With thanks to a dedicated
TalkTemari member, those in the southern area of the US had a chance
to gather and meet each other in Birmingham, Alabama over the weekend
of November 10 and 11. Martine was the determined organizer, and pulled
off all the planning and arranging for some 11 or so Temari-ites to greet,
meet, make, play and generally have a grand time of it. Now that Martine
has shown us all that it can be done, we expect and hope that other local
gatherings can happen from the online community. Here, in some of their
own words, is how it all shook down:
From Martine, here were the plans and actuals: "The
actual event was held at Needleworks in Homewood, AL (a suburb of Birmingham).
People stayed at the Courtyard where Nicole and I shared a suite that was
the hospitality room Friday night and the general after-hours stitching
room all weekend. Some people stayed at the Courtyard, some with friends
in Birmingham and some stayed at the Hampton Inn down the street. Friday
night, we all gathered in the suite as people arrived and people made rice
hull bases. By the time I got there from picking up Sue and Eric from the
airport, the room was jammed and everyone was busy stitching and talking.
THey had already become friends, Friday night, dinner was on everyone's own
but for those who wanted to stay and stitch, we ordered pizza in. Later in
the evening we made a run to Walmart to get the necessary items that people
had forgotten.
Saturday we met at the shop and pretty much had instructional classes
all day with time for people to browse the threads in the shop and
make purchases. I think Eric by far was in his glory and he and I played
off each other's tendencies for experimentation so we bought different
threads like tweeds, fluffies, velvets, and other oddities. Saturday night
we ate at Kobe's, a Japanese steakhouse. Our chef was really funny and
he picked on Shirley, Myrtle and Deborah unmercifully! Saturday after dinner,
some gathered in the suite again to stitch. That "jammin'" after house was
where the most happened (I knew it would because that's the part of bluegrass
festivals I never miss - it's the jammin' in the individual's rooms or campsites
where you REALLY learn). In the suite, we had almost every Temari book represented
(brought by the different attendees) so others could have the opportunity
to look through a book before ordering one sight unseen online. I also had
as many threads there as I could. My personal threads were just there so
people could see what Bunka looked like with a representative ball made of
Bunka, or the trebizond silk with a ball made of that, etc.
By Sunday morning, the votes were in - people wanted another retreat
so we met to discuss who, what, when and how. We have wonderful ideas for
the next one. If we have more new folks as well as veterans, we'll have sessions
for newbies as well as the more practiced stitcher. Barb and Nancy are
in charge of pulling our thoughts together for next year.......
From Sue H.:
How does one begin to describe a warm fuzzy feeling... sparkling eyes,
broad smiles, warm handshakes. The feeling of knowing, yet not knowing.
A bond of friendship. November 9th was bright and clear as I prepared to
board my flight to Birmingham, AL. Last minute e-mails flew to confirm
how we would identify ourselves at the airport baggage claim. As
I reached the bottom of the steps, one could not miss the brilliant smiles
and outstretched arms. Our friendship.... so long-standing... was
solidified. Martine, Eric and Sue H.
So many faces ringed the suite at the hotel. Nicole's giggle,
Blair's twinkling eyes. "Here, smell this!" "Chocolate!"
"You'll never guess what's in this!?! ... dryer lint!" Temari
photo buttons sporting ribbons with our names and e-mail ID's. Here's
Shirley and Sarah... what a team! Sisters Barbara and Nancy with
Myrtle - the off-line lurker who got them started. And poor Debbie,
the newbie, overwhelmed by it all. "have some sand from the beach",
"here's a temari magnet I made", a pin from Alabama, a small plastic kaleidoscope
to "see" the thread colors and how they'll look. "Did you see this
book?" "Check out this temari needle!" "look at that thread"
"Here's Sensei's autograph and letter" "Grab some rice hulls... anybody
got some yarn?" "Pizza!"
The crisp fall of Saturday morning found us at a local stitchery shop.
Blair lead us through the 8 combination, and Sue H. the 10.
We shared some gifties and balls and ate a quick lunch. The time was
flying by, and there was so much to share and learn. Wrap... stitch...
Martine helped us learn to spot the Polar 4, and Barbara shared her washi
eggs and other delights of Japanese culture. Wrap... stitch... and
buy, buy, buy - the colors, the styles... thread enough to keep us entertained...
at least until next year! Then off to the local Kobe Steak House for a delightful
supper and photo ops - unmercifully teasing the chef. Back to Martine
and Nicole's suite for more stitching, then bed.
