kumo temari: you can always begin again

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

you can always begin again

No matter how hard the past, you can always begin again.
— Buddha

I have crafted a number of temari using the traditional flax (or hemp; asanoha kagari) stitched on a C8 division. This is my first on a C10 division. Instead of stitching the flax "blossoms" (bundles of pine needle stitching) in squares, they are stitched into pentagons.

Thread wrap in dark navy — really midnight blue. C10 division in metallic silver, with hemp stitching in metallic gold. The quote by Buddha is in the bell box along with brass rings that make a quiet traditional rattle. Circumference: 12.125 inches / 31.5 cm; diameter: 3.85 inches / 10 cm. Completed 16 October 2012 (no. 185).

Sold to benefit Kiva.org.

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do you sell temari?

I sell select temari in my shop on Etsy.com — KumoTemari.etsy.com. Temari are added to the shop as as I finish them, sometimes 2 or 3 at a time, on average once a week. To learn how to find out when new temari are added to the shop, please see the FAQ section of my shop policy page, "How to Find Out When Temari are in the Shop." The FAQ page includes instructions for joining my mailing list.

All sales loan funds to low-income entrepreneurs around the world through the micro-financing site Kiva.org.

temari diagram

The temari is traditionally referred to in terms relating to the globe. Thus, the top and bottom are poles (north and south), and the horizontal circumference around the center is the equator (marked in red; it's called the obi, which is the sash around a kimono). The vertical gray lines represent the division lines that are marked with thread on the temari before stitching. This is a "simple 8" division (S8), resulting in eight equal "wedges," as if slicing an apple from top to bottom (wedges is not an official term, but it gets the idea across). Divisions include simple (S) and combination (C) — S4, S6, S8, S10, S12, and S16; C6, C8, and C10.