Workshop

I have belonged to one of my guilds for more than 20 years, so all the people in it are either old friends, or soon to become old friends. I had the privilege of leading a workshop this past weekend with several people from that guild, and we had a wonderful time! We had a wonderful room to stitch in, with comfortable chairs, ample table room, bright natural light, and a coffee maker. There were 6 people in the class, which is a wonderful size for personalized attention. We started by marking a mari with a s4 marking with obi, and stitching bands around those markings. I stitched this temari demonstrating that part of the lesson. One of the members had a box of #8 pearl cotton, and another box of #5 pearl cotton (in balls!). She kindly allowed me to use her #8 to stitch this, it was a little mari, and the #8 was just the right size. Next we wound our own mari. I think it always helps to stitch a temari before you make a mari. It always surprises me how infrequently the mari pops out of my hands any more. When I started, it would pop out every 5 minutes or so, and I would have to levitate out of my recliner to get it back. After two and a half years of making mari I think I drop each one once or so when I am winding. Your hands just get used to the motion and to hanging on. Everyone was tired of wrapping thread by the time they got done, but all the mari turned out very nice. We had some thread from a late member's stash, and so we were able to come up with some very interesting colors. Part of the way through the wrapping we stopped for lunch. One of the members made sloppy Joes, so we enjoyed our food and each other's company. Someone had to leave for a while to go to a shower, and left the shower as soon as the games started. One of our group asked her "What did they say when you left that party to come to do this?" She hadn't really made an announcement as to why she was leaving, but I said "This IS a party!" and everyone else agreed. With our newly wrapped mari, we stitched a kiku, or chrysanthemum pattern on a S8 marking. Everyone was very engaged in the work, and some of the kikus were coming along very nicely, but I did not get a picture. I cannot wait for our guild meeting so I can see what everyone did. I did see one person's work on the next morning. She had gone home, finished her bands, and re-marked her mari for the kiku. Her bands were beautiful, and she had a good start on the kiku... with beautiful colors. I cannot wait to see all of them finished. I went home and sat down to finish my kiku as well, and promptly fell asleep! Teaching is a lot of fun, but it is hard work as well.