Sunday found us once again together in the lobby,
making plans for next year. A trip to a Japanese garden to take photos
of our balls, then back to the airport and home. Hugs and tears - it is over
too soon - but the love and friendship shall be with us forever. Each
of us a new thread in our Temari Southern-style "Ball".
Many thanks to Martine for coordinating the event, and to Ginny for
introducing us all, and letting us know "we are not alone"!
Sue H.
From Nicole:
I am exhausted, euphoric and excited after the retreat... it
was an amazing time. I do have to say that I feel like the clouds parted
and the temari angels began to sign when I finally did the C8 and the C10
and GOT it. Didn't just do it but could see it. It's like someone handed
me the key and all of a sudden I can look at a ball and know how it's put
together. (Obviously not all of them, but a lot more than even before).
The other wonderful thing was discovering that Sue wasn't rigid about marking,
but liberally used words like "nudge", "smidge" and "close enough". I figured
with her training she would be hovering over me with a yardstick and slapping
my hand if my divisions weren't perfect. What freedom to learn that perfection
is a goal but not the standard.
Sue, I think you've managed to capture much of the weekend with your
eloquent letter. I would add extra laughing and "beauteous orbs" to
the list, as well. I thought that those of us who were there might
could share some of what we learned and see if it helps the rest of the
group. So....
The Things I learned at Temari - Southern Style
1. Everyone who tries making a base is amazed at how easy it works
up into a beautifully round ball.
2. The point is to have fun and enjoy the process (aka The Sue Rule)
3. Perfection is the goal, but don't expect it to be the norm.
4. The words "smidge", "nudge", and "close enough" are perfectly acceptable.
5. Don't be afraid of colors, or any combinations of them.
6. C8 and C10 divisions really aren't that difficult, especially if
you are sitting in a room filled with laughter and patient teachers.
7. Once you can "see" in divisions you can do almost anything (or
at least feel like you can).
There were plenty more, but those are my favorite. Anyone else
want to play? Nicole
Back to the beginning - here's the rundown: Friday night when I got there,
Nancy, Barb and Myrtle were already in the lobby looking for Martine, who
had gone to the airport to pick up Sue and Eric. We went up to the room,
and Martine had decorated it with tons or temari and lots of books. She
ahd a cool clear display box (she said it was for autographed basketballs)
FULL and a bowl, and a wire tree to hang them on. It was like a temari fantasy
land! (Nicole, you've just won the lottery. What are you going to do??
I'm going to Temari Land!). The other ladies looked around while I unpacked
and tot out the mystery mari stuff to wrap (web master's note - Nicole and
I were in cahoots coming up with "interesting" things to make maris out
of....) - I pulled out the rice hulls and offered them around and ha da few
takers. Everyone was surprised at how quickly they worked up into a really
round ball. Let's see - after that people started showing up pretty quickly.
Deborah, our brave beginner, Blair who also brought a basket FULL of gorgeous
temari and boxes of thread goodies, Martine with Sue and Eric, then Sarah
and Shirley. We were having a blast just putting faces with names. I put
email names on the tags as well as real names and that may have helped a
little. After a while everyone drifted out except Blair and the four of
us at the hotel: Martine, Eric, Sue and myself. We ordered pizza and watched
in awe as Sue nonchalantly marked a c10, while holding a conversation no
less. A last minute run to Wal-Mart topped off the evening....... we were
definitely bonding! I stayed up wrapping some rice hulls since I couldn't
get pins in the funny ones, then hit the sack. So ends the Friday portion
of Temari Southern Style.... Martine and I got ready for bed but giggled
for a while - Bless her heart, she is an early bird and I'm a night owl so
I don't think either one of us got much sleep. next installment of
"As the Mari Turns" later....
