Temari stitching is onhold

Hi to everyone.  I have had a spell from stitching Temari this passed month, which is really a strange thing for me.  One of my temari buddies and I have decided to have a stall at our local Xmas Expo which is held on the 1st Saturday in December.  This year will be the 21st year.  Apparently it's a fairly popular event, with people stocking up on Xmas goodies.  So we have decided to try our luck.

I have oiled the cogs in my sewing machine and have been sewing madly since the beginning of September.  Fortunately or unfortunately, depending on what your needs may be, when I am all consumed in a project, I become single minded and tunnel visioned with what I'm doing.  Hence, meal times can be, and mostly are a hit and miss affair, or if I'm honest, a help yourself affair.  I do have a strict rule with myself that I cook every 3rd night.  I make a really good meal on these nights, my D.B.'s favourites, then I don't suffer from a guilt trip for the next 2 nights!!  Works a treat, well in my mind anyway, and my D.B. doesn't seem to mind.  Guess he really knows me by now.  Enough on food,  I cooked last night!!

My partner in crime for the expo venture, Mrs. P. seems to be almost as bad as I am, or should that be, almost as mad as I am.  She breezes in every few days, full of excitement and enthusiasm to see what I've done since her last visit. A great one for ideas my Mrs. P.  Only thing is, she doesn't sew!!!  Every cloud has a silver lining, so the saying goes,  well this one certainly does.  I'm passionate about sewing, she doesn't sew.  She's passionate about gardening and I'm definitely not.  That's it...she does my gardening and I do her sewing.  We are a great team.

Fortunately I had quite a good stash of my goodies already made up before we decided on this adventure, so I spent the 1st 2 weeks finishing off my own things and have continued on with Mrs. P.'s sewing.  Needless to say, our spare bedroom is like a shop at the moment.  It's chockers with some really pretty gear.  On Melbourne Cup weekend, Mrs.D. and Mr.C. are coming to stay. I've got no idea where I'm going to put everything to clear the room for a few days.  Perish the thought.  Still, I can blame Mrs.D. for the excess of stock.  She has done this type of thing many times, and she told me to "keep sewing. You need more stock, more stock and more stock".  So that's what we've got, and it's all in the room where she is supposed to be sleeping!!

I've had a spell from sewing today and I've wrapped a couple of balls. I decided to do the Desert Spirit class that Barb Suess is running, starting today.  This will be my 1st online class and I'm really looking forward to it, along with lots of others, judging by all the comments that are being posted.  Should be a great new experience for me. Can't wait for the US time difference to catch up to our time.

I'll get a battery for my camera and hopefully be able to take a good photo of my efforts to post in my next blog.  I guess there maybe some of you who are doing the same class with Barb.  I'd love to hear from you.  Must close so I can check my emails to see if anything has been posted yet.  Stay happy.  Cheers.

What I think is a rather large Temari ball.

What I think is a rather large Temari ball.


I've been dying to post a photo of one of my latest and favourite Temari balls,  so I thought I'd do it now while Mr.D's instructions are still in the old brain box.  Tomorrow could be a different story.  Best start from the beginning of this saga.

My D.B. and I had been on a short holiday to Western Australia (where it was really great to finally meet Rebecca from Temari Addict).  While we were away, my Temari buddy Mrs.D and her hubby, Mr.C had also gone for a short holiday.  On our return to Victoria, before heading straight home, we called in to say Hi to them both and catch up on all our news.

Later in the arvo Mr.C presented me with a huge box and said he'd bought me a pressie while they were away. I felt really embarrassed because we hadn't done the same for them.  Mr.C said "Come on just open it".  I swear the box had 2 rolls of masking tape wrapped around it.  By the time I got through a few layers, I thought it was going to be something very small in a great big box.  Not so.

When I finally got through the masking tape and opened the box, I was amazed to see the biggest polystyrene ball imaginable.  I couldn't believe it was so big.  I mean HUGE!!!  It was bigger than a basket ball.  It measures just over 80cms.  Like I said, it's HUGE.

It seems when Mr.C saw it he said it had my name written all over it, so he decided to buy it for me as a joke. Some joke.  But then again, some people do have  a weird sense of humour.  Mr.C being a prime example!!

When we got home I thought 2 can play his game, so I decided to wrap the ball, which I might add took me ages and heaps of thread.  When done, I started with a C10 marking.  Some months prior to my "gift", I had seen a Temari online that I really loved, so I decided to have a go.  I know with a ball of this size it would have been an ideal opportunity to do a pattern with far more markings than I chose, but I really loved the pattern I had seen and wanted to do it. I'm pleased with the finished Temari.

So here's my HUGE temari.       Hope you like it.    Cheers.

 

Time flies when you are having fun.

Time flies when you're having fun.

It seems no time since my last blog entry.  I can't believe it is actually 6 months ago.  So much has happened in the last 6 months that I don't know where to start.   Xmas came and went similarly to every other year.  Time to catch up with friends and eat too much food, then a week later we do much the same thing all over again.

Since I met my temari buddy Mrs D. from Central Victoria, we have became really good friends.  She and her husband, Mr C. have come to visit us a couple of times and we have been to visit them also. We have lots of laughs and share our temari ideas.  She has taught me how to wrap my own bases, which has been a great help to me.

My D.B. suffers from lots of health issues and spends days in hospital from time to time.  In February he had a few days in again.  So like many wives do, I took my needlework over with me.  The reaction to Temari Balls from the nursing staff was astounding.  I have to say I got a bit embarrassed with all the attention.

I remember on the 2nd morning, one nurse came into my D.B.'s room and said to me,
"You kept me up till after 1 o'clock this morning, looking at Temari balls on the internet.  I just couldn't stop, they're all so beautiful".  By the time the 3 day stay was over, 5 nurses had got together and decided they wanted to learn how to stitch Temari.

Music to my ears!!  When I first started to stitch Temari, I really wanted to share the joy with others, and my ideal dream was to have a small group that met every 6 to 8 weeks for a stitch-in.  Maybe this was going to be the break I needed.  The first lesson was arranged for mid March.  I was beside myself with excitement.  Due to so, so many stays in hospital for my D.B., we already knew the group that was coming bar one, who was a friend of one of the nurses.

The big day finally arrived and it was a raging success, thank goodness.  We had an absolute ball, pardon the pun, and they all did very well for their first attempt at Temari stitching.  So much so that they wanted to have another lesson.  This one was arranged for the beginning of May.  During the next 2 days my mobile was running hot with texts.  They all said how much they had enjoyed the day and the progress they were making with their Temari balls.  I was so happy to have such an enthusiastic group of girls to share such a wonderful craft with.

This is their 1st effort.  I think they all did very well.

The 2nd lesson was a real hoot.  These girls all have such fun together.  We laugh a lot and I "boss" a lot, but at the end of the day we make a lot of progress.  At this lesson, the lass who was not a nurse, has since got a job and was unable to come to any more
Temari days, so their were only the 5 nurses present.  Before they left they had arranged a date for our next day and also had another nurse willing to join our group.
They had also decided that our Temari days were to be a permanent thing.  So one of my Temari dreams has come to fruition and I am absolutely rapt.

This is their 2nd Temari.  I'm not sure where the 5th Temari was when this photo was taken, but it is just as pretty as these 4.

 

I have had a lot of problems with my computer and haven't been able to work out how to attach photos to my blogs, but my "Superman with computers" Mr D. has just          returned from overseas, and has sorted out all my problems.  So hopefully I'll be able   to manage it all by myself from now on.  My D.B. suggested that I write Ha Ha after    the last sentence!!!  Not nice.