Temari #105- frost

Temari #105 is finally done after 4 weeks in the making.  It started with couching silver cording to the ball. This temarii does not have any geometric division of the surface, The embroidery is free form.

So that the couching thread would be less noticeable, a fine silver thread was used. Because the thread is not smooth like an embroidery or perle cotton thread, the thread would snag on threads in the ball when stitching. This would lead to the thread shredding and breaking. Very annoying. But the effect was worth the extra effort.

Each spiral is crested with a ridge of silver and turquoise beads, like the hoar frost.
  The leaves were frosted too.

 

And then sequins and beads were added to the background, creating the glitter of sunshine being refracted from all the frost in the area surrounding the leaves and tendrils.

 

This was a difficult temari to photograph. The ball looked dull with indirect lighting, or there was glare with direct lighting reflecting off of the beads. The glare is much like sun on the snow in our yard now.

Do you see the glitter of sun on the snow in the picture above?

The picture above was taken yesterday.

By this morning, there was about 6″ accumulation.

 

 

From 2D to 3D

An introduction by a friend to the stabilizer material, Peltex, has lead me on adventure diverging from quilt making. This stabilizer is like a polyester batting that has been compressed to a thin, relatively stiff fabric. It can be used in many different kinds of projects.

Last year, I made my first projects using Peltex, which were Christmas ornaments. I used it like a batting, but for a stiff backing so the ornaments would keep their flat shape and to have a base to sew beads onto.

Beaded kaleidescope fractal ornament

The next Peltex projects were quilted fabric boxes. These were fun to create and make nice gifts. They are like making mini 3D quilts. These boxes are a great way to use up scraps left over from making quilts, so I will continue making them.

Fabric boxes

Many years ago, my mother gave me a copy of the book Polyhedron Models by Magnus J. Wenninger. It is wonderful book describing and illustrating geometric solids, which I would pull off my shelf and look at every so often. I had made several of the geometric forms in paper many years ago, but with a new (at least relatively new to me)stabilizer material that made it possible to make a polyhedron out of fabric, I just had to try it. My first one was a Small Ditrigonal Icosidodecahedron.

This polyhedron is made of five-pointed stars and pairs of equilateral triangles. The shapes were cut out of Peltex, then machine edge stitched with a zigzag stitch to the backs of fabric pieces.

Edge stitching a star

The fabric seam allowance was turned to the back and hand stitched to the stabilizer. Then the separate pieces were hand sewn together.

Polyhedron in progress

The tips of the points turned out a little blunt with so much bulk coming together, so beads were added to the tip of each points.

Small Ditrigonal Icosidodecahedron

The next polyhedron was much smaller- a Christmas ornament. It is a heptagonal dipyramid. Heptagon means seven sided, and the term septagon (which is a combination of Latin and Greek) is sometimes used instead. Also, bipyramid is used interchangeably with dipyramid, with both meaning two pyramids that are placed base-to-base symmetrically. Wolfram Mathworld is an excellent website for more information on geometric solids.

Heptagonal dipyramid

There are some lovely stellated polyhedrons in my Polyhedron Models book by Magnus Wenninger and even more on the internet that are tempting me to create them in fabric.

A new material has led me on a side path from quiltmaking, but not away from it. As I explore 3D sewing, I continue to work on quilts.