Saturday morning started with breakfast at the hotel for the hotel folks
and LOTS of coffee for Martine and I. Blair met us in the lobby and followed
us to the needlework shop. The shop was wonderful. Located in a quaint older
home, it was a nirvana of colors, textures and sizes for many of the folks
who don't have a local needlework shop. We saw all kinds of Kreinik metallics,
DMC pearl and Rainbow Gallery. I think Eric won the award for the largest
purchase, and I got the self control award for not hauling home everything
in the store. It was easy to get carried away! The most interesting purchase
would have to go to Eric for lots of textured threads such as tweed and fuzzy
stuff (web master's note - Eric, we are expecting to see great things from
you shortly!!!). I am fortunate to have several needlework shops in the area
with a good selection, but buying with friends is hard to beat! We weren't
distracted by other things in the store since the only other supply she carried
was needlepoint canvases. The owner was incredibly gracious and generous
and the classroom was ust big enough for us. Martine had made some programs
and Blair was first up to teach the C8. Her first words were "Okay, start
with a simple eight divide....".... Now I had confessed the night before
that sometimes I still struggled with "south pole! "south pole!" so I wondered
aloud (read: butted in) and asked if perhaps some of the more experienced
stitchers could help the less experienced people one on one to get the simple
8 and complex 8 divisions. Blair was very patient with us and everyone seemed
to have a partner (or two) to help. I roped Eric into marking my ball and
it was during this time that I realizes I have been fine all along, just
lacking confidence. That was when Sue started saying things like "If it's
not fun, don't do it" and "close enough". I was so glad to discover that
she wasn't' rigid about the craft. I had the image of her with a ruler smacking
my hand if I marked it wrong (web master's note - Sue has had the great fortune
of learning Temari in Tokyo with Sensei Ozaki). For two years I had focused
on the words "exactly" and prefect" and didn't realize that this was the
goal but not the norm. Oh and I was amazed at hoe big the other folks needles
were!
So, we marked and marked and measure and fudged and finally - success!! C8's
popping up all over the room. The thrill of victory propelled us to the C10
fearlessly. We pulled out the angle measures from Sue and conquered those
maris. She made it so simple. Blair was almost blinded but the light bulb
going off over my head. I didn't just get hoe to do it, I GOT it. It was
like doing your first algebra problem (web master's note, though some of
us have YET to do our first algebra problem....). All of a sudden something
clicks and you can see everything clearly (also called Eureka Moments). Now
I could look through the Japanese books and figure out the pattern by looking.
The clouds parted and the Temari angels (and angles) began to sing. Hallelujah!
By Jove, I think she's GOT it! Something about seeing someone else do it
and working things out together really made it come alive. To be continued....
When we last left our characters they were finishing up the C10 with much
vigor. They decided to break for up for lunch and I went with Martine, Blair,
Eric and Sue to MacDonald's where those absent from our children exulted
in the freedom. Especially when we looked at all the harried parents overseeing
the play area. Ahhh.. sweet peace. That ALONE was worth the trip! After a
quick McSomething or other we headed back to the shop and browsed until the
others returned. I think my favorite find was a patent leather thread. Martine
has a secret plan to use it for a very special ball, but it probably won't
be revealed until next year. The creative juices were flowing as we laughed
and called out, "Look, over here!" and "How could we use this one?" Finally
we all gathered back in the classroom and Martine showed us how to define
a 4 pole division. She handed out styrofoam teaching balls with the C8 markings
and quickly had us dividing them into 4 equal sections with markers. She
as such a good teacher it was easy! Sue even seemed to get a light bulb on
that one which helped her decipher her Crane ball as a 4 pole. Now, I ahd
been calling those poor cranes dragonflies all day (I swear if you turn them
upside down they really resembled insects instead of birds). Once Sue determined
it was a 4 pole pattern i determined that I could turn those little suckers
into dragonflies and set about doing it, pattern free. And that is exactly
what I did! After Martine's instructions, we all decided to go back to the
hotel to get in some stitching time before dinner. I sat and stared at the
cranes, then at my marked ball, and spent a lot of time muttering "long wing,
short wing. Argh! Not there." But before dinner, I had little wings sprouting
up all over the place! Sue as working on a beautiful design and Blair and
Eric were both watching her and working on projects of their own.
to be continued.....
and from Sue H again.....
You are so right. I realized after I'd sent
out the last missive that I left out our "new" vocabulary... "smidge",
"nudge", and "fudge" ....
SMIDGE is what one does with marking pins either at the poles or when
evening up a C 10
NUDGE is what one does with marking and design threads to make them
lay where they're supposed to
FUDGE is what one does when neither of the above will work... like
adding an extra thread here or a squiggle of design there
AND as you so rightly mentioned, the last word definition
is LAUGH... if you're not having FUN, then find another craft! WE
like to play with "balls"... er... "beauteous orbs"... er.... that's another
e-mail.... Sue H.
From Martine:
Sue wrote a great letter describing the first ever regional gathering!
For those wanting to plan one in their area, Temari Southern Style #1 was
a success and even if I am one of the ones responsible for getting it together-I
think everyone got something worthwhile from being there. Remember, we were
11 people who did not know each other (actually I had met Blair about 2
months earlier in preparation of this). We got along great and there was
no silent moments.I strongly encourage other regions to try this.
