kumo temari - on a break

I'm currently taking a break from the business of temari making as I recuperate from a flare-up of recurrent carpal tunnel. When & if I'm able to get back to it, I'll start posting again! Thanks as always for your support.

~ kt

series of 3: haiku by Matsuo Bashō

Continuing on my journey of creating temari in groups — whether common palettes, thematic quotations, or both — here are three new temari that all have haiku by Matsuo Bashō inside, and use same or similar color threads for wraps & stitching.

spring rain

spring rain

spring rain

spring rain
 
spring rain
conveyed under the trees
in drops
— Matsuo Bashō (1644–1694)

This is a design that I haven't done for some time now; it is a personal adaptation of a wrapped woven design that forms a star at the top and bottom where threads intersect. S6 division with no guidelines, but guidelines added in the S12 position for design purposes. Thread wrap in light pearl gray; embroidery in dark gray, a slightly-violet-hued sky blue, and butterscotch yellow (the same yellow and blue used in the other temari in this series). The haiku by Bashō is in the bell box along with brass rings that make a quiet traditional rattle. Circumference: 9.75 inches / 25 cm; diameter: 3.1 inches / 7.95 cm. Completed 21 March 2013 (no. 273).

For sale on Etsy to benefit Kiva.org.

temple bell

temple bell

temple bell

temple bell 

The temple bell stops.
But the sound keeps coming
out of the flowers.
— Matsuo Bashō (1644–1694)

An "S10" swirl (all clockwise). Thread wrap in graphite gray; embroidery in butterscotch yellow (the same yellow used in the other temari in this series). The haiku by Bashō is in the bell box along with brass rings that make a quiet traditional rattle. Circumference: 9.5 inches / 24.3 cm; diameter: 3.02 inches / 7.73 cm. Completed 21 March 2013 (no. 274).

For sale on Etsy to benefit Kiva.org.

the moon so pure

the moon so pure

the moon so pure

the moon so pure  

the moon so pure
a wandering monk carries it
across the sand
— Matsuo Bashō (1644–1694)

This is the first time I have tried this pattern: it's an S24 division, with 24 layered diamonds (of three rows each). The effect is fascinating — like a Fabergé egg, or something Moroccan. S24 division in metallic gold; thread wrap in golden brass yellow; embroidery in butterscotch yellow and a slightly-violet-hued sky blue (the same yellow and blue used in the other temari in this series). The haiku by Bashō is in the bell box along with brass rings that make a quiet traditional rattle. Circumference: 10.25 inches / 26.2 cm; diameter: 3.26 inches / 8.33 cm. Completed 22 March 2013 (no. 275).

For sale on Etsy to benefit Kiva.org.

series of 5 spring-themed temari

A series of 5 purple and green temari heralding spring . . .

cut all the flowers

cut all the flowers

cut all the flowers

cut all the flowers
You can cut all the flowers but you cannot keep spring from coming.
— Pablo Neruda (1904–1973)

A layered kiku design — 2 x 4-point stars. S8 division in #5 dark moss green; thread wrap in eggplant purple; embroidery in 7 shades of moss and avocado green and ecru. The quote by Neruda is in the bell box along with brass rings that make a quiet traditional rattle. Circumference: 10 inches / 25.5 cm; diameter: 3.18 inches / 8.11 cm. Completed 7 March 2013 (no. 266).
Sold to benefit Kiva.org.

it is spring again

it is spring again

it is spring again

it is spring again
It is spring again. The earth is like a child that knows poems by heart. 
— Rainer Maria Rilke (1875–1926)

A traditional spindle design. S6 division in #8 lilac; thread wrap in lilac; embroidery in 5 shades of violets/orchids and blue-greens. The quote by Rilke is in the bell box along with brass rings that make a quiet traditional rattle. Circumference: 10.375 inches / 26.3 cm; diameter: 3.3 inches / 8.37 cm. Completed 6 March 2013 (no. 267).
Sold to benefit Kiva.org.

very spirits singing

very spirits singing

very spirits singing

very spirits singing
. . . 
(all the merry little birds are
flying in the floating in the
very spirits singing in
are winging in the blossoming)
. . . 
— E. E. Cummings (1894–1962)

A modern variation on the 16-pt kiku (chrysanthemum) design. S16 division in metallic silver; thread wrap in eggplant purple; embroidery in 4 shades of avocado green and yellow-green. The stanza by Cummings is in the bell box along with brass rings that make a quiet traditional rattle. Circumference: 10.75 inches / 27.2 cm; diameter: 3.42 inches / 8.65 cm. Completed 5 March 2013 (no. 268).
Sold to benefit Kiva.org.

blooming most recklessly

blooming most recklessly

blooming most recklessly

blooming most recklessly
Everything is blooming most recklessly; if it were voices instead of colors, there would be an unbelievable shrieking into the heart of the night.
— Rainer Maria Rilke (1875–1926)

