it is the journey that matters

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)

Thread wrap in silvery lilac; S4 division. Embroidery in purple. The quote by Ursula K. Le Guin is in the bell box along with brass rings that make a quiet traditional rattle. Circumference: 8.25 inches / 21 cm; diameter: 2.62 inches / 6.68 cm. Completed 13 November 2012 (no. 212).

Sold to benefit Kiva.org.

drop by drop

Drop by drop is the water pot filled. Likewise, the wise man, gathering it little by little, fills himself with good.
— Buddha

Another perle #8–stitched small temari. Thread wrap in sky blue; S4 division. Embroidery in hand-dyed naturally variegated perle #8 (thin weight thread) with blue, very light lilac and nearly white tones. The quote by the Buddha is in the bell box along with brass rings that make a quiet traditional rattle. Circumference: 7.625 inches / 19.5 cm; diameter: 2.42 inches / 6.2 cm. Completed 13 November 2012 (no. 211).

Sold to benefit Kiva.org.

Compare thread weights: the blue is #8, the purple and the temari in the back are #5.

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).

Sold to benefit Kiva.org.

left: snow falling; right: bitter winter wind

thousands of candles

Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle, and the life of the single candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared.
— Buddha

Another set of two small temari with the traditional flax (or hemp) design—asanoha kagari. Stitched with hand-dyed perle #8 thread—about half the thickness of the size I generally use.

No. 192: Thread wrap in lilac; C8 division and embroidery in #8 weight purple—naturally variegated from hand-dying for a subtle range of purple tones. Circumference: 7.75 inches / 19.5 cm; diameter: 2.46 inches / 6.2 cm. No. 193: Thread wrap in light pearl gray; C8 division and embroidery in the same purple. Circumference: 7.75 inches / 19.5 cm; diameter: 2.46 inches / 6.2 cm. The quote by Buddha is in the bell box of each, along with brass rings that make a quiet traditional rattle. Completed 22 October 2012 (nos. 192, 193).

Sold to benefit Kiva.org.

left: no. 192; right: no. 193

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).

Sold to benefit Kiva.org.

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

don't worry, spiders

Don't worry, spiders,
I keep house
casually.
— Kobayashi Issa (1763–1828)

A set of two small temari with the traditional flax (or hemp) design—asanoha kagari. They're stitched with hand-dyed perle #8 thread—about half the thickness of #5, the size I generally use—which is naturally variegated in a palette of soft colors.

No. 175: Thread wrap in pearl gray; C8 division and embroidery in #8 "Scottish heather"—a range from soft browns to soft grays. Circumference: 9 inches / 23 cm; diameter: 2.86 inches / 7.32 cm. No. 176: Thread wrap in silver gray; C8 division and embroidery in #8 "charcoal"—blacks and grays with a very slight blue hue. Circumference: 9.25 inches / 23.5 cm; diameter: 2.94 inches / 7.48 cm. The haiku by Issa is in the bell box of each, along with brass rings that make a quiet traditional rattle. Completed 3 October 2012 (nos. 175, 176).

Sold to beneft Kiva.org.

left: no. 175; right: no. 176

every leaf is a flower

Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.
— Albert Camus (1913–1960)

A small temari with the all-over swirl design, this time on an S6 (six triangles in each hemisphere are filled with clockwise or counter-clockwise stitching). The thread is perle #8, about half the weight I usually use, and is hand-dyed and naturally variegated as a result—just perfect for this pattern.

Thread wrap in silver-brown. S6 division, no guidelines. Embroidery from a single skein of hand-dyed perle #8, naturally variegated. The quote by Albert Camus is in the bell box along with brass rings that make a quiet traditional rattle. Circumference: 8.25 inches / 20.8 cm; diameter: 2.62 inches / 6.62 cm. Completed 28 September 2012 (no. 174).

Sold to benefit Kiva.org.

Next to a 3.5 inch diameter temari, for comparison. Same thread wrap color.

the artist is . . .

The artist is a receptacle for emotions that come from all over the place: from the sky, from the earth, from a scrap of paper, from a passing shape, from a spider's web.
— Pablo Picasso (1881–1973)

A set of two small temari with the traditional flax (or hemp) design—asanoha kagari. They're stitched with perle #8 thread—about half the thickness of #5, the size I generally use.

No. 158: Thread wrap in black; C8 division and embroidery in #8 ecru. Circumference: 8.5 inches / 21.5 cm; diameter: 2.7 inches / 6.84 cm. No. 159: Thread wrap in cream; C8 division and embroidery in #8 black. Circumference: 8.625 inches / 22 cm; diameter: 2.75 inches / 7 cm. The quote by Pablo Picasso is in the bell box of each, along with brass rings that make a quiet traditional rattle. Completed 16 September 2012 (nos. 158, 159).

Sold to benefit Kiva.org.

next to an 11" circumference / 3.5" diameter temari, for comparison

one month of temari

I finished my first three temari on July 26 and to celebrate I created a very small temari as a cat toy. S8 division with a simple stripe using herringbone and kiku herringbone at the points. Light purple thread wrap, division lines in violet embroidery thread, embroidery in shades of gray and blue violet. Circumference: 6.5 inches / 16.5 cm; diameter: 2 inches / just over 5 cm. Completed 26 August 2011 (no. 020).