My first Temari

I have a fascination with all things Asian and love the unique so trying this Japanese craft is perfect.  After a little web searching and book purchasing here is my first Temari.  If you see pulled strings it's because my cat decided it was a great toy, ARG!  (my fault, not the cat's - I know better, she doesn't). 

I took a shortcut and started with a styrofoam ball.  I padded it with strips of quilt batting (don't you love when you can use scraps that you would otherwise throw away), wrapped it with yarn, then thread (a bright yellow that was old and probably never going to get used again) and then started the embroidery using floss and a gold thread (the gold was really hard to work with and not a great idea for a first project, but don't yo love the little bit of glitz it added?)  If they are supposed to be bright and colorful, I think I succeeded. 

Temari てまり (meaning 'hand ball' in Japanese) is a folk craft born in ancient Japan from the desire to amuse and entertain children with an embroidered toy thread ball. The art of temari began as a simple needlework craft, making a mari ball for play. Today the lovely thread-wrapped, Japanese embroidered temari balls are given as tokens of good luck. A stitched temari ball on a stand would be displayed and enjoyed as a striking example of Japanese embroidery. Temari ball craft is unique needlework, an Oriental folk art which is spreading all over the world!
More information and help go here:  http://www.japanesetemari.com/index.html