a single thread in nature (2)

If one pulls on a single thread in nature, you'll find it attached to everything else.
— John Muir (1838–1914)

Here's the second of the triad stitched around the Muir quote (see the first here). Again, mutsume ami—the basket weave—but with rows of three threads. The colors were inspired by a lithograph by Faith Ringgold, The Sunflower Quilting Bee at Arles (below). As with the first, the temari is divided into eight triangles; four are filled with the basket weave, and four are left unfilled for contrast.

Thread wrap in dusty mulberry, S4 division. Embroidery in 10 different colors. The quote by John Muir is in the bell box, along with 17 brass rings. Circumference: 9.5 inches / 24 cm; diameter: 3 inches / 7.6 cm. Completed 30 July 2012 (no. 133).

Sold to benefit Kiva.org.

Faith Ringgold, The Sunflower Quilting Bee at Arles, 1996. Lithograph. Philadelphia Museum of Art.

beginning year two of temari - a single thread in nature (1)

 If one pulls on a single thread in nature, you'll find it attached to everything else.
— John Muir (1838–1914)

I'm entering my second year of temari making—I finished my first three on July 26, 2011, and started this blog the next day. After about a month-long hiatus (read: too busy with the day job to work on temari), I finally have a new one, with a new-to-me stitch: mutsume ami—the basket weave (technically, "hexagonal weaving to create a triaxial design"). I learned this stitch form Barb Suess's new book, Temari Techniques: A Visual Guide to Making Japanese Embroidered Thread Balls.

This one is intended to be the first of a triad, stitched around the same quote. My current plan is to further explore variations of this weave, but I may get distracted and do something else . . .

(update, 7/30: see the second one here)

Thread wrap in dark blue-violet ("pansy"), S4 division. Embroidery in light violet blue, violet, and olive gold. The quote by John Muir is in the bell box, along with 17 brass rings. Circumference: 9.5 inches / 24 cm; diameter: 3 inches / 7.6 cm. Completed 27 July 2012 (no. 132).


Sold to benefit Kiva.org.