tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-83313915708293085992024-03-13T01:26:20.079-06:00Rududu's semitropical adventuresKnitting, birding and eating in Costa Rica, Wisconsin, and other interesting places.Carolinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00591131876354165885noreply@blogger.comBlogger209125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8331391570829308599.post-64591702802819499062015-05-03T16:00:00.000-06:002015-05-03T16:08:17.004-06:00Guatemalan temari, the sequel<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="http://rududu-carolina.blogspot.com/2014/04/my-guatemalan-temari-adventure.html" target="_blank">Last year I wrote</a> about working with two Guatemalan women, Berta Mendoza and her daughter Sofia in Panajachel, who I commissioned to embroider some temari for me. A year later, I was back. This time Berta embroidered two more balls for me. She felt—and I agreed—that her attempts this year were even more successful because she was more used to embroidering on a ball. If only I were such a quick learner, but the fact is that Berta has a lot more experience embroidering. Her balls this year featured birds like last year but she also used flowers.<br />
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Berta liked that I had put a simple four division on the ball with gold thread. It helped her visualize where on the ball to put her designs.<br />
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A second ball was on a lovely maroon background. I removed some of my marking thread when Berta was done because I preferred it when a line didn't go through a bird. (This ball had a simple four with equator and I removed some of the equator.) Look as this wonderful hummingbird. Usually Berta invents her own species of birds.<br />
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Again this year I spent a lot of time in Berta's store watching her stitch and sharing lots of laughs. It was very interesting to watch her select colors. It's a lot like my own technique: just holding up new colors next to the ball to choose the next color to use. I usually enjoy not having all my colors chosen before I do a project.<br />
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Here's another side of the same ball. with a very lively bird. I want to go to the universe where I can see Berta's birds.<br />
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I was so grateful to be able to spend time with my Guatemalan friends and cherish the balls they embroidered for me.</div>
Carolinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00591131876354165885noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8331391570829308599.post-26696648926121333552015-04-26T16:33:00.000-06:002015-04-26T16:39:42.769-06:00String souvenirs<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I've always found textiles to be excellent souvenirs. They are relatively light, non-breakable, and fit into the nooks and crannies of one's luggage. On a recent trip to Guatemala I took the concept a bit farther and acquired a lot of thread. We visited a village on Lake Atitlán called San Juan de la Laguna, known for handweaving and other crafts. Interestingly, this village has a lot of cooperatives: painters, weavers, even the drivers of the small three wheeled taxis called tuk tuks.<br />
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At the cooperative <a href="http://corazondelago.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Corazon del Lago</a>, they weave lovely shawls like the one above on backstrap looms with cotton thread they dye themselves. As soon as I saw the example skeins of naturally dyed threads, I wanted not only shawls but also thread to play with myself. Here's the display of dye stuffs and the resulting colors. This kind of dyeing has a long tradition in Guatemala but is in the process of being revived. I found the brilliance of the colors they could achieve really stunning.<br />
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The thread comes from India and has a lovely sheen. People in this area traditionally grew cotton but they can't produce enough for the amount of weaving they do now.<br />
I bought the thread with the idea of using it on temari balls. I've used some already but it's very fine, which limits its use. Now I'm looking into the possibility of having them custom dye some thicker thread which I might then market in a very small scale way. It's looking like a project that will be slow to come to pass but one that has me feeling very excited about sharing these beautiful colors.<br />
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Carolinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00591131876354165885noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8331391570829308599.post-59954836314947694012015-02-28T11:29:00.000-06:002015-02-28T11:29:42.290-06:00Let the chrysanthemums bloom!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
One of the most traditional of temari stitches is the <i>kiku</i> or chrysanthemum stitch. It's easy stitch to learn. Some stitches look easy to the uninitiated but turn out to be difficult because they need to be done very neatly to look good. The kiku stitch is quite forgiving but also allows for much experimentation for more advanced stitchers. Recently I have stitched several temari with this stitch.<br />
This blue ball uses a very standard kiku stitch on a simple 8 division.<br />
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I experimented with a more elaborate obi around the equator than I usually use.<br />
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Another temari features a design called Red Dahlia from Barbara Suess's book <i>Temari Techniques</i>. It uses a variation called the ribbed kiku herringbone. For once I picked colors similar to the ones that Barbara used.<br />
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I found it really interesting to see how different the two hemispheres look even though there are only slight changes in the colors I used in the last few rows.<br />
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On a larger ball (35 cm. circumference) I stitched a ball with a kiku of a very interesting shape. This design, Unfolding Kiku, is from <a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/173433824/temari-pattern-for-sale-unfolding-kiku?ref=shop_home_active_6" target="_blank">Barbara Suess's Etsy store</a> and sold as an instant download.<br />
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As usual, Barb's instructions are very clear. Being in a mood for purple, I used very different colors that she did.<br />
The final ball of this series was a stitch-along with the <a href="https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/TemariChallenge/conversations/messages" target="_blank">Yahoo Temari Challenge group</a>.<br />
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This is a wonderful group to belong to if you stitch temari. Even when a stitch-along is finished, you can find the instructions in the file section.<br />
With all the variations one can do with kiku, I'm sure there are many more chrysanthemums in my future. </div>
Carolinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00591131876354165885noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8331391570829308599.post-87491192504312687172014-12-30T17:52:00.000-06:002014-12-30T17:52:11.972-06:00That warm fuzzy feeling<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
