The Exemplary 2025
Honorable Mention, Non-Professional Non-Original with Instruction

I learned to stitch Temari balls quite a few years ago. I have many Temari that I’ve stitched in my collection, and I’ve developed my own patterns and taught others to make Temari. I’m fascinated by Temari and love to see the patterns and colors come together. I’ve enjoyed taking workshops through Shining Needle Society, learning from books that I own, and through an Online Platform with TemariKai.com.

Several years prior to the Covid-19 lockdown, I registered for an online workshop to make a series of Sunflower Temari balls, under the tutelage of Barbara Seuss. The workshop came with a CD that had instructions, as well as video recordings of Barbara executing some of the techniques necessary to complete the Sunflower Temari balls.

I created a series of three balls, stitched using the colors and patterns called for in the instruction. Each ball is handmade, utilizing a portion of a ladies nylon stocking, which is filled with dried rice hulls. The amount of hulls inserted is dependent on the size of Temari that you are looking to create. This step is followed by winding thick knitting yarn around the ball. Then the balls were wrapped with three strands of sewing thread, which was held in my hand at the same time; backing off to two strands; with the final wrapped layer being one strand of sewing thread.

I learned that a large circumference Temari Ball requires a great deal more “tacking,” to hold the stitching in place, than a smaller circumference Temari Ball. The larger the circumference, the more the ball flattens out, making it difficult to keep a curved thread in place on the ball.