And the winner is.....

Sorry that I have taken (almost) forever to announce the prize draw for this years blogoversay competition. I did the draw on the 26th but haven't had a second to sit at my computer to announce the winner.

The prize draw was very official, I printed the comments onto a sheet of paper and cut them into ribbons which were then folded into bundles and placed in a small box. Then I jiggled the box and tipped them onto the floor. Our prize draw official Leilabelle came and sniffed out the winner... the first bundle she sniffed was the winner. As you can see I just managed to save the winning entry.

I've blocked out Karen's email address but I will make contact with you today. Also congratulations for winning the double prize because you are a member of the Temari Challenge Yahoo Group. Let me know your choices and I'll get them in the mail for you.

Can you get to Marrickville Library?

Rod, writer of the Jtex blog, will be running a free temari ball workshop next week.

Where: Community Room, Marrickville Council Library, cnr Marrickville and Petersham Roads.

When: Tuesday 19 March, 12 midday to 2pm.

Bookings essential, max.12 participants. Contact Marrickville Library, ph. 9335 2173

Remembering 3/11 two years on

 

It is a mixture of sadness and hope that I feel today for Japan. Sadness for all the lives cut short, dreams and plans left unfinished, families and possessions lost for all time. Sadness too for those who remain displaced still two years after.

There is still hope today, as Japan continues to move forward, life returning to normal albeit an adjusted version of normal. Hope that the new government will intensify its focus on assisting survivors. Hope that someday the affected region of Tohoku will be safe, the land will prosper once more and families will return to make happy lives.

Always in my thoughts, today I send a prayer and my love to Japan today.

 

 

Blogoversary #4 you get the gift!

 

 

 

 

Yep today is my fourth blogoversay. Despite counting down the days to today it still crept up on me anyway. I admit the last few months have been a bit hit and miss with blog postings so I hope you can forgive me while we continue to readjust our work/life/craft balance. 

Lately over at Temari Challenge a discussion has come up about Kyo threads, many people haven't heard of this brand, or can't get access to it so I've decided to give some away to celebrate this blog turning four. I'm so lucky to be able to use this lovely thread and to be able to share it with customers near and far. I am giving away a pack of 3 cards of Kyo thread which I will send to the winner no matter where they live free of charge.

Update.... Seeing as the conversation at Temari Challenge inspired me to do the giveaway, as a bonus if a TC member wins the draw I will double the prize and give you six cards of Kyo thread. If you arent a member of TC yet just click the link above.

Want to get into the action???? Here are the rules....

1) you need to be a follower of this blog, that is easy to achieve if you are not already following just hit the FOLLOW button in the left column.

2) you need to leave a comment below which includes some feedback on what you would like to see more of in this blog. Also please make sure you make your comment identifiable, after all if you are the winner you want to be able to get your prize right?!

3) you will need to visit my store (link in the column at left) and see what colours you would like to receive. You can select any in stock colours.

4) the competition opens now, like right now, and closes at 18:00 on March 26th Perth, Australia time, which is +8 GMT. The winner will have two weeks to make contact after the draw after which I will redraw the prize.

Good luck!

In the next fews days I'll get to posting the recent temari being stitched around here.

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iBook temari book for sale

My good friend Shirley sent me a link to a temari book for sale for iPad. You need to have the iBooks app to be able to open the book and it only works on an iPad (I thought it might work on my iPhone but it didn't so now I am the owner of a new iPad mini).

The Author is Mariko Fujita, I understand that she is a member of the JTA and also has a certification for teaching. Her son has helped her publish the books. Shirley tells me that she met Mrs Fujita at a temari class she took in Japan a few years ago.

Here is a screen shot from the iTunes store.

I have purchased the first book (well it is free so I guess I should say downloaded it) and the Colours book. I noticed that there is a new book with the images taken at Shrines in Tokyo. I might get that in the future but possibly the temari are the same.

There are no pattern directions in these books but the pictures are lovely and there is an interactive section in the colours book which details the items used for temari making (click on the labels for more information) and also has 4 videos you can click on which show how to make the base, divide with paper strips and then stitch a simple design and add an obi.

If you are a book collector (like me) you may be interested in this series.

Here are the links to the iTunes pages:
The free book is found at https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/marikos-temari-the-first/id589739870?mt=11

This book is $20 https://itunes.apple.com/book/id589574681?mt=11

This book is $10 https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/marikos-temari-scene-shinto/id593313656?mt=11

Just so you know I don't have any affiliation with the author or commercial arrangement of any kind.

Do you know of any other cool temari information available for iPad? Post a comment below to share it.