Level 1, Number 1 (maybe)

Here's the temari I've been working on since last Thursday. I think it turned out quite good; but I will have to get the evaluation on it to be sure. I will probably also have to work at getting a better picture.



I'm also wondering if I should do some pine needle stitching in the triangles, in a darker green. A gold metallic would be another possibility, or the squares could be outlined with gold.

All these possibilities are why I said "maybe" in the title.

I want to do all four of the level 1 temari in this color scheme. I'm planning my mitsubane (tri-wing) now. I can already feel my stitching improving just from this one temari. By the time I get all 8 finished (for levels 1 and 2) I hope to see all kinds of improvement.

Recuperating from the weekend!

I started on my first level 1 temari; and I really like the pattern. It will be very nice, if I can keep everything looking even. I'm stitching it very carefully, so it is taking longer than I expected to finish it.

In the mean time, I found out there are more people than I expected signed up for class next Saturday. I've been busy preparing the kits and hand-outs. Here you can see my progress. Four mari are completely wrapped, one has the "power-wrapping" layer done, and there are 2 white and 4 blue "yarn-layer" left to go.

I realize I am getting better at doing this, but it is one of those gradual things you don't notice until you look back. When I started, the mari would pop out of my hands every minute or two while I was wrapping, and I would get my exercise chasing it across the room. It only pops once or twice now, and it usually doesn't leave the lap, making it a lot easier.





The threads fell out of the bag this UFO (Un-Finished Object) was stored in, and when I looked, I realized it would take only a couple of hours to finish it, moving it out of the UFO category into the "done but not finished" category.

I really like this design, it seems to me like it is the epitome of French needlework. The letters in red spell "Broderie" which means embroidery in French. The fabric too, is so French. I don't think anyone in the U.S. would pick that fabric for a back-ground, but you see it all the time in French design. This matches a couple of other "done but not finished" pieces I have, the 4 saisons sampler, in Red and white on natural linen, and my anniversary sampler that I designed. I am sort of collecting them so that when I redecorate my bedroom in a French Provincial design I will have things to put on the wall. This, of course, is after I redo my living/dining room, a project that has been on the back burner for 5 years or so.



We had a wonderful weekend, but it was one of those where you have to go back to work to rest. My parents came to spend the weekend, and one of the goals was for them to get re-acquainted with their great-grandchildren.

We went to a book store. I told P & C they could each choose one book; they were pretty pleased with themselves when they each found a book that included the plastic figurines of the story: a book AND a toy AND a game! Here they are gloating over their finds. (Someone really likes her pink shoes!)



We gathered at Olive Garden for dinner on Saturday. I don't usually include specific names of stores and restaurants, but they took such good care of us that I wanted to mention it. We had nine people and they accommodated us in an alcove that felt just like a home dining room. Here's P playing with his new dinosaurs, with C looking cute, DD2 (their momma) and my parents. My father was having such a good time that he shared with anyone who would listen that he was there with "4 generations"! The service was attentive, and the food was wonderful! DSIL, DD1, and DH were also there.



After dinner the non-shoppers went home, and the rest of us forged ahead. We went to my LNS, and 2 craft stores, and a beauty supply store. C loves to shop!

Just call me Wimpy

I wimped out last night. I was working away; I have 4 mari wrapped. I have the colors picked. I have a pattern picked to start the first one. The only thing left to do was pick up the needle and start marking, but I picked up the computer instead and played solitaire for the rest of the night.

It's okay! If I mess up a temari, I just have to make another one, and I don't even have to show anyone, or even post it on my blog. It's just that I want these 4 to be perfect, and perfectionism usually blocks my creativity.

I'll try again tonight, and will at least mark the first one. I know I can do that!

C's Temari

I told you how C picked out colors for her own temari several weeks ago, and then was very disappointed in me when I wasn't ready immediately to stitch it with her. I made the mari, and collected everything needed in a bag, and put it away. When C got here yesterday she was helping me stitch my flower temari, and said "What about my ball?" Grandma was so proud to have everything all ready for her.

C helped with the stitching, but she liked putting the thread through the keeper pins the most. It made a little popping sound when it went in. Grandma did have to do most of the stitching. C also enjoyed taking out the pins and putting them back in the pin cushion.



