Notebook Entry - 070503

Finished Views

C10 floral design stitched with Bunka thread and ribbon floss
 

Source

Japanese book Fun with Temari ISBN 4-8377-0103-5 color pic page 3 ball #8, diagram and instructions pg 76

Classification

C10, open shapes, interwoven, negative space, support lines

Size

26.5cm circumference

Materials

Wrap
dk purple cone thread
Marking
fine white tatting thread size 60?
Design threads
Bunka pink (157) and green (198)
White ribbon floss

Division/Marking

C10 with support lines

Diagrams

line drawing showing initial placement of first layer elements
Placement of support lines (dotted) and triangles, pentagons, and diamonds  
placement of final pentagon rows  

Directions

  1. Wrap a mari in purple. Mark a C10 in white tacking intersections. Add support lines but do not tack intersections as these lines will be removed later.
  2. Stitch one row on each of the triangles (20 of them) using pink. See detail diagram for the starting place.
  3. Stitch one row on each of the 12 pentagons using green, overlapping with the triangles.
  4. Stitch one row on each of the 30 diamonds using green, overlapping with the sides of the triangles.
  5. Repeat steps 2 through 4 until the points of the diamonds are one row away from meeting the sides of the pentagons.
  6. Stitch one more round on the triangles, grooming threads and adding filling stitches as necessary so that they meet in the center of the diamonds and almost meet at their points.
  7. Stitch the last row on the small pentagons with ribbon floss.
  8. Stitch one row on the large pentagons enclosing the sides of the diamonds.
  9. Remove the support lines.

Notes

This ball took forever to finish and it convinced me once and for all that I really did need to get my eyes checked and get reading glasses. I started it almost two months ago, intending to use it for my swap ball at the NY Stitch In. But I found that I could not see details clearly enough to work with the Bunka. The high shine and close colors made it almost impossible for me to keep track of what round I was on. I had resorted to using pins all over the place when I finally got my glasses. Then the prescription was too strong and made me sick so I had to send them back. Finally I just put it away and did a wrapped ball to give instead since I could handle wrapping with bad eyes. ;-) I finally did get my glasses right and could try it again.

Although I followed the diagram in the Japanese book for the spacing, I think I would be better off placing the triangle points closer to the 10-way intersections than the 1/2 point specified. If I try this one again I will do it that way. (See alternate diagram) Also, I think the shine of the Bunka actually detracts from the pattern. It might be nice if it was used only for the pink and a more dull thread was used for the green. I think a texture difference in the fibers would greatly enhance the design. And, I think the support lines shown in the book are superfluous. I never did any stitching on them and they do not seem to be strictly necessary for the placement of the stitched elements. The points of the small pentagons do end up meeting the support line but that is not a critical piece of information for the pattern. I do like the design and I don't think this version of it really does it justice. The negative space shapes are really nice but overall it should end up looking much more floral than it does. On a more positive note, I messed around with the Bunka enough on this one that I finally learned how to unchain it only halfway in a consistent manner so I may try using it that way on the next ball I use Bunka for.

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