the breaking of a wave — individual herringbone stitch

The breaking of a wave cannot explain the whole sea.
— Vladimir Nabokov

Lately I've been thinking about how to create an interesting design with "stand alone" herringbone stitches. I divided this temari as an S24, and chose two color palettes of three colors each. I did one round of 8 petals, then another round of 8 offset by one guideline, then a third round of 8 the last guidelines. Over this I did the same, with shorter petals. So essentially 6 layers of single-stitch flowers, with kiku herringbone at the poles. Spirograph!

Thread wrap in ecru; S24 division, guidelines removed after stitching; embroidery in 6 shades of blues and greens. The quote above by Nabokov is in the bell box along with 9 brass rings. Circumference: 9.875 inches / 25 cm; diameter: 3.14 inches / 7.95 cm. Completed 1 February 2012 (no. 095).


No. 96 followed right after, trying to address some of the issues I was unhappy with in this one.

wise men fashion themselves

Carpenters bend wood, fletchers bend arrows, wise men fashion themselves.
— Siddhārtha Gautama Buddha

This temari has a pattern two interlocked five-point kiku herringbone flowers, but the kiku points are at the equator and not at the poles, which is the standard. I did this once before (no. 65, an S16) and think this one turned out better as an S10, and I want to try working with this idea further. The petals have the opposite "arc" than when the kiku points are at the poles, and the whole thing reminds me of Islamic designs, and doors on mosques and other Islamic architecture or mosaics.

Thread wrap in purple; S10 division in metallic copper; embroidery in 5 shades of very light lavender-white (not actually white) to dusky lavender to purple. The quote above by the Buddha is in the bell box along with 14 brass rings. Circumference: 10.625 inches / 27 cm; diameter: 3.38 inches / 8.59 cm. Completed 30 January 2012 (no. 093).

this very moment

This very moment is the perfect teacher, and, luckily for us, it's with us wherever we are.
— Pema Chödrön (1936– )

My second attempt at the "kiku around kiku" technique, like no. 91. That was done on an S12, and this on an S20, which is what the original pattern called for. This is finer and more delicate because of the narrower petals. It has a 20-point kiku herringbone design (uwagake chidori kagari) with a second round of kiku stitched in the opposite color under and around the points of the first.

Thread wrap in charcoal gray; S20 division in black #8 perle; embroidery in olive green and orchid purple. The quote above by Pema Chödrön is in the bell box along with 7 brass rings. Circumference: 11.25 inches / 28.5 cm; diameter: 3.58 inches / 9.07 cm. Completed 29 January 2012 (no. 094).

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out of the nest (rose garden pattern)

To be fully alive, fully human, and completely awake is to be continually thrown out of the nest.
— Pema Chödrön (1936– )

The rose garden pattern is definitely one of my favorites, and provides so many opportunities for variation. This temari uses alternating pentagons with some long layered herringbone stitches around the center.

Thread wrap in dark moss green; S10 division in matching #5 perle; embroidery in more than 10 shades of greens, silvery greens, browns, and coppers. The quote above by Pema Chödrön is in the bell box along with 10 brass rings. Circumference: 10.625 inches / 27 cm; diameter: 3.38 inches / 8.6 cm. Completed 27 January 2012 (no. 092).


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kiku around kiku pattern - deserve your dream (2)

Deserve your dream.
— Octavio Paz (1914–1998)

This is a new pattern — a traditional pattern that employs a second round of kiku herringbone around the first in reversed colors for an interesting optical effect. The pattern I followed was an S20 division and this an S12. I like very much how it looks, but would like to try it on the narrower division to see what effect that has on the illusion.

Midnight blue thread wrap; S12 division with khaki #8 perle; embroidery in purple and a brassy-golden-yellow. The quote by Octavio Paz  is in the bell box along with 12 brass rings. Circumference: 11 inches / 28 cm; diameter: 3.5 inches / 8.91 cm. Completed 24 January 2011 (no. 091).

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use the experience wisely (2)

Nothing is a waste of time if you use the experience wisely.
— Auguste Rodin (1840–1917)

I've twice stitched a C8 with interwoven kiku stars (see no. 29 and no. 66), but this is the first with interwoven, layered stars — that is, each of the six eight-point stars has four points that are "interlocked" with points of other stars.

Very light bluish green (celadon) thread wrap; C8 division with metallic silver; embroidery in four gradated shades of blue-green. The quote by Auguste Rodin is in the bell box along with 7 brass rings. Circumference: 10.625 inches / 27 cm; diameter: 3.38 inches / 8.59 cm. Completed 20 January 2011 (no. 090).


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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).