After being wound up at the NY Stitchin 2006, Linda Watts determined that she was going to launch a Temari Stitchin on the island of Cyprus - and launch she did. The plans came to fruition September 2008 - LInda hosted Karin K, Glenna K and Sarah B from the TalkTemari discussion list....


From Linda: The last week has been busy, fun and illuminating!  There were two main objectives I hoped to achieve from the Cyprus Stitch-In.  First and foremost was to share our love of Temari and to see and hold the work of others and hopefully forge new friendships; second was to promote Talk Temari and to encourage those of my students here who haven’t already done so, to join and become involved. I am keenly aware of the fact that, in the USA especially, many people have learned Temari purely from books and that TT is a ‘lifeline’ for them in terms of having real people to talk to, answer queries, help with resources etc.  Here in Cyprus there are a number of us who have been taught – either by Sarah Robinson, or in my case by an original student of hers – and are now teaching a new ‘generation’ of enthusiasts.  We are the lucky ones in that we always have someone on hand to discuss Temari one-on-one.  But as we are such a small island, and our numbers are also small, it has been a wonderful opportunity to meet with and share the experiences of others.

Our group consisted of Glenna K. (& husband Tom) from California, Karin K. (& Thomas L.) from Sweden, Sarah B. from the UK, Val F. from the UK, and from Cyprus - Barbara T., Katy W., Sevi M., Jill B., Jan D., Marion C., and me.  Two others were unable to attend at the last minute.  Pat D. fell ill a few days before, but kindly sent her husband with her apologies and a ball to swap!

The week started, for me, with meeting Karin and Thomas at their hotel in Limassol on Tuesday evening for dinner and to welcome them to Cyprus.  Unfortunately, their flight had been delayed by about 5 hours – so not a good start for them.  However, it didn’t seem to bother them and we had a very pleasant evening catching up and enjoying a Cypriot meal under a huge old ficus tree.  Wednesday evening Glenna and Tom arrived at Larnaca airport and I just hoped that I would instantly recognise Glenna from meeting her in New York last year!  Of course I did and it was a pleasure to meet her lovely husband and to start getting to know them better on the trip back from the airport.  My two cats, Binker and Cleo, were delighted to welcome two new guests into their home and to allow the visitors to pet and adore them the whole time they were here! (Including snuggling up to Tom in bed!!!)  I did try to warn them – Glenna and Tom, that is…..   I was most worried that, as they left LA only on Sunday and were to be returning just a week later, they would be so jet lagged they wouldn’t even remember they’d been in Cyprus!  I delayed making final decisions about social activities until they arrived as I thought they may need time to catch up on their sleep.  They fairly bounced off the plane and kept going until the last minute, in spite of being dragged up mountains, taken shopping (Glenna’s request!) and generally kept busy the whole time.  Wish I could cope with such long journeys half as well. (But then I am considerably older!)  Hope they don’t suffer too much from jet-lag on their return!

Sarah B. (Sarah Robinson’s step-daughter) arrived on Wednesday also, but as she had just a short week on the island, took the opportunity to spend some quality time with her father and then joined up with us all on Saturday.  It was lovely to see her smiling face at Stitches and she was able to meet Kathryn for the first time.  Sarah R (who, most of you will know, brought Temari to Cyprus some years ago and became firm internet friends with Ginny and a number of the original Talk Temari members) and Kathryn had been friends from the early days of Sarah’s arrival on the island. Thursday I took Glenna for a little gentle "retail therapy" – I must say Tom was very patient.  We returned home later and after ‘talking temari’ for a couple of hours, then got changed and ready for the first social event.  Everyone had been invited to (a very informal) supper at my home so that our overseas guests could start to get to know some of the people from the island (although not everyone was able to attend, we had a good turnout).  I had the bright idea, instead of cooking all day myself, of getting a Cypriot ‘take-away’. So glad I did.  It would either have been burnt offerings or uncooked food as so much seemed to be happening. And this was an initiation into Cypriot food for our visitors.  Keith D. very kindly ‘volunteered’ to collect the order and his wife Jan made two gorgeous desserts.  Jill B. also ‘volunteered’ to make a beautiful big salad.  So, we had a veritable feast and a jolly evening was had by all. 

