Temari Time

I went over to DeeDee's house last night to work on Temari balls. I had made one for her as a wedding gift a while back and I don't think I have made one since! She has always been interested in making them and we started work on a wrapped ball last night. I had forgotten how time consuming they are and how daunting they must be to a beginner. She was able to get her ball wrapped in thread and mark a north and south pole before we called it quits. I couldn't wait to keep working on mine and I stayed up all night and just finished it! I had had this color combination in mind for a while. I was inspired by the embroidery on this purse I bought in Limerick for 5 Euros. I was shopping in a "Penney's" store and it was one of my favorite souvenirs from that trip to Ireland! Temari balls are Japanese and usually made or given on New Years Eve by a mother to a daughter or an aunt to a niece. I have grand schemes to make one every year for my nieces, but that will mean a lot of catch up work! My one niece has already been around for 5 New Year's and the other has been around for 1, so I have a few I need to make already! I like the wrapped designs because there is not nearly as much stitching and they work up fairly quickly.