Temari and Tags

 Temari (literally translated “hand ball”) is a Japanese folk craft that originated in China and was introduced to Japan five or six hundred years ago. Traditionally, the balls were constructed from wrapped kimono fabric remnants and silk threads. They were made by mothers and grandmothers for children to play with. Nowadays, decorative embroidered temari represent a highly valued and cherished gift symbolizing friendship and loyalty. ... This is part of the description of a workshop I will be teaching at the Contemporary Craft Retreat in October. I just finished the paperwork for the advertising copy this afternoon. The photo above is one of my latest balls - completed while my mother was visiting over the Christmas break. I had her ball as a guide. In the workshop however, we will be completing a much simpler design like the "polystar" patterns seen below. 

As part of my New Year's resolutions to so something different each week, I joined the Tag Tuesday blog group. Each Tuesday participants make a tag using the specified theme as inspiration. Then a photo of the tag is posted on the blog.. Here are four I made last week - the theme was Snow . Please check out all the really beautiful tags here.  There are 57 participants so there are lots to of tags to enjoy. Hope you will pay a visit to Tag Tuesday.