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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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

what happens to you

Experience is not what happens to you; it's what you do with what happens to you.
— Aldous Huxley (1894–1963)

This is an original design that I am refining each time I work on it, and I change up the colors for different feelings from different quotes.

Thread wrap in cinnamon; S10 division, guidelines removed. Embroidery in gold, blue, saffron and dark rust. The quote by Aldous Huxley is in the bell box along with brass rings that make a quiet traditional rattle. Circumference: 11.125 inches / 28.5 cm; diameter: 3.54 inches / 9.07 cm. Completed 2 November 2012 (no. 199).

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my religion is kindness

My religion is very simple. My religion is kindness.
— the Dalai Lama [His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso], (b. 1935)

A variation of a temari I designed not too long ago, no. 170. Intended to highlight the "negative space" at the poles — that is, the shapes formed by not stitching over the thread wrap.

Thread wrap in purple. S4, guidelines removed. Embroidery in purple, red, orange and pale yellow. The quote by the Dalai Lama 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 19 October 2012 (no. 188).

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raven stealing the sun

Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth.
— Buddha

This is my first story-based temari. The design is inspired by the mythology of the Native American tribes of the Pacific Northwest, many of whom have variations on the tale of Raven, the Trickster. The sun and the moon and other precious objects were hidden away in a box, and the world was dark. Raven, through mischievous trickery, finds a way to steal them, and thus brings light to the world.

The sun is formed from the traditional rose garden pattern, while Raven is three layered (traditional) spindles. Thread wrap in brass yellow, S12 division in metallic gold and silver. Embroidery in yellows, oranges, reds, black and silver. The quote by Buddha is in the bell box, along with 33 brass rings. Circumference: 11 inches / 28 cm; diameter: 3.5 inches / 8.9 cm. Completed 11 August 2012 (no. 136).

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Just one example of the many tales:

Long ago, near the beginning of the world, Gray Eagle was the guardian of the Sun, Moon and Stars, of fresh water, and of fire. Gray Eagle hated people so much that he kept these things hidden. People lived in darkness, without fire and without fresh water.

Gray Eagle had a beautiful daughter, and Raven fell in love with her. In the beginning, Raven was a snow-white bird, and as a such, he pleased Gray Eagle's daughter. She invited him to her father's longhouse.

When Raven saw the Sun, Moon and stars, and fresh water hanging on the sides of Eagle's lodge, he knew what he should do. He watched for his chance to seize them when no one was looking. He stole all of them, and a brand of fire also, and flew out of the longhouse through the smoke hole. As soon as Raven got outside he hung the Sun up in the sky. It made so much light that he was able to fly far out to an island in the middle of the ocean. When the Sun set, he fastened the Moon up in the sky and hung the stars around in different places. By this new light he kept on flying, carrying with him the fresh water and the brand of fire he had stolen.

He flew back over the land. When he had reached the right place, he dropped all the water he had stolen. It fell to the ground and there became the source of all the fresh-water streams and lakes in the world. Then Raven flew on, holding the brand of fire in his bill. The smoke from the fire blew back over his white feathers and made them black. When his bill began to burn, he had to drop the firebrand. It struck rocks and hid itself within them. That is why, if you strike two stones together, sparks of fire will drop out.

Raven's feathers never became white again after they were blackened by the smoke from the firebrand. That is why Raven is now a black bird.

Ella E. Clark, Indian Legends of the Pacific Northwest (2003: University of California Press).

destiny is made known silently

No trumpets sound when the important decisions of our life are made. Destiny is made known silently.
— Agnes de Mille (1905–1993)

This is another "sculptural" temari - an original "free form" design intended to be displayed with the north pole at the top or facing forward. I wanted to convey quietness yet strength; using ecru on ecru the pattern is subtle; fine gold highlights add grace.

Thread wrap in ecru; S6 division #8 perle. Embroidery in matching ecru with a few highlights in metallic gold. The quote by Agnes de Mille is in the bell box along with 27 brass rings. Circumference: 9.5 inches / 24.5 cm; diameter: 3 inches / 7.8 cm. Completed 25 April 2012 (no. 114).

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to be renewed

To be worn out is to be renewed.
— Lao Tzu (6th c. BCE)

This is another asymmetrical composition. An S20 division, the top half has four 5-point kiku herring bone stars in four colors, and the points end with several rounds of "kiku around kiku" (like nos. 94 and 101). The bottom half has four 5-point stars of layered reverse kiku herringbone in a slate gray that is identical to the thread wrap, which provides more of a textural than colorful effect. I chose the colors for the top half based on the quote: renewal > phoenix > peacock.

Thread wrap in very dark slate gray (almost black, but not); S20 division in #8 perle. Embroidery in dark teal blue, light blue green, silvery slate blue, purple, and dark slate gray. The quote by Lao Tzu is in the bell box along with 11 brass rings. Circumference: 10.75 inches / 27.5 cm; diameter: 3.4 inches / 8.75 cm. Completed 6 April 2012 (no. 109).

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to see our priorities

We often need to lose sight of our priorities in order to see them.
— John Irving (1942– )

This is a completely experimental temari, an original design that I created with the intent of evoking a rose or rosebud. The top pole (half) features the traditional "rose garden" pattern, stitched in squares on an S16 division with each new square starting one guideline from the last to create a spiral effect. The bottom pole (half) features 4 four-point reverse kiku stars, interlocked, like the bud / closed petals at the base of a flower. This is quite a departure from my usual temari (and temari in general) which are usually symmetrical, whether repeating the same design at the two poles on a simple division, over multiple poles on a combination division (such as six stars on the six poles of a C8 division), or an "all-over" type pattern (like a spiral).

Thread wrap in lilac/lavender; S16 division in #8 perle. Embroidery in many shades of purples, violets, lavenders, and greens. The quote by John Irving is in the bell box along with 9 brass rings. Circumference: 10.25 inches / 26.3 cm; diameter: 3.26 inches / 8.4 cm. Completed 31 March 2012 (no. 107).


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toward what i don't understand

Every day I make an effort to go toward what I don't understand.
— Yo-Yo Ma (1955– )

This is an experimental temari, using a traditional embroidery stitch (the buttonhole stitch) that's not generally used as part of temari stitching. I have been experimenting with traditional embroidery — click here to see my first experiment, no. 86, inspired by the water lily paintings of Monet. This is the second version of a buttonhole temari as I work to refine the pattern. It is visual expression of one way I feel about cello music.

Thread wrap in dark chocolate brown; S12 division with division lines removed; embroidery in four gradated shades of silver gray that has a touch of green, going from dark at one end of the temari to light at the other. The quote above by Yo-Yo Ma is in the bell box along with 11 brass rings. Circumference: 10.75 inches / 27 cm; diameter: 3.42 inches / 8.59 cm. Completed 18 January 2012 (no. 089).