As a long time avid knitter, I have built up quite a wardrobe of knit items for myself. Once in a while I do some knitting to donate. It is some of the most satisfying knitting there is. My current favorite group to donate to is <a href="http://www.afghansforafghans.org/" target="_blank">Afghans for Afghans</a>. In spite of the name, they have now tend to focus their emphasis to sending small garments such as socks, mittens, and hats for babies and children. A quote from their web site:<br />
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<span style="background-color: #fffccc; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Save the Children says that providing a wool cap to a newborn is one of the most cost-effective techniques to ensure child survival in the first few months.</span><br />
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With the difficulty and expense of shipping all the generous donations they get, they realized they can keep a lot more people warmer with many small items.<br />
This year I knit these baby socks for a campaign they ran. Aren't they cute?<br />
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Then I knit these mittens for someone about 7 or 8 years old. I think.<br />
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The great thing about knitting for donation is that the exact size is not critical. They will find someone that is the right size. Afghans for Afghans periodically announces campaigns when they have a group to partner with in Afghanistan. I encourage you to take part in one of their campaigns or find another group that accepts knitted donations. It will give you a lovely warm feeling. Here's a <a href="https://sites.google.com/site/lilith70/home" target="_blank">page on Ravelry</a> that lists all kinds of organizations that distribute knitted items to people that need them.<br />
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Carolinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00591131876354165885noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8331391570829308599.post-26266164811947154602014-11-21T13:58:00.000-06:002014-11-21T13:58:03.875-06:00Incan inspiration<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
When we were in Peru several years ago, I acquired some beautiful weavings including this bag.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8_H9Uc8mPKUtfVVYki9L6ekaZ8mz6RlfKIjTr-kyeUf5gVB9AVEUOhqwjQMfK6t2-0TqOucz6pwE3ej_G0dbud-DuQazwLCG38olg_PKeHfYvPVuMAFfPCsq1vO3284Si3SYCMNwvB52k/s1600/Peru+bag+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8_H9Uc8mPKUtfVVYki9L6ekaZ8mz6RlfKIjTr-kyeUf5gVB9AVEUOhqwjQMfK6t2-0TqOucz6pwE3ej_G0dbud-DuQazwLCG38olg_PKeHfYvPVuMAFfPCsq1vO3284Si3SYCMNwvB52k/s1600/Peru+bag+2.jpg" height="400" width="400" /></a></div>
The quality of weaving and natural dyeing in Peru is amazing. As a former weaver, I am in awe of the weavings they create with the simplest of technology.<br />
Starting in Peru, I acquired the questionable habit of buying a ball or two of alpaca yarn in colors that appealed to me whenever I found them. This is probably the silliest way there is to begin to design a sweater. Finally I chose yarn from my stash and knit a sweater for myself combining stripes and waves. The wave motif is very common in Peruvian textiles and easy to transfer to knitting even though it's far less detailed than in fine weavings.<br />
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<span style="text-align: left;"> I used bands of wave patterns and for my larger motif I designed a double wave inside a tilted rectangle.</span></div>
Many of my sweaters evolve as I knit them. For example, I often decide what to put on the sleeves once I get there. Instead of doing all kinds of math to figure out the sleeve decreases I lay out a sweater I like and put the new sleeve on top of it. Then I do my decreases to make it the same shape. As I knit the first sleeve I record what I do so I can make the second sleeve the same way.<br />
As I was sitting around admiring my handiwork on my almost completed sweater, I noticed a big boo-boo on the front where stitches in one row went astray. You can probably see it right away. (In this picture it's on the top wave band on the right side.) How did I not see that when I knit it!? Perhaps I was watching TV.<br />
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Fortunately there was an easy way to fix that with duplicate stitch.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj19pXw5mTQKT6IkZWdbgvXGOy6F7kNSJqZrwlqKksWIbEsjik_cuUzV2YY29sGViBO9a6l6USaUzOZZPXK-U4nukUU3PsrEP2-dU9UJD4yv0rj25i1ulAUwL45JTVjccFdq6RtC0dA8pTs/s1600/inca+wave+after.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj19pXw5mTQKT6IkZWdbgvXGOy6F7kNSJqZrwlqKksWIbEsjik_cuUzV2YY29sGViBO9a6l6USaUzOZZPXK-U4nukUU3PsrEP2-dU9UJD4yv0rj25i1ulAUwL45JTVjccFdq6RtC0dA8pTs/s1600/inca+wave+after.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
Now I could show the front in public without being embarrassed.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSKz_UvGq-bG-C-Z2MEBHQyebTnG52GosgK5D2jwI-dscgRefSzUIHertASG2d1S95hJLVAJgC83Vj0rUa9mNiOAs6RAWDIPXOx0mWztDGThtlg85jD8jxaQpBMLmEoqYkFnCsoApNPAKI/s1600/inca+wave+sweater+front.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSKz_UvGq-bG-C-Z2MEBHQyebTnG52GosgK5D2jwI-dscgRefSzUIHertASG2d1S95hJLVAJgC83Vj0rUa9mNiOAs6RAWDIPXOx0mWztDGThtlg85jD8jxaQpBMLmEoqYkFnCsoApNPAKI/s1600/inca+wave+sweater+front.jpg" height="400" width="400" /></a></div>
I used steeks for the arm holes and the front band. After I cut the front steek I picked up stitches and knit the bands and their facings. Anything other than a zipper would have interfered with the pattern on the front bands. I found a company on-line that sells lightweight separating zippers in a plethora of colors so I was able to buy one that matched my band color very closely. Mr. Rududu drilled some small holes in that heavy plastic part at the bottom of the zipper so I could sew it down by hand.<br />
The sleeves are slightly inset for a better fit. After setting aside a few stitches for the underarm, I added my steek and decreased a stitch every other row for a couple of inches on each side of the steek. After grafting the shoulders, I cut the steek and picked up stitches around the arm hole. The sleeves were knit down to the cuffs and finished with a facing, as were the collar and bottom band. Purling two rows before the facing makes for a very neat edge. By the way, I started the sweater with a provisional cast on and added the lower band after I had decided what the bands would be like. All part of my "method".<br />
Most people use patterns and I've heard that people who design their own sweaters generally plan them out in advance. These people lead far less exciting lives than I. Failure to plan ahead can lead to exciting trips to the local yarn store in search of something very specific. Perhaps the ladies at the yarn store wondered why I hadn't just bought all the yarn specified in the pattern. Wait a second. What pattern?<br />
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But now I do have a pattern. I'm so smitten with the feel of the alpaca and the lovely colors available I plan to continue collecting colors and some day I will turn to Peru for more inspiration.<br />
