Temari NY Spring Fling thoughts

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Temari NY Spring Fling 2002
Thoughts from the Flingers

From Harriet : Spring Fling was over stimulation for an isolated rural Temari maker like me! Wow! David and I easily drove the 5 and one half hours to the motel in Fishkill, NY from Cornish, ME. Our first contact with Ryan, who was sitting by her Temari book in the lobby, was indeed a warm, enthusiastic beginning. Ryan's Temari thirst superseded mine my miles of measuring! Paula then came through the motel doors. Easy to spot. She had a basket of Temari goodies. Paula, a third generation Temari maker, gave us a quick lesson on the swirl. " So easy!" she said. Soon thereafter Ginny, Sue C, Sue H and Martine announced their presence with " hellos" and hugs. The quiet lobby became cheerfully noisy. In 3 cars we arrived at Ginny's house where we were greeted by Puffin ( a delightful friend ). A pizza supper, checking out Temari supplies, admiring everyone's balls, watching Ginny emotionally open her quilt and then playing a game ( I didn't get it?) was the order of the evening. Back at the motel by midnight ( thanks to Paula's expert turns and Ginny's map). David was peacefully sleeping and my head was racing and juggling Temari balls.....I finally said good night to a great day!
On Saturday I found my nitch ( as did all of us) in Ginny's comfortable living room. There I sat; watching, listening, sewing, playing a game ( I didn't get it either?) and being amazed! I couldn't believe the amount of thread some use in their needles. I couldn't believe how quick some measure a ball. I couldn't believe the feel and roundness of a lint ball ( thanks to Nicole). I couldn't believe the preciseness of Sue C's and Ryan's balls. I couldn't believe the materials everyone brought ( Nicole and Sue H...and in a suitcase?) to share with the group. I couldn't believe how quietly Martine got it all. I couldn't believe the Swirl girl - Paula. The " I Couldn't Believe " list goes on and on. Probably the most important ones were Ginny's organization and the abundance of laughter. All very good for the Temari soul! Sunday, after David made his brief appearance, we drove home in the rain reaching our part of the world which was covered in snow. TEMARI FRIENDS......I THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!

From Paula: it was an incredible opportunity to meet a remarkably diverse group of women who all shared the love of creating colorful art balls, and who were all open and sharing and caring. Each of the women brought different skills and abilities and interests. Sue H with her first hand experiences in Japan learning temari was fascinating to listen to and a wealth of information. She was incredible in her willingness to impart her knowledge to the rest of us. Nicole must have been sewing 24 hours a day from the time she heard about the Fling - not only did she organize the quilt, make her own block, and sew it together, but she also made us all goodie bags and Zaboutons . Those who came from the farthest some how managed to bring the most. Ginny has the largest collection of temari artifacts and books and threads, and shared all of them and her house with 7 relative strangers. Her organizational skills are unsurpassed. There were actually 9, not 8, women at The Fling as Puffin was an integral part of the proceedings! She was very respectful of all the temari paraphernalia that covered all surfaces of the living room. A wonderful weekend! Thank you! I am learning to use the beautiful temari stamp too!

From Martine: “…And three people do it, three, can you imagine, three people walking in singin a bar of Alice's Restaurant and walking out. They may think it's an organization. And can you, can you imagine fifty people a day, I said fifty people a day walking in singin a bar of Alice's Restaurant and walking out. And friends they may thinks it's a movement.” Arlo Guthrie Seems we may have started a movement! Temari Southern style was the beginning, now we’ve had Spring Fling, and California’s jumping in. At last-the weekend devoted to Temari, where I could be a participant and ask my many questions. I arrived with books of patterns to be figured out and many prepped mari. My mind was clear of work and I was ready to enjoy! Friday night-eat, meet, and greet. Show and tell Nicole, Sue H and I were already friends from Temari Southern Style. Nicole, a seasoned pro wowed everyone with the dragonfly ball she had created in Birmingham and nearly sent me tripping over the edge as I tried to duplicate the ball. Sue H amazed people with her ability to quietly sit and work on her temari without any aid of books or patterns. A little known fact is that Sue is a bag lady-She packs using Japanese bags stuffed into larger bags. Ryan, an engineer by training, has the art of marking down to a science with every technical tool used to perfection. I heard that it takes her only 8 hours to mark a C8. Ryan is super organized and travels with her drawer of temari supplies. Susan C, chauffeur and gatekeeper of us all creates temari with subtle elegance that matches her personality. Paula has the art of 1.5 inch and smaller mari mastered. Her stash fits easily into a few small boxes and totally captivates the viewer with their color and intricacy. Less IS more!
Harriet has never met a stranger and must live a fascinating life in her underground house! Her temari are precision plus detail- beautiful. Ginny -she is temari mama! She actually owns all the books and there are threads galore in her place-real life examples of what you can order by catalog or online- She is better than a needlework store. Saturday - The day actually flew by though I am afraid I missed most of it being painfully consumed with trying to figure out Nicole’s dragonfly ball. (I had come with a stash of glow in the dark thread and was determined to make lightening bugs with glowing butts using Nicole’s pattern.) Instead, the glow in the dark stash was used for the swirl pattern that Paula demonstrated and in the process, an owl appeared that would do Judy Shorten’s site proud! It was time for dinner before we knew it. Everyone braved the chopsticks except for this girl from Alabama who had visions of pieces of shrimp hitting the diners at the next table, Seems that restaurant has a gong tradition for birthdays and seems that Ryan really has a thing for gongs.....
Sunday - Nicole made a breakfast fit for a tent revival. Alas, things must end and slowly people had to leave however for those who were able to stay the morning, Sue H and Ginny offered personal help and suggestions. These gatherings are amazing! We are people who have never met in person, yet we immediately fall into friendships that seem as if they have existed for years. Hope all of you can get to a gathering sometime in the future!