An original design with traditional stitches; a 5-point descending herringbone star with a 5-point inverse kiku star over it. S10 division in #8 light mint green; thread wrap in light mint green; embroidery in 11 shades of purples and blue-greens. The quote by Rilke is in the bell box along with brass rings that make a quiet traditional rattle. Circumference: 9.625 inches / 24.5 cm; diameter: 3.06 inches / 7.79 cm. Completed 4 March 2013 (no. 269).
Sold to benefit Kiva.org.

a perpetual astonishment

a perpetual astonishment

a perpetual astonishment

a perpetual astonishment
Every spring is the only spring—a perpetual astonishment.
— Ellis Peters (Edith Mary Pargeter; 1913–1995)

A wrapped design, sort of arts & crafts, with 3 bands intersecting a 6 points. S4 division, no guidelines; thread wrap in eggplant purple; embroidery in 5 shades of purples and blue-greens. The quote by Peters is in the bell box along with brass rings that make a quiet traditional rattle. Circumference: 9.75 inches / 24.5 cm; diameter: 3.1 inches / 7.79 cm. Completed 5 March 2013 (no. 270).
Sold to benefit Kiva.org.

blue & brown series of 3: dragonfly, the more real, the journey

A new "series" of three temari in blue and brown. Now that I've been painting again, I thought it would be interesting to approach groups of temari with a similar color palette.

dragonfly

dragonfly

dragonfly

dragonfly

the distant mountains
are reflected in the eye
of the dragonfly
— Kobayashi Issa (1763–1827)

An S6 wrapped design, just one thread for each colored row, with space between to give an air of . . well, air. A wide obi. Thread wrap in silvery brown (a squirrel brown); embroidery in 11 shades of blue and brown. The haiku by Issa is in the bell box along with brass rings that make a quiet traditional rattle. Circumference: 10 inches / 25.5 cm; diameter: 3.18 inches / 8.11 cm. Completed 26 February 2013 (no. 263).
Sold to benefit Kiva.org.

the more real

the more real

the more real

the more real

The longer you look at an object, the more abstract it becomes, and, ironically, the more real.
— Lucien Freud (1922–2011) 

A layered kiku design, 2 x 4-point stars, with gaps at the outer points. S16 division in metallic silver; thread wrap in sky blue; embroidery in 4 shades of blue and brown. The quote by Freud is in the bell box along with brass rings that make a quiet traditional rattle. Circumference: 10.75 inches / 27.2 cm; diameter: 3.42 inches / 8.65 cm. Completed 25 February 2013 (no. 264).
Sold to benefit Kiva.org.

the journey

the journey

the journey

the journey

It is good to have an end to journey toward, but it is the journey that matters in the end.
— Ursula K. Le Guin (b. 1929)  

An interlocked kiku design, 2 x 5-point stars. I have come to think of this as one of my signature designs; it's one of my favorite to make. S10 division, guidelines removed; thread wrap in medium navy blue; embroidery in 8 shades of blue and brown. The quote by Le Guin is in the bell box along with brass rings that make a quiet traditional rattle. Circumference: 10 inches / 25.5 cm; diameter: 3.18 inches / 8.11 cm. Completed 27 February 2013 (no. 265).
Sold to benefit Kiva.org.

a little record keeping . . .

I have, at last, finished a special project of 30 temari (nos. 228–230, 232, 233, 236, 238–243, 245–262) — completed between 22 December 2012 and 21 February 2013.

Each temari generated a $25 loan to women in Bolivia, Chile, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Georgia, Ghana, Guatemala, Kenya, Mexico, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Senegal, Tajikistan, The Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Uganda.

I note this because I like to note every finished temari on this blog, and don't do well with missing gaps . . .

New temari will be in the shop very soon.

introducing artwork from kumo temari

Because of various commitments, I won't be adding new temari to the Etsy shop until spring (March or April). However, I am currently offering for sale original artwork — small (very small) mixed-media paintings and drawings; these, too, benefit Kiva.org. $25 from the sale of each artwork will be loaned through Kiva. My paintings and drawings are a mix of watercolor, watercolor pencil, gouache, oil pencil, pen & ink . . . and coffee. Hope you'll check them out, and thank you for your support!

my current storefront

begin in emotion

A work of art which did not begin in emotion is not art.
— Paul Cézanne (1839–1906)

This is the first time I have used variegated thread that was "machine" variegated — manufactured that way, as opposed to hand-dyed. I wasn't sure I'd like it, but in this case I really do. I never stitch in white, and some of the other variegated colors run all the way to white; but this steel gray one goes from black to light gray. I love the effect it produces on something simple as this kiku (chrysanthemum) pattern.

Thread wrap in celadon green (a very light blue-ish green); S16 division in metallic silver. Embroidery in variegated steel gray, and in a silvery-white-birch-like-color. The quote by Paul Cézanne is in the bell box along with brass rings that make a quiet traditional rattle. Circumference: 10.625 inches / 27 cm; diameter: 3.38 inches / 8.59 cm. Completed 31 December 2012 (no. 237).

Sold to benefit Kiva.org.

Compare the variegated gray petals at one pole . . .

. . . with the petals at other pole. Neat.