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Carolinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00591131876354165885noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8331391570829308599.post-41828291159904135792014-05-07T15:23:00.000-06:002014-05-07T15:24:40.671-06:00In search of unknown fruit<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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I love fruit and in Costa Rica I've tried quite a few that were new to me. Let's start with what is a favorite fruit and one I've only seen in Costa Rica: <i>caimito</i>. It's a sphere, purple on the outside and shading from purple to white on the inside. I like to eat it with a spoon as the texture is a bit like custard. A lot of Costa Ricans don't like it because it has some latex which makes your lips sticky. A tip I haven't had a chance to try yet: after eating caimito rub your lips with some oil to remove the latex. I find the flavor so beguiling that I don't mind some stickiness.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaIYSiZzJfa53eFW2ZkMJL-Fy8NpmbmbKQsKGiNel77H5S84zjs64SBULd8s-8VDZhAkH9BerTXhE5rpFjPcrm-6tC4B02p-VoE4y8LvPsLJmX-vVmQQD5TR5axY1bMx80oSgDnCddUbWG/s1600/fruit:+caimito.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaIYSiZzJfa53eFW2ZkMJL-Fy8NpmbmbKQsKGiNel77H5S84zjs64SBULd8s-8VDZhAkH9BerTXhE5rpFjPcrm-6tC4B02p-VoE4y8LvPsLJmX-vVmQQD5TR5axY1bMx80oSgDnCddUbWG/s1600/fruit:+caimito.jpg" height="300" width="400" /> </a><br />
Did you know that the cashew nut we eat grows on the outside of a fruit? Every nut represents a fruit, perhaps explaining what cashews are so expensive. Native to Brazil, Ticos and other Spanish speakers call the fruit and nut <i>marañón</i>. People make a juice of the fruit and it's one fruit I just don't like. It smells bad to me. I'll stick to eating the delicious nuts.<br />
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The following photo shows two fruits: the red <i>manzana de agua</i> or water apple and <i>mamón</i>. Water apples, originally from the Malay peninsula and nearby areas, are quite bland and juicy. I guess they would be really good to quench a thirst on a very hot day. Not a frequent need in Monteverde so I don't eat them often. <i>Mamón</i>, a South American native, has a crisp shell around a large seed. In between the seed and the shell is a small layer of tart flesh. It's fun to peel the shell off with your fingernail and pop the insides in your mouth so you can gnaw the fruit off the seed. The fruit doesn't come off the seed easily so it's a good way to pass some time.<br />
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Here's another picture of water apples, a <i>grenadilla</i> and some green <i>jocotes</i>. A fruit from the cashew family originally from Central America, <i>jocotes</i> are now also cultivated in Asia. You eat <i>jocotes</i> whole, skin and all. Perhaps I would like them better if Costa Ricans let them ripen but here they are sold while still green so they are tart. I think maybe people sprinkle salt on the them, the way they do with unripe mangoes.<br />
<i>Grenadilla</i> is a fruit related to passion fruit. The outside has a crisp, papery layer. Inside the many small seeds are each inside a small packet of juicy fruit. I scoop the insides into a blender and run at top speed briefly. Next I use a sieve to remove the seed particles. The seeds
are edible so a few bits of seeds getting through isn't a problem. Then
I make a smoothy with some yogurt, sugar, and ice. It's very aromatic
and quite similar to passion fruit.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbHf09YlUnorhRNqKnYAA6B83cUDnwopg0YHlc7xNPbNZ88_IVo3Od_qpmZwjB6NHfWUZvp1J5HQmxsu0IHsXxS_Nh3LZ8moHhCureJe3CNsTRYwL8nf_T8th4YUj1ubpwXITPdZv-doSJ/s1600/fruit:+mixed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbHf09YlUnorhRNqKnYAA6B83cUDnwopg0YHlc7xNPbNZ88_IVo3Od_qpmZwjB6NHfWUZvp1J5HQmxsu0IHsXxS_Nh3LZ8moHhCureJe3CNsTRYwL8nf_T8th4YUj1ubpwXITPdZv-doSJ/s1600/fruit:+mixed.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
The following fruit is the one that inspired me to write this post. One of my English students brought some as a gift for me from her family farm. It is called rose apple or manzana de rosa. I've never seen this fruit for sale. It's peculiar in that the seeds are inside a hollow space. The fruit is a bit crunchy and has an astonishing perfume like roses. <br />
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Carolinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00591131876354165885noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8331391570829308599.post-52647647819227079652014-04-22T11:23:00.000-06:002014-04-22T11:23:00.426-06:00My Guatemalan temari adventure<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
On our recent trip to Guatemala, I was inspired to take some blank temari balls in the hopes of finding someone to put embroidery on them. Guatemala, of course, is justly famous for wonderful textiles including embroidery, but I've never seen it applied to a ball.<br />
We stayed about a week on Lake Atitlan. In Panajachel I found Berta Mendoza who was willing to try her hand on this project. She usually embroiders in the style of Santiago Atitlan, which is full of birds. I spent quite a few hours in Berta's shop with her and her daughter Sofia. Sofia is a university student studying child development and she lent a hand with the embroidering. Sofia also happens to speak three languages fluently and several others enough to function in the shop. Berta is somewhat more limited linguistically as she only speaks three languages. By the end of the week I was completely in awe of them.<br />
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Besides talking about life in general and having many laughs, I showed them how to make temari and explained how they might make a good craft item to sell given the popularity of Christmas tree ornaments in North America.<br />
All the embroidery was done freehand without any reference material. The birds are rather whimsical—I wish these beautiful species really existed. This one looks a bit like a parrot.<br />
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Below is a bird in flight on the other side of the same ball. Berta and Sofia took great pride in their work. I was surprised that they wanted to carefully outline the birds because I thought they looked quite nice before that time consuming step. However I did agree after it was done that it added a lot.<br />
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A second ball I took was black and the birds they put on it were even more extravagant.<br />
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I'm looking forward to seeing Berta and Sofia on my next trip to Panajachel and to seeing in what direction they take temari balls. This project was an amazing way for me to make contact with real artisans and I'm very grateful for the experience. <br />
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Carolinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00591131876354165885noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8331391570829308599.post-6228959729215827802014-04-14T09:48:00.000-06:002014-04-14T09:48:15.936-06:00Temari: stars and stripes<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
This season of temari stitching brought a new accomplishment: figuring out a design from a Japanese book, even though I don't read Japanese. With experience in reading the diagrams and stitching temari this should become easier. I hope so because there are many wonderful patterns in those books. The pattern is, I believe, from Fun with Temari (Tanoshii Temari Asobi) by Toshiko Ozaki, ISBN 4-8377-01035. I'm not completely sure because when I came to Costa Rica this year I
just brought of copy of page 50 and 51 from one of the several Japanese books I
own. These little confusions crop up when one is living in two places.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibeHJ6CIsvIF7tf39lrckxHyAj3aKupMsr5sZWkITQjz5wuejiPa2-ZcnQNo8SYuOxXFZDcMsleFgKwi6ltvlEjtKgTJ5H32F4MWjw2duij2A8TvzWPaIzZlitON1MNAgBv1dZOsyk_bcw/s1600/Red+Stars+C10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibeHJ6CIsvIF7tf39lrckxHyAj3aKupMsr5sZWkITQjz5wuejiPa2-ZcnQNo8SYuOxXFZDcMsleFgKwi6ltvlEjtKgTJ5H32F4MWjw2duij2A8TvzWPaIzZlitON1MNAgBv1dZOsyk_bcw/s1600/Red+Stars+C10.jpg" height="400" width="400" /></a></div>
