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.                                                                                            

 

 

 

The christmas spirit

Just thought I'd share with you some Christmas spirit from a small village just a few kilometres from here.  Each year around the beginning of December the people of Tarrington have a Lanternenfest.

Lots of people decorate hay bales.  It's quite a big thing for the local area.  People come from miles around to check out the hay bales on the sides of the road.  I have also seen bus loads of people.

Some residents go to heaps of trouble when decorating their bales and use lots of imagination.  It's become quite the thing to "check out the bales".
This year I actually remembered to take the camera.

This is one for the kids.  They can stand behind the figures and put their faces at the holes and have their photos taken....you know the sort of thing.  I even saw some Japanese people doing it.  Cameras flashing and lots of giggling.  They were really enjoying themselves.  After all, that's what it's all about.

                                                Just love the camel!!!  

                               And this one I thought was very appropriate!!!

Clever aren't they?  There are also Santa's in all sorts of poses, a huge letter addressed to Santa made out of square bales.  There are some that are made from other materials, as are the wise men with the camel. I also saw a large angel that I would have liked to get a photo of but it was a bit too busy to stop.  This is all on the main highway between Hamilton and Warrnambool, so it can get a bit hazardous at times.

On a Friday evening early in December, (or maybe the last one in November), there is a fete type affair in the local church grounds.  Everything from a sausage sizzle (with Bratwurst sausages) to a competition for the adults which involves holding a beer stein straight out at arms length to the side of the body.  The winner is the person who can keep their arm straight for the longest amount of time.  Sounds easy doesn't it?  Try it.  It's hard going. 

People gather around this event and decide among themselves who's going to win and who's going to be knocked out first.  Good clean fun.  I went to the Friday night fete a couple of years ago.  It finished with the littlies parading with their lanterns.  Then there was a church service where the kids did the nativity scene. It's nice for the kids to get involved.

So much for the Lanternenfest.  I just couldn't resist the "Needle & Thread".   Cheers.

The Older We Get....

Where has 2012 gone?  It seems the older we get, the quicker time flies by.  I feel as though Xmas will be over before I realise it's already arrived.  Instead of the days running into each other, the weeks have now taken over.  Old age is upon me!!!

So much has happened in our lives since my last entry (which doesn't really seem that long ago).  My D.B. has had a stint in hospital in Melbourne, which turned out not to be as bad as we were expecting, thank goodness.

During the last 4 weeks we have had 3 trips to Melbourne and then decided we'd take some time out, and went over to Adelaide and back home through Mildura.  This week we've almost stayed home, just doing 2 short bursts of 100kms each.

During our travels I have met 2 very talented ladies who have both stitched temari balls.  The first lady I met lives in Central Victoria, and she invited me to her home so we could share our temari interests.  Boy, is this lady talented.  Apart from her temari she does so many other beautiful craft works from quilting right through to exquisite painting.

We spent a great day together and I came away with lots of new ideas.  We are to meet again soon in my neck of the woods, so I'm really looking forward to that.

While in Adelaide, I had a contact name of another very talented lady, who also has done temari and yubinuki, which I was really interested in learning more about.
Although she was extremely busy with wedding preparations and renovations, she offered to spend some time with me, which was great.

Temari and yubinuki were "been there, done that" crafts for her.  I found it hard to understand how anyone could not stitch temari after starting such a wonderful craft.
Never the less, this talented lady has moved on and is now doing Japanese Embroidery
and her work is absolutely out of this world.  I was enthralled with all the treasures she has embroidered.  Just amazing.

I feel blessed to have had the opportunity to meet 2 such talented ladies who were so willing to welcome me into their homes (being a complete stranger) and sharing all their work and ideas with me.  My thanks to you both,  D.L. and B.S.  I really appreciated your time and hospitality.

All the time we were away, I was still absorbed in temari stitching.  Surprise, surprise...
I have just finish an "Unfolding Kiku" that is a Barb Suess creation, well, more like a Masterpiece in my opinion.  I just love it.  It's the 1st time I have ever tackled a C10.
I have to say I didn't think I'd ever get past the marking stage,  but I finally did and I'm pretty pleased with my finished effort.  I can almost hear my mother saying "self praise is no recommendation" or "pride goeth before a fall", but I still feel pretty chuffed.

I'll put a pic of it on my next blog, as it's still in my camera and I still don't know how to transfer photos from camera to computor!! I did find a photo of a few of my early temari, so I'll add those this time and by next time I may know how to do the transfering bit.

Best wishes for the festive season to you and yours, and I hope the coming year keeps you safe, happy and healthy as well as giving you spare time to keep stitching.

Well it's been quite awhile since my last post and lots of things have happened in that  time.  We have had a few trips to Melbourne and we have both had some awful coldy flu bug for the last 7 or 8 weeks.  So we have been out of circulation, so to speak.

During all this time, needless to say I have still be stitching temari balls. Surprise, surprise!!