On Friday Glenna, Tom, Karin, Thomas and I took a trip up and over Mount Olympus, stopping at a couple of villages for some ‘window shopping’ then skirting the capital Nicosia before returning home.  We’d had a large lunch at The Mill restaurant in the pretty mountain village of Kakopetria, so Glenna and I didn’t need any dinner. ....such a change for me to have someone to talk to at home! (webmaster's note: Linda's hubby spends much time on the road for his profession).  It was really interesting for me to talk at length with Glenna about how she arrives at some of her designs!  She has an ‘ideas book’ into which she puts many designs, patterns and pictures from various internet sites and which she rolls around in her brain over days, weeks or months before she finally decides to set to and work out individual patterns.

I packed the car Friday night so that we could just get up and go on Saturday morning – for once I was pretty organised and didn’t forget anything.  That has to be a first for me. Glenna and I left a little early on Saturday morning so that I could set up ‘the stuff’ before everyone else arrived.  (Tom was being collected by the husbands of Jill and Val - they were joining up with Thomas at Stitches and then off for a ‘boy’s day’ out.)  After introducing everyone (Kathryn N. (the owner of Stitches) and Maria C. (the chef))  and getting things laid out, we still had time for a leisurely chat and coffee before the rest of the stitchers started to arrive. We had a full day with show and tell first, so that each of the ladies could introduce herself.Val showed us a large Temari (stitched, we think, with bunka) from Japan.  The story behind the ball was that a young colleague of her husband who was married to a Japanese lady had gone to Japan a couple of years ago following the death of his wife’s Grandmother. Whilst helping to clear this lady’s house, a couple of Temari were found – one of which was slightly damaged and the other, which Val had brought to show us, and which had been a wedding present to said Grandmother in 1910 was in beautiful condition.  Most colours are as vibrant as the day they were stitched and it has a lovely sheen to it.  I have posted a photograph so you can appreciate its beauty.  There were some interesting and very beautiful examples of work and we all enjoyed ooh’ing and aah’ing.  Hopefully, we’ve all been given a few ideas of what we’d like to try next.

Then followed a simple project.  Each person was asked to bring a wrapped ball and threads to stitch with.  We then swapped supplies so that everyone was using someone else’s colours.  As we had some fairly new stitchers, I kept the challenge simple and asked each person to stitch any design they liked but it had to include a kiku somewhere.  (Sorry, Sarah, that you ended up with a white ball – hope you become a convert!)  At this point it went very quiet whilst everyone pondered on what they were going to stitch. We broke for a delicious lunch - home made quiches, salads, lasagne and 4 scrummy cakes - which Maria had prepared for us  (thank you, Maria) and followed this with our ball swap, entitled ‘Island in the Sun’.  There were some very pretty balls and I think each person was delighted to have a piece of someone else’s work to take home with them. 

We then had what my husband Martin christened a ‘Snaffle Raffle’.  We had a dozen or more prizes and everyone was most generous in buying tickets.  (80 Euros raised for the ‘Friends for Life’ cancer respite care charity here in Cyprus – thank you so much ladies.)  After the prizes were all won, my ‘little helper’ Dorothy (who only called into Stitches to see what we were all up to!) carried on drawing tickets, so that the winners had to ‘steal’ a prize from someone else.  This caused considerable laughter and a little consternation as people thought they were going to keep the prizes they had chosen and were surprised to have them ‘stolen’!  I think most people went home with a prize, although I’m not quite sure where the cone of gold thread and the pin cushion finally ended up! Bang on time, the menfolk returned from their mini-tour of the island and we started to pack up.  I couldn’t believe it was over.  After weeks of planning and organising, it was now behind me.  Karin worried me a little later when she said that it had been a very short day!  Gosh, I thought, should I have made it longer and included more activities? – but no, she said that six hours had felt more like two.  I took that to mean that time flies when you’re having fun – I certainly hope so (webmaster's note again - yes, lots of fun!). Events were rounded off when a group of us went for a traditional meze meal at a lovely Cypriot restaurant in town, which I think everyone enjoyed.  Our overseas guests certainly had lots of different dishes to try.  (If anyone has gained weight, I take absolutely no responsibility!)

I must thank everyone for coming and making the day such a success and I know that everyone was inspired by seeing so much beautiful work and soaked up the experience and enthusiasm of others.   Saturday was a perfect example of the bonds which Temari can forge and the inspiration which can be gained from mixing experienced, active members with less experienced but nevertheless enthusiastic stitchers.

I am thrilled to have had the opportunity of bringing these ladies together and look forward to developing our stitching relationships and inspiring each other to new levels.  I would say to each of you – think about organising a get together, there are so many rewards to be gained and it is such a valuable and uplifting experience. I offer heartfelt thanks to everyone for coming, especially our overseas visitors, and for helping to make the day so enjoyable. 