Another pattern featuring stars is from TemariKai.com. It's <a href="http://www.temarikai.com/PatternsPages/C10/ST07.html" target="_blank">pattern ST07</a> by Shelley S. It's done on a 10 combination division and the pattern is built up by stitching a five pointed star around each of the pentagons. It's fun to do because the pattern gradually emerges as you work around the ball. I put pins with little numbers in each pentagon so I would do them in the same order. That makes it easier to not miss a star on one of the rounds.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU2zXgRrPZtidISUdWutIsn8mMc7AW7d3spKuR_FiAeAtDZ7Jjc8-pRkWFzv47nMmlDW5mUuNx_Kud3zoLv0H5eu3mLbCnCva2r7FQHrTcXRQWltVxMnDCpfoj9_n73VT-6WAkXhv5DPz3/s1600/Blue+Stars+C10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU2zXgRrPZtidISUdWutIsn8mMc7AW7d3spKuR_FiAeAtDZ7Jjc8-pRkWFzv47nMmlDW5mUuNx_Kud3zoLv0H5eu3mLbCnCva2r7FQHrTcXRQWltVxMnDCpfoj9_n73VT-6WAkXhv5DPz3/s1600/Blue+Stars+C10.jpg" height="400" width="400" /></a></div>
Sometimes I can now figure out how to do a temari by just looking at a photo. That was the case with one I saw on Pinterest. One thing I don't like about Pinterest is it sometimes is impossible to know who is responsible for something lovely. In this case the link took me back to the <a href="https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/TemariChallenge/info" target="_blank">Yahoo Temari Callenge group</a> but I don't know which of the many members did the ball. Barb Suess did a <a href="http://temaribarb.blogspot.com/2013/03/interlocking-pentagons-temari.html" target="_blank">similar ball</a> but her last round is different because the triangles and pentagons aren't outlined. Doing it this way dramatically changes the look of the ball.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOsV7bEdnaxPE6_rYWRR_wZ1qNI5f2kB5wg8CoYJm0GSNv-cc3cPGkQzCCfURWr23w9XBJFx_qY3q4dbUxF2_EbZHUZorkPEmWzAGJkIzvlhIusnD6Gr_kYww44aMTee-IWzDsx-BdkjCw/s1600/morphing+triangles.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOsV7bEdnaxPE6_rYWRR_wZ1qNI5f2kB5wg8CoYJm0GSNv-cc3cPGkQzCCfURWr23w9XBJFx_qY3q4dbUxF2_EbZHUZorkPEmWzAGJkIzvlhIusnD6Gr_kYww44aMTee-IWzDsx-BdkjCw/s1600/morphing+triangles.jpg" height="400" width="400" /></a></div>
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Carolinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00591131876354165885noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8331391570829308599.post-15866899487125682032014-04-06T20:38:00.000-06:002014-04-06T20:38:27.427-06:00All over the place with temari<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Recently I stitched a few balls that are completely or almost completely covered with embroidery. This style of temari is called kousa. This kind of design demands a much great degree of accuracy in the roundness of the ball, the marking, and the stitching. And because of all the stitches needed to cover the ball they take relatively longer to do.<br />
Once again, thank goodness for the internet where I found these lovely patterns. The first all-over design I did—shown on the left— is <a href="http://www.temarikai.com/PatternsPages/C8/GT32.html" target="_blank">pattern GT31</a> by Ginny T. on TemariKai.com. She describes it as being fairly forgiving for this type of design. That was definitely a good thing for my first attempt at kousa.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghehXXls_lHWBOENaOUlIOScBakWhe8jfkrCGQ1eDgX1X1_iQlahisp9bCFTTE29dkyjTLy7toOzSUAsNLRRcaxOhaJFStOXuV-ZKOj3wFfdYPMcMiXwv9CHQRt74vY2SvKLawoWL72F3j/s3200/over+all+temari+1105+&+99CP02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghehXXls_lHWBOENaOUlIOScBakWhe8jfkrCGQ1eDgX1X1_iQlahisp9bCFTTE29dkyjTLy7toOzSUAsNLRRcaxOhaJFStOXuV-ZKOj3wFfdYPMcMiXwv9CHQRt74vY2SvKLawoWL72F3j/s3200/over+all+temari+1105+&+99CP02.jpg" height="400" width="400" /></a></div>
The ball on the right is also from TemariKai.com. It's <a href="http://www.temarikai.com/PatternsPages/C8/CP02.html" target="_blank">pattern CP02</a> by Colleen P. The same ball can be seen from a different angle in the photo below. It's quite magical how the pattern forms as you stitch and do under and overs.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj557IxAmrWrE85p5v4dbGeMv5Prq6Ttk_WhUhyphenhyphenWJDkF84n0hSyke2eZqEavLnUbcgMFkU-bQ6e7oBZ_-g3Qaav_FNygg3XlFInUNhFG7H5qlbqeNHniiyoVtQCLu4DC1WPFn6Yw-EFILGu/s3200/temari+99SC02+and+99CP02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj557IxAmrWrE85p5v4dbGeMv5Prq6Ttk_WhUhyphenhyphenWJDkF84n0hSyke2eZqEavLnUbcgMFkU-bQ6e7oBZ_-g3Qaav_FNygg3XlFInUNhFG7H5qlbqeNHniiyoVtQCLu4DC1WPFn6Yw-EFILGu/s3200/temari+99SC02+and+99CP02.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
The ball on the left is a much simpler design. It's <a href="http://www.temarikai.com/PatternsPages/Simple/SC02.html" target="_blank">pattern SC02</a> by Susan C. on TemariKai.com. It's on a simple 10 division with a spindle stitched in each section. Then an obi of the same color as the base (black in this case) is woven through the spindles. Simple and very effective. On all of these balls I chose my own colors. This one used some of the wonderful greens I bought in Guatemala last year in perle 8, which is finer than the size 5 I usually use. <br />
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Carolinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00591131876354165885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8331391570829308599.post-33016821182524829402014-03-06T14:52:00.002-06:002014-03-06T14:52:46.816-06:00Rainbow season<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
In Monteverde, especially in January and February, there is often both mist and sun. Something I didn't realize before living here is that rainbows in the morning slowly sink as the sun rises and rainbows in the afternoon rise as the sun gets lower. Of course one needs long-lasting rainbows to notice this. Here are a few photos I took this rainbow season, which sadly, is now over.<br />
From our house. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijtXBj6MGPCOHo86H0eil-1cF4wxn1ing48UYUD0m7s2XasMR3vCnwJh_Fce3GYTDZoRr8LCoj5oHlqGrA-af6LM-_H6-vM7oseTkSlZa-RT8S9y7OE0T4wZTOvqcHWL5hua_ATBDOa55q/s1600/Rainbow+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijtXBj6MGPCOHo86H0eil-1cF4wxn1ing48UYUD0m7s2XasMR3vCnwJh_Fce3GYTDZoRr8LCoj5oHlqGrA-af6LM-_H6-vM7oseTkSlZa-RT8S9y7OE0T4wZTOvqcHWL5hua_ATBDOa55q/s1600/Rainbow+1.jpg" height="300" width="400" /> </a></div>
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Over the shopping center. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjit25o9onhjFxGbPdur48hU_lyIAzmAvHBDlnkeS8pJ0Ws4bQo6QXKK7mbTbF-N6VGcTiWER4ueTnbN72IjBxwtDusHkG-QuWb0fIZiurGYieWNoO2G2UvOyA7maxtAA8kq4fU_7TA15W/s1600/Rainbow+at+the+shopping+center.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjit25o9onhjFxGbPdur48hU_lyIAzmAvHBDlnkeS8pJ0Ws4bQo6QXKK7mbTbF-N6VGcTiWER4ueTnbN72IjBxwtDusHkG-QuWb0fIZiurGYieWNoO2G2UvOyA7maxtAA8kq4fU_7TA15W/s1600/Rainbow+at+the+shopping+center.jpg" height="300" width="400" /> </a></div>
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From a farm in lower San Luis.</div>
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From a coffee farm in upper San Luis, a rainbow that is about to set.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1v5Bf6aUrMV2-Y0ac5LSKV6J7WXSw9g71H31pTJZrTTj5mxi52XCVJK1s8mkrLyIwLSWS1uVlKyJUUSXmOF1S8iigqNaikG5dN6vHEavlit9e4xxMwpucBgy2Pp1mCGDGnOqvRf1q4QAP/s1600/low+rainbow+san+luis.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1v5Bf6aUrMV2-Y0ac5LSKV6J7WXSw9g71H31pTJZrTTj5mxi52XCVJK1s8mkrLyIwLSWS1uVlKyJUUSXmOF1S8iigqNaikG5dN6vHEavlit9e4xxMwpucBgy2Pp1mCGDGnOqvRf1q4QAP/s1600/low+rainbow+san+luis.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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Carolinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00591131876354165885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8331391570829308599.post-24344554057315309052013-12-08T18:15:00.000-06:002013-12-08T18:15:10.370-06:00Qiviet: yes, I know what it means!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