I have now been getting all my pre wrapped bases (maris) from Rebecca in Perth.
She is very obliging and sometimes I wonder if she thinks that I think she has nothing else to do but wrap maris for me.  I really do appreciate all she does for me and I
think if I had to start making a temari ball from scratch, I'd go back to sewing.

Over the months of temari stitching I have become rather picky with some of my very early temari balls.  I have used some coloured maris and threads that I have decided I don't want to mix in with my colour scheme.  I have also improved in my stitching techniques and can see heaps of boo-boos where I'm sure there is scope for much improvement.

As a result, my city friend, Mrs S.S. wants all my discarded temari balls.  She was appalled when I started pulling all the stitching from one temari I wasn't happy with,
( which I have to say is certainly not a good idea, as it leaves lots of dirty looking marks all over the mari, so it's best to put it down to experience and start a new one).
She said "I'll have all the ones you don't want".  So now we have a really neat arrangement.  If I'm not happy with a temari I've done, I give it to her and she pays for another mari.  I'm rapt with such a nifty plan.

Last time we were in Melbourne I took a photo of my "mishaps",  although I still have quite a few to add to her collection.  All I have to do now, is work out how to get the photo from my camera to my computer without outside help!!  Well that'll be something!!!

I just have to try Temari

                                     
I became so engrossed with temari that I seemed to spend hours on the computer checking out everything I  could find.  The local library didn't have any books on Temari, but managed to get a couple in.  I spent heaps of time studying those and became completely absorbed with the whole subject. 

My biggest problem was that I couldn't find anyone who had even heard of temari, let alone anyone who knew where I could learn how to make a temari ball.

I finally found a site in the U.S. and ordered some prewrapped balls, which are called maris.  A really smart move, when I didn't have a clue about how to even start stitching one!!!

With that order I had enquired if they knew of anyone in Australia that did lessons on temari, and was given the name of Temari Addict in Perth.  Perhaps I should have said Victoria, Australia!!

I did make contact with a lady called Rebecca from Temari Addict and she was very helpful, and gave me a contact in Melbourne who did workshops from time to time.
I was finally getting somewhere, and after all Melbourne was only 300kms away. Just a tad closer than Perth!!

I asked my dear friend, the city Mrs.S.S. if she would do the lesson with me.  She said she'd be happy to have a go. I was so excited about finally being able to learn how to stitch a temari ball. I was like a child waiting for Santa.  I hardly slept the night before.
I didn't know it then, but I think I had already caught the temari bug.

The morning finally dawned. "Today's the day".  Sounds sad for an adult doesn't it, but that was honestly how I felt.  Full of great expectations (to borrow a phrase).

 After only a 2 hour lesson I knew I had caught the fever.  When we returned back to my friends house, I had to keep stitching until I had finished my temari ball.  Then I could hardly wait to drive back home so I could start on one of the balls that I had
ordered from America.

For those of you who stitch temari balls, I'm sure you know how I felt.  It certainly does get you in.  For those who haven't tried, you don't know what you're missing.
It's so rewarding to stitch one of these beautiful balls.  It certainly doesn't matter if it is  a simple design or a complicated design, they are all beautiful.  You can stitch the same design in different colours and it's amazing how it can look so different from the first one.

Here is the pic of my very 1st temari ball.

 Little did I know how close my craft life was to changing.


My DB and I decided that a doona cover in purples to match the purple geisha girl would give a really bright touch to the bedroom and link the 2 pieces together.  So the search began for fabrics that matched in with what I had used with the purple geisha girl.

We both really liked the "Garden Path" design and decided that as the 2 doona covers wouldn't be seen at the same time, it wouldn't matter if I did 2 doonas in the same design.  The fact that I already had the pattern pieces had a slight bearing on my choice of design.  After all,  "I'd been there and done that".

As I had used only 4 colours in that panel,  I had  quite a task ahead to find enough different fabrics to do another Garden Path.  So the search began.  My local fabric shop has a good range of Japanese fabrics for a country town,  but  not a lot of purples, and I had picked what I liked best for my geisha girl.

Just as well my DB is a very placid and patient man, because the next shop I knew of that has  a good range of japanese fabrics was at least 175kms away...each way...that is.  So armed with my pattern book and the remnants of fabrics we set off to hopefully succeed in this mission.  Mission accomlished.

Just after I finished this doona cover,  my local  fabric store owner, Mrs N asked me had I ever heard of Japanese Temari Balls, which I hadn't.  She said she was reading a book that made mention of them.  After she descrbed them to me I couldn't wait to get home and start googling.  Wow.  These balls are just beautiful.

And so the seed of temari fascination was sown.  Little did I know what lay ahead.

But before I could do anything about temari balls, apart from drool, I still had a slight problem.  I now have 3 geisha girls,  3 doonas and 2 doona covers.  So I still have to make another doona cover,  but the Temari time clock is starting to tick loudly.

Here is the pic of my 2nd doona cover.

Sorry about the few faded looking sections at the bottom,  I'm still learning how to take a decent photo.  Good or bad photography aside,  I hope you like my doona cover.