The last time I saw the temari it was clutched in her hand as she was being carried to bed. I think she liked it.

This is a picture of C with auntie J on Sunday. (This is shortly after the delivery of the beads!) Aren't these a pair of cuties?

Pretty Flowers

I finished my multi-pole temari this past weekend. I really like how it turned out. Each face on the multi-pole (12 pentagons and 20 hexagons) got a flower stitched on it with a family of colors. I checked back, and the pattern called for 4 rows, but I only did 3; most of the flowers have 3 colors in them, but a couple have two colors. I started with the darkest color, then one row of medium, then the light color over all.

The temari does have a different character depending on where you look at it. Some sides show more red/orange colors, some sides more blue/green colors. I didn't really plan the placement, but I'm thinking maybe I should have.



I was boasting about my stash a little bit in my last post, but I spoke too soon. This temari showed up a gap in my bead stash. I didn't have 2 yellow/gold beads, an orange and a coral, all warm colors. Michael's provided 3 of the colors I needed, but didn't have the coral. Neither did Joanne's. DD1 to the rescue! She picked up 3 tubes of beads for me at Caravan Beads in Chicago. One of them was a perfect match and I was able to finish. She's a designer, so I knew that just giving her the name of the color would work, and I was right.

I told you earlier what kind of bead storage did not work for me (the little metal cups I got with a kit). I decided to take a picture of the bead storage I use now, that does work. The plastic boxes are clear, so I can see the colors without having to open everything. They boxes hold rectangular "tubes" that hold the beads themselves. These are transparent too, and come in different sizes depending on how many beads of each color you have. This is my box of blue:



I have about 1/2 dozen of these, some a little fuller, a couple a little less. One of the emptiest now has a few more options, the red/gold one.

Personal note:
Many of you know I have been struggling with headaches since last October. Ten days ago I had a "procedure" that had about a 50% chance of working. It was the least invasive of the procedures on the list, so the doctors felt it was worth trying. It took several days for me to know if it worked or not, complicated by the fact I was trying to get off caffeine at the same time. I am cautiously optimistic that it worked! I was very depressed last Monday because I had gotten a bad headache on Sunday; I think now that was due to caffeine withdrawal, and that the procedure did work. That is the only headache I have had all week, and everyone is commenting about my changed attitude. I was hoping I would get my energy back as soon as the headaches were gone. That hasn't happened. I guess losing my energy was a gradual thing, and I will have to build it back up, now that getting up and moving around won't threaten a headache. I hope this isn't TMI, thank you for listening.

200th Post!

This is my 200th post! I'm sorry it snuck up on me, I would have planned a celebration (or at least not have procrastinated so long).

This is the favor each one of us received at our Homewood Embroiderers' Guild annual September dinner this week. One member made these crochet flowers for everyone, all of them in different colors. They have a pin back so you can take it out of the pot and wear it. Lovely, thank you Chris!



I'm having fun working on a temari, but it is a multipole with 32 faces: as you are learning, that takes a while to stitch. If you are interested, it is number 2 on page 21 of the Japanese temari book "Kii." The diagram is on page 51. There are 32 flowers stitched in 3 colors each (only about 18 inches of fiber needed for each color). I'm cheating a little bit and stitching each color twice on opposite sides of the mari, so you can't really see any color more than once. If you are interested, that means 48 different colors! Plus I didn't need to buy anything to stitch this one. In fact, more than half the stitching was done out of my "orts" baggie, where I store threads that have been cut from the skein that are too long to discard. I have one flower left to stitch, and then the center of each flower is embellished with beads. I'm afraid I have the 16 colors of beads I'm going to need in my stash as well. Colors may not match exactly, but that will add to the beauty.

A co-worker brought in his 5-month-old baby boy and I got to hold him a minute. It's making me homesick for my grand-kids, even though my grand-kids are not babies any more.

Tanabata GITS from Karen

I received my star/Tanabata temari from Karen last night, along with a box crammed full of cross stitch fabric and patterns. Thank you Karen!



There are 6 8-point stars in red, green and aqua and 8 6-point stars in light blue. (It is a c8 division.) I was very interested to see that Karen's mari was as dense and as hard as the ones I make. For me making them hard and dense is the best way to make sure they are very round.

Thank you again, Karen!