One day at our weekly Scrabble get together in Monteverde, a player browsing through the dictionary read out, "Qiviet, the wool of a musk ox" and said "Who on earth would know THAT word?" Happily, I am among the lucky few with qiviet experience. Qiviet is a gloriously soft and quite rare fiber. The arctic muskox sheds its thick undercoat all in a very short period in spring and it is combed, not sheared from the coarser guard hairs. Native people used to collect tufts of qiviet that had caught on plants. That was probably easier than cornering a wild animal that as an adult weighs an average of 285 kg/630 pounds. In fact, some qiviet is still collected in the traditional way.<br />
Friends that visited the <a href="http://lars.uaf.edu/" target="_blank">Large Animal Research Station</a> in Fairbanks gave me an ounce of a blend of 70% qiviet and 30% merino wool. The merino adds some spring that qiviet doesn't have, so it's an excellent blend for knitting. Qiviet itself is softer than cashmere and eight times warmer than sheep's wool.<br />
One ounce of my yarn was only 135 yards; we are talking a seriously rare and expensive fiber. After much thought I decided to knit a lace cowl because of the wonderful softness and because that way I won't lose it. I used a pattern called <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/abstract-leaves-cowl" target="_blank">Abstract Leaves Cowl by Deb Mulder</a>. It's available free on Ravelry.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDu9NE51OumQU15e9wZb_7sfS8CRkJxv0bCfck-FGwEJ4cI8hKi1Rn4blve0l2d0CAx_pRyzNxNISjjPahvBjLedBSK2HR0xh1KcB2PjdVswz1MC5vkycM4Z9lT33bCXYyE8gl4BZ4F7Pr/s1600/monochrome+cowl.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDu9NE51OumQU15e9wZb_7sfS8CRkJxv0bCfck-FGwEJ4cI8hKi1Rn4blve0l2d0CAx_pRyzNxNISjjPahvBjLedBSK2HR0xh1KcB2PjdVswz1MC5vkycM4Z9lT33bCXYyE8gl4BZ4F7Pr/s400/monochrome+cowl.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
Knit up, the yarn is much softer than in the skein. That's saying a lot because the skein is pretty darn soft. A sort of haze or halo develops around the yarn and according to the Large Animal Research Station website, the halo will continue to develop. On their web site you can see a fascinating video of an animal being combed. The fleece comes off in a big sheet or fleece. They also have yarn you can invest in.<br />
I love looking at the cowl close up. The color was called Blueberry but basically it's muskox color with undertones of bluish purple. I usually block lace but I'm going to wear this scrunched up on my neck so I didn't bother.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSYxMkzUukAI6-hYqiYUmcNkDZLMhyX-H8dxs-LV1YWSNcWnfzaLsloIj1UFCIx8ptjzPljUy667g8_UCjnC4xheWIUPf9YLSuyCEdBow0c6p7nX48omMbSpoa4Sj4c4PclLGoLM2Rq2Qf/s1600/close+up+of+cowl.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSYxMkzUukAI6-hYqiYUmcNkDZLMhyX-H8dxs-LV1YWSNcWnfzaLsloIj1UFCIx8ptjzPljUy667g8_UCjnC4xheWIUPf9YLSuyCEdBow0c6p7nX48omMbSpoa4Sj4c4PclLGoLM2Rq2Qf/s400/close+up+of+cowl.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
While knitting this cowl I made use of my handy little electronic scale. For example I weighed my ball of yarn before and after a row of knitting and determined that one row took .5 grams of yarn. Thus I could calculate how many rows of the pattern I could do. I could also calculate when to change to the garter stitch border so that I would have enough to finish. It worked out very well because I had less than a yard left when I cast off. (I even have a project in mind for that little bit: it should be enough to make one or two knit acorns.) <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizMLvUZ29uLvKgQy0fFbKGDtOFQNu02lWLsBBgRJJHfvn4fG8ipSMxtun0ERaXEWusmMzsJ1PoYX31VUEJZnnSpw8_3oSEZ6Q0edB0zKzXVLf64O5Kk9IULEPckojecyweBITeFN5aN7mV/s1600/leftover+qiviet.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizMLvUZ29uLvKgQy0fFbKGDtOFQNu02lWLsBBgRJJHfvn4fG8ipSMxtun0ERaXEWusmMzsJ1PoYX31VUEJZnnSpw8_3oSEZ6Q0edB0zKzXVLf64O5Kk9IULEPckojecyweBITeFN5aN7mV/s400/leftover+qiviet.jpg" width="400" /> </a></div>
This cowl is probably the warmest garment you can make with an ounce of yarn. With the unusually cold weather we are having this week it's reassuring to have this luscious garment available.<br />
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Carolinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00591131876354165885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8331391570829308599.post-73396215618768309242013-09-22T11:13:00.000-06:002013-09-22T11:13:27.561-06:00Temari without a theme<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I admire people that take an idea and explore it in depth with different variations. That has not been the case with my recent temari. They really have nothing in common with each other except that they are both nicely round.<br />
This temari is the pattern called Buttercups in Barbara Suess's <i>Temari Techniques</i> book. Contrariwise as usual, I stitched in the complementary colors to her design, using several shades of purple. I like to call it Deep Purple. To fill in the diamonds I used a rayon thread from Morocco that my sister gave me some time ago. I really like the contrast of the cotton perlé and the synthetic. The latter is slightly more difficult to stitch with. (I needed to twist my needle to keep the thread sufficiently twisted. The extra effort was worth it and I plan to use it again.)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit01NdCdoVZiR8Ej_cuPRNa4iRe_FpuqUe_4wICKQYsSv9ctYxcIcwcNHHQPPSTDJe-egmsiyumjTf-C6yLqF1IYvwY2-d3gONYSOB-ixt7szer54qtXExZxTfCRloxOeb5M4ZZ8AerAAs/s1600/Deep+purple+temari+600.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit01NdCdoVZiR8Ej_cuPRNa4iRe_FpuqUe_4wICKQYsSv9ctYxcIcwcNHHQPPSTDJe-egmsiyumjTf-C6yLqF1IYvwY2-d3gONYSOB-ixt7szer54qtXExZxTfCRloxOeb5M4ZZ8AerAAs/s400/Deep+purple+temari+600.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
The other recent temari I stitched is from a Japanese book (ISBN978-4-8377-0395-2). It has bands wrapped on a C8 marking and then kiku stitches to make flowers in a random pattern.<br />
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It wasn't challenging figuring out the charts in the book for this particular pattern but I was grateful to a Japanese friend for translating the part that basically says stitch the kiku as the spirit moves you. Even though you can't see them all in the book, theirs has eight flowers. My spirit moved me to stitch seven. <br />
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Carolinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00591131876354165885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8331391570829308599.post-84091771026464166162013-08-09T18:46:00.000-06:002013-08-09T18:46:41.453-06:00Bee balm lace<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I just finished a lace shawl that reminds me of the common bee balm flower that grows with abundance in our Midwestern prairies.<br />
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I used the Ostrich Plume stitch pattern on page 278 of Barbara Walker's <i>Second Treasury of Knitting Patterns</i>. It looks complicated, but it's one of the easiest lace patterns I've ever knit. Three rows out of four you knit stockinette and the lace row is easy to memorize. I added a border of 5 stitches in garter stitch to keep it from curling.<br />
