Here is my latest temari:

I really love how this one came out. I think it is my new favorite ball!

So this is marked by outlining the 20 6-part triangles of the C10 (the triangles of an icosahedron).  Basically you place the pins for a C10 but only add the lines for the triangles and nothing else.  I thought it would be difficult to mark neatly since the lines do not go along a great circle, but it went amazingly well.  The simplicity of the marking made it easy to further divide the triangles for the design, and also to locate where the design lines went.

The Vinyard silks performed beautifully, beyond my expectations.  The give a nice shine and surprisingly, texture to the finished design.

If you want more details about the design, just check out the notebook page.

I am very excited about my new temari.  It isn’t done yet so no picture today, but I am really, really happy with it so far and I wanted to share my excitement.

This is on the green mari that I showed you a bit ago.  It did not have a great start.  I was planning an HHG (Hite Hude Gake) type multipole so I dutifully marked the C10 and then used the Multiple of Three technique to mark until I had the number of shapes that I wanted.  Then, Darn!  The shapes were too small to do what I wanted.  So I ripped it all out.  (That seems to be a theme this year…)

I decided to just stick with something I knew would work so I dug into my temari books to find a design I liked.  I found one in the newest book I have , Thimbles and Flowery Temari (ISBN: 978-4-8377-0308-2).  When I dug into the instructions I found that the marking was done differently than the usual.  Rather than start with a standard division and add support lines as needed, this one started with basically a modified C10 marking, referred to as 20 triangles (more or less… I am guessing at the kanji I know).  Interesting.

So right off the bat I have something wonderful to engage my brain while I get started… why 20 triangles?  Why not just do the C10 and remove the lines at the end?  How would I mark it in an efficient manner?  And what’s up with all of the other designs in the book that use this marking?  It was one of those times that makes me wish I could read Japanese.  Maybe there was some nuance in the instructions to explain the thinking of the designer.

Anyway I marked the ball (more about that later, I promise) and got stitching with my new Vineyard silks.  Time for more excitement.  Since they are so soft I expected to have to baby them a bit but no!  They stitch wonderfully, maintaining their springiness, strength and shine even with using long lengths in the needle!

As I got more rows on the ball the feel of it changed from the slick rayon of the machine embroidery thread I wrapped with to the softness of the silk with the bumps from the stitching crossovers for interest and texture.  I love it when the ball feels good in your hands.

So, now I have to go find a green to match the wrap of the ball so I can finish this up.  I love what the colors did together and I love the way the design is coming out.  All I can say right now is ‘Wow!’ Pictures soon, I promise!