Since Sue wrote the previous letter-the cat is out of the bag anyway-we
were extremely fortunate to have Sue living in our southern region and more
fortunate to have her there at the workshop with us. I actually knew from
early on that she was coming, but I never really "announced" it for
fear it would open the flood gates and I would have more people attending
than the needlework shop could handle. Sue stayed in the suite that Nicole
and I shared during the evenings and showed us how to work specific
patterns. That alone would have been plenty to make the weekend worthwhile
but then add in the creativity of each individual. Eric's sense of
color and love of experimentation with textures complemented my own so Eric
and I had a wonderful time playing with threads (the Kentucky bourbon he
brought me also helped). Nicole's sense of humor generated an idea for a
great "Fun" temari that I hope to do and later post on this site as well
as a mari wrapped around coffee. The excellent work of Barb, Nancy, Sara,
and Shirley and Myrtle inspired me toward greater attention to detail and
teenies and though Myrtle is not on-line, I want everyone to know that Myrtle
taught herself from a Japanese book!. Blair had already has inspired me in
her use of color from our previous meeting and now she is giving me information
to teach a class here in Birmingham. Deborah-the newbie-helped us all because
we like to share. I think that is why we all are on this site.
Anyway-I never knew this gathering would be this much fun. For those
of you who missed it, I encourage you to attend next year but NO I am not
organizing the next year Temari Southern Style. I have turned that over
to Barb and Nancy. Martine in AL
From Barbara:
I am so inspired! Thank you all so much for your enthusiasm and
for sharing so much of your knowledge in such a short period of time.
Each morning now I awake with my mind filled with colors and shapes - peacocks,
dragonflies, diamonds, fireworks. I fear I am off into a stitching
frenzy again. I thank each and every one of you, especially Martine
for spending so much of her time setting up our meeting. The Birmingham
ball Martine made for us has so much thought and love in it. I will
always treasure it. Our thoughts for next year are to meet on the same
weekend (beginning November 8) and to meet at the beach in Alabama.
I will be taking
reservations as soon as we figure out the details. If we find
we do not have enough people who could travel to that area, we could set
up something in a more easily reached location such as Atlanta. The
next Southern meeting will be organized by a team of temari enthusiasts
and we already have volunteers for some of the jobs.
Thanks again! Barb (Raleigh, NC)
From Blair (from an email on Saturday night):
...we ended up with 11 temari-ites from Florida to Kentucky. The hotel
is great, the company has been wonderful, and the leaning has been endless.
Attached is a picture from our dinner at Kobe tonight .... Eric is leaving
in the morning so it was our last chance to get a full group. We have teased
Eric to no end.... we meet tomorrow for a few hours and then part ways about
noon......
and then afterward Greetings to all, It is hard to follow
the words of Sue, Nicole, and Martine as they expressed the weekend in words
better that I probably would have chosen. Here is my contribution, though.
I am teased unmercifully by co-workers as I have met up with several Temari
enthusiasts based on only knowing them from the Internet. There was Susan
in Atlanta (I finally bought some ribbon floss, Susan, and hope to make
a Temari inspired by the one you had done with floss), Carol in Huntsville
who obligingly met me at the Air and Space Museum as I was on a field trip
with my students (her work also inspired me as Susan's did to attempt patterns
I would have never done), then Martine in Birmingham (this wonderful lady
showed me that the umbrella pattern can be done - hopefully, as well as hers).
After meeting these three wonderful people, I knew that facing a room full
of Temari enthusiasts would be the stuff of dreams. This weekend it happened.
From the moment I arrived Friday afternoon until we began to part ways
Sunday morning, I just bathed in and soaked up the atmosphere. Everyone
reached out
ready to help and eager to learn from each other. It made such a difference
for me to see it first hand. I had done C10s before, maybe 3 of them, but
only from what I have read in a book. Watching Sue guide us made all the
difference in the world. All of a sudden, it made sense. Then Martine was
able to open my eyes to the 4 pole division. I am so eager to begin that
I have ended up marking about 5 balls over the weekend, have wrapped another
one since I have been home, and am ready to pour over my books reminding
myself of all the patterns I haven't attempted because I wasn't sure of myself.
Every person there gave so much of themselves, no matter what their skill
level was. It was a weekend to remember (even the weather was out of this
world!) and one I look forward to next year. Blair (AL)
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