When knitting is in progress, the lace looks pathetic. Kind friends avert their eyes and do not question one's sanity. It's lumpy.<br />
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Below you see it during the blocking process, pinned to a sheet on top of my bed. The sheet is so I can see all the pins and remove them all. I used an entire box, doubtless hundreds. Using lots of pins reduces the waviness of the edge. Unblocked, the shawl measured 4 feet by 14 inches. Blocking made it magically grow to 5 1/2 feet by 19 inches. (1.7 meters by .5 meters) Because it is so thin a yarn and open an pattern it dried in a couple of hours, even in the summer humidity.<br />
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I am looking forward to wearing it. It's going to the opera!<br />
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<i>Knitty gritty</i>: I used an Italian yarn, Cashwool by Baruffa in lilac. It's 100% extra fine merino with 1350 meters to 100 grams. Apparently this yarn is no longer available in the US. This particular yarn went back and forth to Costa Rica not once but twice! </div>
Carolinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00591131876354165885noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8331391570829308599.post-84704399215045729172013-07-23T18:05:00.000-06:002013-07-23T18:05:55.895-06:00With one stroke of the needle<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I love learning new techniques for stitching temari. Recently I've been working on <i>hito hude gake</i> in which an entire motif or series of motifs can be done with a single stitching path. (There is a good explanation of the technique in <i>Temari Techniques</i> by Barbara Suess.)<br />
To create these balls I stitched kiku herringbone motifs in a spiral around the ball from the north pole to the south pole and back. Some of each motif is done on the way south and each motif is finished on the return trip. Traditionally one color is used going from the north and another going from the south to facilitate keeping track of where you are. I'm not crazy about the way that looks because I like things to be very symmetrical. Therefore on my first attempt, on a 27 cm circumference C10 ball, I used very similar colors and then I reversed which color went south and which color went north. This fools the eye so it's hard to notice differences between the stars. In this picture, it's the smaller ball.<br />
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The second ball, with a circumference of 37 cm, is marked with 32 centers. Barbara suggests this pattern for multicenter balls that are less than perfect because it disguises the irregularities. My ball is a good proof of that concept as the marking was sort of wonky. For this ball I used the same colors in both directions. By having little papers with numbers pinned in each of the areas I could follow the path just fine. <br />
Because this ball was quite time consuming to stitch, I tested a few different color combinations on partial stars by stitching a few rows and leaving the ends dangling so it was easy to take the threads out. This helped me decide to add more blue. Eventually I decided on outlining in green. <br />
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Carolinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00591131876354165885noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8331391570829308599.post-28434349624513904962013-06-16T19:38:00.001-06:002013-06-16T19:38:19.625-06:00I'm excited about my socks<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I've knit a lot of socks, even though sometime in the past I said something like "I would never spend all that time knitting something that no one would even see." A few years ago I realized that besides preventing inundation by sweaters, knitting socks has much to commend it. It's easy to take a sock along, even one that is almost complete. That's not true of sweaters. Also, hand knit socks are really, really comfortable since they actually fit. One-size-fits-all is a cruel joke to someone with long feet.<br />
I've knit lots of fancy socks with interesting patterns such as these from a free pattern called <a href="http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEwinter05/PATTpomatomus.html" target="_blank">Pomatomus</a>.<br />
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Lately I've been knitting basic socks with various easy stitch patterns that I can knit during Scrabble games or while watching a video. My most recent pair use a stitch pattern called Stansfield 12 from a book called <i>More Sensational Knitted Socks </i>by<i> </i>Charlene Schurch.<i> </i>While I found the author's instructions for knitting socks to contain some errors, the collection of stitch patterns is very useful.<br />
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It really surprised me that when I put my new socks on, the stitch pattern looked completely different than when it's not on the foot. It's a subtle kind of excitement that I'm not expecting anyone else to notice, but I like it.<br />
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Carolinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00591131876354165885noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8331391570829308599.post-70875203707066316682013-05-26T20:08:00.000-06:002013-05-26T20:08:38.356-06:00This season's temari crop<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
During the dry season in Monteverde, I've stitched quite a few temari. Now "winter" or the rainy season is upon us, so on this sunny morning I gathered up this season's crop for a group photo.<br />
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I've been learning more about reading patterns and learning some new techniques.<br />
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The temari above and the following one use continuous paths for part of their stitching. Learning how to read diagrams for these paths has been a bit mind-bending, especially as I found a small error in the Japanese book I used to learn the one above. The yellow flowers with French knots convinced me that I want to do more free embroidery in the future. <br />
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I love the way this large quilt style ball came out. It's not what I thought I was going to get but sometimes there are surprises because as you wrap you cover up things. This is the first time I've let the ball itself show through windows of the wrapped threads. There are many possibilities to explore in this style.<br />
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I wanted to try putting some beads on temari, so I tried that on this really little one. I think it's an embellishment that has a lot to offer. I think I'll soon have a bead stash as well as a thread stash.<br />
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I'm looking forward to learning new techniques and improving ones I've already tried.<br />
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Carolinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00591131876354165885noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8331391570829308599.post-5313679695644531032013-05-20T10:36:00.000-06:002013-05-20T10:36:34.640-06:00Procrastination points<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
One of my personal guidelines is that if I finish a project that has been subject to procrastination, I give myself extra points. I'm not sure what these points are good for but it's a lot more fun than beating myself up for taking so long. I just finished a Fair Isle sweater that I started a 17 months ago. I hereby give myself lots of points!<br />
