring stitch along. It turns out that Japanese people who made temari also made their own thimbles, which were, of course, useful and beautiful as well. A new group is working on collecting, translating, explaining, and demonstrating patterns on how to make these thimbles. They don't fit over the tip of your finger, like the thimbles we are used to, but are in the shape of a ring, and protect the side of your finger to push the needle. I could have used one on the white/gold mari, my fingers were getting very sore by the time I was done with the marking. I also had only about 4 inches of the metallic thread left when I got done, I think I lucked out on that.

As you can probably tell, it turned out to be a restful weekend. Our dog Jake got fixed, and is requiring a lot of attention so he can heal properly. It is very difficult to keep a Golden Retriever puppy calm and quiet. He's not being a good patient. We stayed home to watch over him, along with DD J, who also helped puppy-sit.