Watch for further developments from Cyprus………..

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From Glenna K:  We landed in Cyprus and Linda met us at the airport and began our history lesson.  This fascinating island republic has a rich culture.  It is evident in their clothing and crafts, architecture, food, and language. The island is in a period of drought and the surrounding country is suffering and dusty, but Linda has a beautiful garden which she lovingly tends with her grey water system.  There we were met by the two resident cats who graciously accepted our caresses.  Linda’s beautiful home is a treasure trove of fascinating things she has collected from around the world where her husband’s work has taken them. The next day we met Louis and his family in their shop which specializes in embroidery, lace, and silver.  His wife was doing FINE traditional embroidery on a tablecloth when we arrived.  The stitching was so perfect that you could not tell front from back!  If she applied this skill to temari she would jump instantly to Level 4!  After blowing my budget on these treasures Louis took us to a silversmith’s shop for a quick demonstration on the incredible technique of silver filagree work.  Then we had a walking tour of the village.  I was surprised to learn that behind all of the closed doors which line the cobble stone streets were hidden courtyards surrounded by the family home.  The door to a Greek Orthodox church was open, so we were able to peek inside at the intricate craftsmanship of woodwork, icons, and silver filagree lanterns.

Back at Linda’s we had a delicious dinner and met everyone who will be at the Stitch-In on Saturday.  There are several groups of temari stitchers on the island and everyone had fun being together.  The cats were in heaven with all of the attention. On Friday we connected with Karin and Thomas from Sweden and made a driving tour around the island.  We went up into the mountains and passed through villages with terraced vineyards and orchards.  Linda almost adopted a cute black kitten who followed her down the street. We had lunch on the top floor of an old mill and enjoyed the sound of rushing water as we stuffed ourselves.  As we rounded the island we could see the manned guard posts along the hills which separate the Greek and Turkish areas of the island. On Saturday my husband went off with the other husbands to look at architectural ruins and other interesting stuff.  The ladies gathered at Stitches to stitch! 

We had show and tell all morning.  My goodness these folks do beautiful work!  As you will see from the photos there is a wide variety of color styles and ideas.  But everything was beautifully worked.  I got so many inspirations!  We had a lovely lunch provided by the ladies at Stitches.  Their resident cat put in an appearance.  And then we got started on our challenge.  We swapped wrapped balls and threads.  The challenge was to work a Kiku pattern of some kind.  It was very quiet for a while and the brains shifted into high gear.  The measuring and marking began and soon the needles were working as well.  We are to post pictures when we are done.  Four o’clock came all to quickly.  We packed our stitching gear and temari away and vowed to do it again soon.  Then we were off to prepare for dinner.

We had reservations at a Cypriot restaurant for a “meza.”  I am not sure that is spelled correctly.  They basically bring food to you until you beg them to stop!  We had salads, the biggest butter beans I’ve ever seen, an egg/bacon dish, skewers of chicken, beef, or pork, ravioli, potatoes, stuffed flower blossoms, cheese, a lamb dish, and about 20 more dishes I never learned the names of.  And I understand they would also have served a desert meza if we had wanted!  Everything was delicious!  It was quite a celebration of food. Back to Linda’s to try to squeeze all of my treasures into my luggage.  Then we had one more good chat.  When I went upstairs I found two females in bed with my husband!  One cat politely left when I arrived, but the other cat purred and kept us both warm through the night.

The flight home was over 23 hours and that’s enough said about that.  The Cyprus Stitch-In was a great learning experience and LOTS of fun. 

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From Karin K.: Thomas and I arrived Monday afternoon for a week at Cyprus. We hadn't been on the island before so we thought a short vacation was  a good idea. And it was. It was very hot when we arrived and my first thought was "It's impossible to stitch in this heat. The temari will be soaking wet after a few minutes." But no, that was not a problem. After a few days of sightseeing, both on our own and with Linda, Glenna and Tom it was Saturday and time for stitching. It was a happy bunch of both new faces and a few old ones. In all I think we represented 5 nationalities although most of the participants live in Cyprus. We saw and heard the story of the antique temari that almost got thrown away. We had a swap (I got Glennas temari with a Cyprus map on one side). And we started a project, a colour swap using kiku. Show and tell. And good food. The day gave me a lot of laughter, new friends and new ideas. When's the next Stitch-in?