From Ryan: Hello all you beautiful Flingers and Wishyacouldabeens, Well, it's noon and I am just now awake from a long recuperating sleep. I thought there would be no words with which to express my gratitude this morning, but I feel a few coming on. I'm afraid if I begin, I may never stop (until, of course AOL crashes me out before this gets to anyone!). I feel I'm awakening from a wonderful NY dream. I am so full of spirit given me by Ginny and all the Flingers. The experience was truly a filling up and spilling over of shared sensations, emotions, talents and gifts. To spend time with so many gifted, open, generous, sharing, funny, sincerely caring women was a gift beyond measure for me. Ginny and Sue C. greeted me Thurs nite with such warmth and grace that I was at once sure I'd entered a magical place. Ginny's home is certainly the ideal layout for an event of this type, wide open spaces for 8 women to learn and laugh together and to spread out ALL their STUFF! Ginny had told me to bring a sleeping bag so I could stay at the house and not miss a minute. I believe I was the envy of all. I expected a small corner somewhere, perhaps next to Puffin's bed. Instead I got what seemed like the master suite: Ginny's studio, complete with a seemingly unlimited library of temari books. I was in heaven!I am somewhat embarrassed that I'm still in the American mode of "Thank you" after the fact, rather than the omiage tradition of arriving with gratitude. Many of beautiful gifts were given and received that will always hold a special place in my heart and home. Addendum - Most of us have learned through books and advice from the group, but to have hands on teaching and comparing notes on tehcniques in person makes all the diffrerence. For example, Nicole noted in her report that it had been taking me (only!) 8 hours to mark a C8. That's not exactly right, it was my C10s. The night I arrived i told Sue and Ginny and explained that it took so long because of my incessant remeasuring for precision. Well, Ginny took a good look at my "tools and measuring techniques", and vowed that I would not use my tape measure, engineering dividers, etc (she hadn't seen the calculator!) through the whole weekend. Note - she does not dissapprove of these tools and even has them; she's a whatever works for you kind of woman, but for me it was not working. She sat with me and we each marked a C10. I must admit she was done in no time while I got it down to 2hours. I considered that a real accomplishment! Now, I am happy to report that I can do a C10 easily is less than an hour! As I said, there is nothing like being there. Hands and hearts together can work wonders for the soul.

From Susan C: WOW - Who would have thought that 8 strangers (well, we were strangers in the literal sense, in that we had never met) could come together from Maine to Florida for a weekend and instantly develop such a strong bond of sisterhood (maybe next time we'll have some brothers, too)? It was a very special treat to be a part of it! All Ginny's prior hard work and plans made the weekend go flawlessly, seeming to the rest of us like it was all just happening spontaneously. Those not lucky enough to be there will surely enjoy the pictures. Oh, if only they could be HEARD -- you'd love the sounds of ohs and ahs of show-and-tell, the camraderie as we discovered similar likes and dislikes, the sharing of favorite temari techniques, supplies and patterns, the encouragement for those intimidated by a difficult pattern, and every minute of it magicly interspersed with hoots of laughter and shreiks of joy. I have no doubt that Nicole's virtual review is going to give you a true, if not entirely complete (some censoring may be required for general consumption) sense of our AMAZING weekend. To all who contributed squares to Nicole's quilt, it was a beautifully made and fitting tribute to Ginny -- one that I honestly believe overwhelmed her completely. Finally, to each and every one of you who did participate in the weekend, thank you wholeheartedly for all you contributed to one of the most fun gatherings I've been part of in a long, long time. Love you all! Susan C.

And from me -to all of you that placed your trust in me, traveled long distances on the faith of friendship and a shared passion - how can I say thank you? I have said many times that it has been the website and discussion list that has held my marbles together so much these last years.... to have had it all come to life is still beyond what I can wrap my mind around. To find that friendships are indeed as true in real life as virtually - to have solidified and forged them deeper - to have shared and laughed and taught and learned together - there are not words to describe it. And to all those that were here in spirit, let alone those that come together to make the quilte possible (with my deepest thanks to you and Nicole, all) - all I can say is that we will indeed do it again.

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