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The pattern is my own. I first tried out the colors and flower pattern on a tam. I love trying to mix in a few surprise colors like the rust and a bright dark pink. I prefer shading effects in the two color ribbing. <br />
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I decided to make the sweater as a rather fitted cropped jacket. This is the first Fair Isle sweater in which I have I shaped the arm holes so the sweater is a bit sleeker. <br />
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<i>The knitty gritty</i>: The yarn is Jamieson and Smith two ply jumper weight knit on 2.5 mm needles (US 1.5). To figure out the armhole shaping I referred to Alice Starmore's <i>Book of Fair Isle Knitting</i>
and found a sweater using about the same number of stitches as I
needed. The body was knit with steeks for the armholes and the front.
After knitting the body and cutting the steeks, I picked up stitches
around the arm hole for the sleeves and knit down until the sleeves were
long enough for me. The front bands and cuffs were knit on 1.75 mm/US 00 needles and have facing knit on size 1.5mm/US000 needles. Maybe that's why the closer I got to the end of the sweater, the slower it seemed to go. </div>
Carolinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00591131876354165885noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8331391570829308599.post-58724745023477188262013-05-12T17:13:00.000-06:002013-05-12T17:13:08.558-06:00A small selection of insects<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I find insects quite fascinating. That's a good thing for anyone that lives in the tropics because there are a lot of insects about. (I had less positive feelings about the scorpion in our bathroom last night, but that's a different story.) On a recent walk in the Santa Elena reserve, we saw several particularly interesting insects. First was this pair of dung beetles rolling their ball of dung along the forest floor. They were in the cleared area next to the path, heading for a dead end with a 10 cm/4 inch cliff looming ahead so I used a leaf to transfer them over to the leaf litter farther from the trail.<br />
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Then we saw this very large insect trucking along at a phenomenal rate of speed. A friend who knows about such things said it is a species of <i>cerambycidae</i> or long horned beetle. Note for future reference: beetles with long antennae are likely to be <i>cerambycidae</i>. This one was over 10 cm. or 4 inches long.<br />
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Morpho butterflies are quite easy to see in many places in Costa Rica including Monteverde. Their iridescent blueness and their crazy flight pattern never ceases to lift my heart. It's quite unusual to see one perched with it's wings open. Usually you see the camouflaged under wing.<br />
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Moths, on the other hand, are often sitting around waiting to be photographed during the day while they sleep. I like this subtle elegance of this fuzzy individual.<br />
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I wish I had some fabric printed with this this motif of spots within circles.<br />
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The best thing about looking for insects in the tropics is that you never know what you will see next because there are so many different species.<br /><br /></div>
Carolinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00591131876354165885noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8331391570829308599.post-47409880741849033592013-05-06T06:56:00.000-06:002013-05-06T06:56:02.472-06:00Two variations on a theme<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
My most recent temari combine the threads I bought in Guatemala with colors ideas I got there. This ball is sitting on the table runner (a former huipil or traditional blouse) that inspired it.<br />
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The stitch is kiku or chrysanthemum stitch. It's a great stitch because it's much easier to do than it looks. This thread, being size 8, is finer than what is often used for temari and while it took longer to stitch, it let me get more detail on the ball. It's like having a higher resolution TV. Having done this ball on a green base, I decided to use the same colors on a black base.<br />
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First I stitched with colors going from light in the center to dark at the outside. On the other side I reversed the color order, although I still outlined with a dark color.<br />
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What different effects one can get with the same colors. It's one of the things that makes stitching temari fascinating. I had lots of space around the equator so I tried a more elaborate obi than I usually do. It uses the same colors and is two sets of kiku stitches overlapping at the equator. <br />
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I like looking at these two balls together to see how much you can do with the same set of colors.<br />
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Carolinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00591131876354165885noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8331391570829308599.post-36588749047066194762013-04-21T20:07:00.000-06:002013-04-21T20:07:53.893-06:00Bling<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I'm not much of a collector (I like to think. But how did all that stuff get in my house?) One collection I have is of beaded hair clips from Guatemala. My very first one was of a hummingbird. I wore it so much it kind of fell apart. This is its replacement.<br />
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Now that I know that hair clips don't last forever, I'm always on the lookout for new ones. The amazing thing about Guatemalan crafts is that every piece seems to be different. Other than their beauty, the reason I need hair clips is that it is sometimes so windy in Monteverde it's that or go insane from hair whipping around my face. Or get a buzz cut. So I let my hair grow longer than I normally do and clip it.<br />
On this flower I love the shading on the leaves and the use of the longer green beads.<br />
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This butterfly hid one of its antennae during its photo shoot.<br />
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On my last trip to Guatemala I found out that hummingbirds clips are rare now. I saw hundreds, if not thousands of hair clips—all different—but not another hummingbird I liked. I did find a completely new style of clip which has embroidery enhanced with beads. The shop owner told me it was of a woodpecker, but this species is only found in the imagination of the artist.<br />
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Now I'm thinking about how beads could be added to temari. <br />
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Carolinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00591131876354165885noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8331391570829308599.post-89986613018517747712013-04-07T19:21:00.000-06:002013-04-07T19:21:23.084-06:00Size matters<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I recently stitched two balls of very different sizes with the same design and it's interesting to see how different they look. The design is Interlocked Puzzle<i> </i>in <i>Temari Techniques</i> by Barbara Suess. The directions call for a 32 cm circumference ball but I happened to have a 45 cm C10 ball sitting around so I used that. (It's the bigger ball in the photo below. ) It looked a little sparse so I used one more row in each shape than Barb called for.<br />
