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Tuesday 29 September 2009

Life's small changes!!

Well we have had to drop out of the Japanese School open day.  We have a sick Brother/Husband (My brother who is Miho's husband) and 3 houses to move very close to the date... and a new baby due to arrive just a few weeks later... so prudence says to pass on this year and ear mark it for next.

I have updated the original post but if you had already read it and marked your calendar for this one please come to the Steiner School day instead.

Thursday 24 September 2009

Upcoming Events in Perth - Mark Your Diary!!

Not too much actual temari stitching this last week, about ten rows to be precise. 

But we have been busy planning for our next fair.  West Coast Steiner School Open Day and Spring Fair on 25th of October. The fair will run from 10am-3pm at 15 Mayfair Street, Nollamara.  We will present many handcrafted items made by our group including toddlers jimbei, journals, wristlet and hand bags, wired jewellery, brooches, bookmarks, hair accessories, munchy crunchy corn.... and of course there will be a display of temari and some of the group will have temari items for sale. 

So if you live in Perth please come along and visit us at this open day.

Saturday 12 September 2009

Amazing Temari from a Japanese Master

On Temari Challenge this week a member (I think it was Barb Suess) posted this link to the most amazing temari show I have ever seen.  There are more than 400 photos in the collection all made by an 80+yo lady who began making temari in her 60's.  Check it out here.  I must admit that I have had this pop up open all week long and have sat watching amazed as the pictures display in a slideshow.  There are too many to view in one go... so I have been watching maybe 30 or 40 at a time... I recommend you take a look if you need temari inspiration!!!!

I hope one day to be able to make even 25% of these patterns as well as this lady.  And also to be able to photograph the temari I can make as well too.

Friday 4 September 2009

Feels like spring

The first flowers are starting to open on our Flowering Plum tree... a sure sign that spring weather is just around the corner.  This is our version of the Cherry Blossom - Perth doesn't get cold enough for Cherry Blossoms to set flower.  We have a bunch of blue Iris and several Tulips in blooming in the garden too.  There has been no sign of the Ranunculus and Anemone we planted..... I wonder what we did wrong with them. 
Let's hope for gentle breezes this spring so we can enjoy seeing the blossom on our plum tree for as long as possible.

Thursday 3 September 2009

Madeit Store and a Bigcartel

I finally got around to listing temari on our madeit store today.  OK technically not all temari so let's say ..... temari-esque.  The little brooches from a previous post and some teeny temari (from a much earlier post) that have been reinvented as bookmarks.  I wouldn't have thought to offer them for sale, but some folk seemed to like them at the fair we attended recently so I thought we'd try them out in the store - I feel too sad that it has been sitting empty for so long.  My second motivation is that I have officially run out of storage room for made temari so I need to sell or gift some items.  If you want to check out the store hit the little round button on the left side of this blog. 

We are also getting in more and more Nordic Gold thread for students so we have put it on the supply store site (the button above the madeit one).  Perth, now don't get me wrong I love it, can be frustrating to source anything a bit different so I have always got it here myself.  Case in point Rainbow Gallery thread everytime I have been told it is a special order and it will take 6-8 weeks possibly longer..... so now I source it from the US.  If you want some we got it cheaper than any other website in Australia and not just Silver and Gold.  Needles are also bothersome in Perth... you can get one in a multi pack but end up with many useless (for temari that is) needles so we've got them too.  Miho is just finalising things with Japan to bring KYO rayon temari thread out here.... I haven't seen it on any Australian websites or in any stores so we'll get that on too. 

Current Temari Projects

S4 Masu Kagari (Square Stitch)
So I am revisiting the S4 square stitch temari - I have only done a few when I first began making temari and have either wrapped over, given away or otherwise vapourised them so I need to begin from scratch. I only have one face done so far - this pattern really tests the roundness of the mari and reminds me that I should at least try not to drop them so often on the tiled floor as nothing flattens out a mari like being dropped from the kitchen table onto tiles. The picture above is a progress shot with just one and a half squares completed.


S6 Mitsubane-kikkou Kagari (Triwing or Trefoil Stitch)
I have also tried out the S6 tri-wing with hexagon (I have never made them with the hexagon in the middle before) I think it turned out ok. I quite liked it actually and filled the negative space with a 1/4 and 3/4 starburst running around the equator.  As you can see from the photo above I am still using up some of the remaining red, white and green balls from the 27 I prepared in July so I have limited my colour scheme to include greens, white and black.


S8 Jyouge Douji Kagari (Merry go Round Stitch)
I also made a S8 JD-esque temari from the front cover of a little Ondori booklet that Michelle (check out her blog Little Rabbit Miniatures) and I both have. I like it but I can see where I screwed up the stitching so we'll call this one a 'learning ball'. It was fun to stitch because every second guideline was stitched from pole to equator and the others were stitched equator to pole.  In the pic above you may see where I have forgotten to keep the needle over the thread as I exit the ball in one of the early rounds so I have two threads that lie side by side... it is a pity and I probably should have ripped it out but it was a fun practice and I learned something too.

S12 Uwagake Chidori Kagari (Kiku Herringbone Stitch)
To know this pattern is to love it. I have made a lot of this one, but I do tend to make a ton of this and then none for a few months.  Ok this one is no where near completed but I figured that I'd add it too.  This is the ball I was playing with when we were at the Waldorf School Fair.  I am not sure where I want to go with this one so I haven't added more yet.  When I finish the masu (square) temari I will come back to this one.