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).
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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).
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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).
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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).
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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).
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castle in the clouds

There are no rules of architecture for a castle in the clouds.
— G. K. Chesterton (1874–1936)

A completely spontaneous original design, created as I was stitching. I was watching the documentary "Painters Painting" and was inspired by a quote from Helen Frankenthaler: "A picture that is beautiful . . . looks as if it was all made at one stroke." I was also thinking of atoms, and movement.

Thread wrap in "hacienda" — a not-bright orange with a touch of red. S8 division in metallic white. Embroidery in two blues and pale orange. The quote by G. K. Chesterton is in the bell box along with brass rings that make a quiet traditional rattle. Circumference: 10.125 inches / 25.7 cm; diameter: 3.22 inches / 8.18 cm. Completed 3 December 2012 (no. 222).

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get the planet ready

When you've finished getting yourself ready in the morning, you must go get the planet ready.
— Antoine de Saint-Exupery (1900–1944), The Little Prince

Ribbed kiku herringbone. S8 division in ecru. Thread wrap in ecru. Embroidery in 15 shades of moss and avocado greens, with a couple browns. The quote by Antoine de Saint-Exupery is in the bell box along with brass rings that make a quiet traditional rattle. Circumference: 10.75 inches / 27.5 cm; diameter: 3.42 inches / 8.75 cm. Completed 25 November 2012 (no. 219).

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all the universe conspires

When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.
— Paulo Coelho (b. 1947)

Thread wrap in seafoam green; S8 division in metallic silver. Embroidery in greens and violets. The quote by Paul Coelho is in the bell box along with brass rings that make a quiet traditional rattle. Circumference: 10.5 inches / 26.8 cm; diameter: 3.34 inches / 8.53 cm. Completed 10 November 2012 (no. 210).

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bitter winter wind, snow falling

This is a set of two small temari that were stitched to be a pair, and to echo each other in design

left: bitter winter wind

bitter winter wind
ends there—
sound of the sea
— Ikenishi Gonsui (1650–1722)

They are stitched in perle #8, a thinner weight thread. It was almost like drawing with pen and ink (which is something I do), and the designs were created as I stitched—"freestyle."

left: snow falling

no sky
no land — just
snow falling
— Kajiwara Hashin (1864–?)

Each has a thread wrap in eggshell. Both are stitched with hand-dyed naturally variegated perle #8 in charcoal tones. Guidelines in ecru perle #8; "bitter winter wind" (no. 203) has an S8 division, "snow falling" (no. 204) an S10 division. The haiku by Ikenishi Gonsui is in the bell box of "bitter winter wind" and the haiku by Kajiwara Hashin is in the bell box of "snow falling," along with brass rings that make a quiet traditional rattle. Both are the same size — circumference: 8.125 inches / 20.5 cm; diameter: 2.58 inches / 6.5 cm. Both completed 4 November 2012 (nos. 203, 204).

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left: snow falling; right: bitter winter wind

letting go

Letting go gives us freedom and freedom is the only condition for happiness.
— Thich Nhat Hanh (b. 1926)

Playing with multiple rows of layered kiku herringbone.

Thread wrap in medium silvery blue; S8 division matching perle #8. Embroidery in 6 shades of blues and browns. The quote by Thich Nhat Hanh is in the bell box along with brass rings that make a quiet traditional rattle. Circumference: 11.25 inches / 28.5 cm; diameter: 3.58 inches / 9 cm. Completed 23 October 2012 (no. 196).

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moment to moment

The future is completely open, and we are writing it moment to moment.
— Pema Chödrön (b. 1936)

Another in my new endeavor into fairly small temari (and the smallest to date, except one I made for my cat the first month I was learning, snort), with a layered 2 x 4-point kiku pattern. The thread is perle #8 (half the weight I usually use). It's a specialty hand-dyed and naturally variegated thread, which really shows in one of the skeins used.

Thread wrap in seafoam green. S8 division in metallic silver. Embroidery with hand-dyed perle #8, naturally variegated — soft greens and tans and beiges and browns. The quote by Pema Chödrön is in the bell box along with brass rings that make a quiet traditional rattle. Circumference: 7.875 inches / 20 cm; diameter: 2.5 inches / 6.36 cm. Completed 5 October 2012 (no. 178).

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next to no. 177, which is 3.22 inches in diameter

all the details

The true secret of happiness lies in taking a genuine interest in all the details of daily life.
— William Morris (1834–1896)

Two layered four-point kiku herringbone stars at top and bottom; a gap before the final three rows of each adds a bit of a lacy effect.

Thread wrap in purple; S8 division in #5. Embroidery in 5 shades of artichoke green, from extremely light to quite dark. The quote by William Morris is in the bell box along with brass rings that make a quiet traditional rattle. Circumference: 11.25 inches / 28.5 cm; diameter: 3.58 inches / 9.07 cm. Completed 14 September 2012 (no. 155).

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a creative life

To live a creative life, we must lose out fear of being wrong.
— Joseph Chilton Pearce (b. 1926)

This temari is a pattern for which I love the final result, though making it can be either tedious or relaxing depending on my mood. Cotton packing string is used for the guidelines as thicker anchors for the wrapped rounds of embroidery thread.

Intended to be a companion piece, the colors are the same (with the addition of one) as temari no. 138.

S8. Embroidery in slate gray, chocolate brown, medium antique blue, grass green, medium greenish-blue, and butter yellow. The quote by Pearce is in the bell box along with brass rings that make a quiet traditional rattle. Circumference: 10.25 inches / 26 cm; diameter: 3.26 inches / 8.3 cm. Completed 19 August 2012 (no. 140).

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