Then I decided to stitch a smaller ball and used one with a 30 cm circumference/3.75". I think they make a nice pair because I used blues and greens in both. Using a dark thread to mark the ball made a difference; those lines are much more prominent in the smaller ball because of the contrast with the base thread. <br />
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Carolinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00591131876354165885noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8331391570829308599.post-56002391661855915002013-03-23T12:27:00.000-06:002013-03-23T12:27:14.470-06:00Most colorful nation?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I wonder if anyone has ever ranked cultures by how colorful they are. Surely Guatemala would be at or near the top of the list. Not only do many people in the highlands still wear their traditional and very finely crafted garments, there is a plethora of colorful textiles and other souvenirs for sale. On our recent trip there, one of the pieces I bought was this beautiful table runner made out of a slightly used huipil or traditional blouse.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNa1-znNqAID9fo61yUdkdr2j2iNU8e7nOmkT1sqGCbBwPeEVQNbUrnnOUOvyOyapt1J3atav-R_6a33zOUNmhNUi7Uih6ies38-ois1FQj8bEVwEdhzf_6oN7GoKo_JUSACv42V0czUwx/s1600/huipil+runner+600.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNa1-znNqAID9fo61yUdkdr2j2iNU8e7nOmkT1sqGCbBwPeEVQNbUrnnOUOvyOyapt1J3atav-R_6a33zOUNmhNUi7Uih6ies38-ois1FQj8bEVwEdhzf_6oN7GoKo_JUSACv42V0czUwx/s400/huipil+runner+600.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
I not only bought textiles; I bought some number 8 mercerized cotton embroidery thread in the Panajachel market. These ladies, in their beautiful huipils helped me with some color suggestions. Mr. Rududu is such an enabler: he told me to buy one of every color the seller had. I was slightly more restrained than that because I was thinking about how heavy my carry-on luggage was already. Interestingly, this kind of thread is a fraction of the cost in Guatemala compared to what it costs in the US.<br />
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My thread looks like a boxes of candy. I've already started stitching temari with it.<br />
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Carolinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00591131876354165885noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8331391570829308599.post-31697079216814257682013-02-25T10:13:00.001-06:002013-02-25T10:13:24.770-06:00The other side of the ball<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
One of the fun things about stitching temari is that not all sides of the ball can be seen at once. If one doesn't do so well on one side of ball, it can be displayed with the preferred side visible and the other side as unseen as the dark side of the moon.<br />
I just completed a 16 face ball with kiku or chrysanthemum stitch in the four hexagons and the other shapes filled in with swirl stitch. <br />
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I tried both solid color swirls as above and swirls where I lightened the color as I got close to the center of the shape as in the next picture.<br />
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I enjoy trying different color combinations of different sides too. (Perhaps I just have a low tolerance for boredom.) I also tried different greens with the same blue on the various kiku sides.<br />
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This was my favorite color combination.<br />
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The colors of this ball were inspired by a little bird found in Monteverde. While not extremely rare, it's very difficult to see because it hides in clumps of mistletoe high in trees. It's the Elegant Euphonia (<i>euphonia elegantissima</i>).<br />
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<i>The nitty-gritty:</i> I learned how to mark this ball by following a tutorial in the <a href="http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TemariChallenge/" target="_blank">Temari Challenge Yahoo group.</a> The marking is called C8 to pentagons and hexagons. The 16 faces consist of 4 large hexagons and 12 pentagons. Thanks again to Joan Z., who led the tutorial. </div>
Carolinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00591131876354165885noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8331391570829308599.post-11725665822931011472013-02-18T10:18:00.000-06:002013-02-18T10:18:14.297-06:00Where are all the sloths?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Considering that sloths are one of the most common mammals in the tropical forest, they are surprisingly difficult to see. A study cited by Mark Wainwright in his excellent <i>Natural History of Costa Rican Mammals</i> found that sloths accounted for two-thirds the biomass of terrestrial mammals in a study area in Panama. Despite their abundance, it's not easy to see a sloth, especially the nocturnal Hoffman's Two-toed Sloth (<i>Choloepus hoffmanni</i>), the only sloth species found in the Monteverde area. Consider this sloth sleeping less than 3 meters (9 feet) from our bedroom window.<br />
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It was mid-afternoon before we noticed it was there. I don't feel quite so lacking in observational skills after reading in Wainwright's book that " Biologists have found that even individuals that have been precisely radio-located can be impossible to see" because they like to spend the day sleeping in the middle of liana tangles. <br />
So it's always fun to get a really good view of a sloth. Just looking at a sleeping sloth makes me feel like taking a nap.<br />
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One way to see a sloth is to go on a twilight walk with a guide. Guides often search out a sloth before the tour and sloths are apt to become active around dusk, making them easier to see. The easiest way to see a sloth is to know someone caring for a rescued baby. Babies sometimes fall from their mother and are abandoned. Caring for a baby sloth is a huge commitment as baby sloths stay with their mothers for up to two years.<br />
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Even though two-toes sloths are generally nocturnal, this one was active during the day. Perhaps that special flower was tasty enough to wake up for.<br />
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Carolinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00591131876354165885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8331391570829308599.post-24853373469902453662013-01-28T20:09:00.000-06:002013-01-28T20:09:00.890-06:00Tropical colors<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Green is a predominant color in tropical forests. Small splashes of color have a big impact. Here are some recent photos Mr. Rududu took recently in the Monteverde area. Blue-gray tanagers sometimes puncture flowers and drink nectar from them without doing any polinating.<br />
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This insect was inside a plastic bag; the photo shows its fuzzy underside. It was awaiting identification inside a plastic bag so the background looks kind of artsy. <br />
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For some reason, scorpions look blue under a black light flashlight. It sure looks prettier than under normal life—and it makes me want to get a black light flashlight to inspect my house with.<br />
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Carolinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00591131876354165885noreply@blogger.com0