Yesterday I held the inaugural class in my new workshop/studio. The class subject was sinking a simple copper bowl for beginners and was aimed at learning basic skills - working with a torch (annealing), using a jewelers saw (rounding the corners of a copper square), sanding, polishing, hammering (sinking and basic planishing) and observing soldering (adding the ring bases).   We also discussed shop safety, the tools and equipment used and assembling a toolbox to take to classes.

My students were Barbara, Irma, and Nancy. I know Barbara and Irma and Nancy is a friend of Irma's so it was a friendly and relaxed class. 

I started the day, before they arrived, annealing, winding, and sawing the ring bases for their bowls. The ladies arrived just before 10 am and into the studio we went!  After "The Safety Discussion", the ladies stamped their initials in the center of one side - this would become the bottom/outside of the bowl. Then they learned how to use the jewelers saw to round the corners. We moved on to sanding the edges and how to make sanding sticks. I then demonstrated polishing the copper to soften all edges and to remove the scratches, while the copper was flat so there was less work to do after the bowl was formed.  Then came the hammering - sinking into the custom wood forms I have had made over the years, and how to anneal in-between each round of going deeper.  When each was happy with the shape and depth of their dish it was time to go to the stake stump and they learned planishing and after that I worked with each of them to solder a ring base on; I did the soldering but they assisted by watching for the flow of the solder and turning the turntable, so I could focus on heating and soldering; they also quenched their dishes and put it in the pickle.  Lastly, they did a final polish and their bowls were done. 

As we sat around the table, after the class, discussing what they learned they asked what they could learn next! 
I guess I need to start planning another class.

Several months ago I read an article about a new exhibition about Vincent van Gogh and that it was to be at the Museum of Fine Arts - Houston AND this was to be the ONLY place to see this exhibit because it is/was organized by the MFAH in collaboration with the Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam, and the Kröller-Müller Museum, Otterlo. The exhibit spotlights everything from landscapes to portraits and spans his life as an artist, from early sketches to final paintings.

So being a fan I had to go. My friend Denese, a fellow weaver, also is a fan so we decided to make a weekend of it and THIS weekend (Memorial Day) was it. 

We drove up to Houston on Saturday afternoon and settled into a nice AirBnB near the museum. We found a great Indian restaurant for dinner and went for the 5 course tasting menu - I wanted to lick the plates it was so good; the conversation was great too. Sunday we went over to the museum and even though it was not open yet, the lines were long - to purchase tickets or those who had tickets. We bought our tickets on line and paid just a bit more for premium entry which allowed us a higher priority to be admitted and it was worth it as there was were only 2 people a head of us in the premium line. When the museum opened we were allowed to go right in and the galleries were empty!

We were there 3 hours looking and reading and by the time we left it was very crowded. 

Overall it was well worth the trip. The works were displayed along with cases of his sketch books; similar art supplies, enlarged letters to his brother, Theo, and commentaries of what was happening in his life and where he was living. 

The pictures below are some of my favorites; there were many more. 

When we moved into the new house, the area for my studio was unfinished and we just stacked the boxes around the floor. In the small area where the back door and the windows are, I set up my office. In the open closet we put some wire shelves, we found in the storage room, up and I cut some wire out so I could make a hammer rack. We also setup the soldering station, the polishing and grinding station, my workbench and the old kitchen table so I had a place to work.

But I didn't. I found it was just too difficult to find things since stuff was in boxes. 

And to build out the studio was going to take cash, and we were money tight as a result of the move; so I waited. 

A year went buy and money was saved and I could finally consider the construction on the studio. Now we had to find someone to do it.  We decided to look at some new homes under construction in the area, as a way to find a builder who's work we liked; and we did. After a few discussions and a walk through the mess of a studio, we finally took measurements, got a quote, paid our money and scheduled a start date of just after New Year's. 

With a date set, we now had to take all the boxes and move them from the studio area and into the office area, move the stakes and stake stand, put the hammers away, take down the polishing and grinding station and move the soldering station away from where the cabinets would be installed. The shop elf then put risers on the outlets, that would be covered by the cabinets and installed new outlets above where the cabinet back splash would end.

Construction took 2 months because Roger, our guy, was only working on it on weekends, while he worked on the spec house he was building during the week. His son Alex, was his shop elf and the two of them made a great team. 

As you can see from the picture series below, the cabinets were installed, leveled, painted, drawers and doors hung, counter tops installed, and handles put on.  Roger also demo'd the extra walls from the closet to open it up and put a second shelf in so I have extra storage for hammer and stake related items. He also assisted in the installation of the polisher and grinder, on the counter top.

All was finished last weekend, and I can now start unpacking and organizing everything.  I am going to raid The Container Store for large and small tubs that I can put things into - that starts next week.

It has taken almost a month but I have finally finished sewing this patter  FOUR times with various sizes of cotton. 
I purchased 4 different sizes of cotton (8, 10, 16, and 80) and technically the same three colors - Blue, Green, and White. I did this not only to evaluate the threads: what is was like to sew with them and how did they look different or the same when completed.  And as in the prior post I made bases all the same size. 

• DM Perle Cotton Size 8 : This is the size I have been using for the majority of the prior tutorials. I find it easy to work with and the sheen makes it glide easily through the base when stitching and it does not twist or know very much. With this thread there was an average of 7 stitches per division which means I did 210 total stitches (7 * 10 divisions/color * 3 colors). From the first row of pictures, below you can see the design is nice but the individual threads are visible

• DMC Cotton Size 10: This is a perle cotton that is suggested for crochet and I purchased it directly from DMC. I found that there was almost NO sheen and it looked rather flat or mat. It was not as easy to work with as the size 8 as it WOULD twist and knot easily, I ended up cutting the length of thread to be shorter to limit this but of course I had to then have more thread starts and stops. With this thread there was an average of 8 stitches per division which is 240 total stitches (8 * 10 divisions/color * 3 colors). From the second row of pictures, below you can see the design is does not even look as good as with the size 8 cotton. I don't think I will use this cotton again.

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• Presencia Finca Cotton Size 16: This is a perle cotton but it does have a multi thread twist that is not meant to be divided like a floss would; it is sold as a tatting thread and I purchased it via Amazon. I found that there was a minimal amount of sheen but it is not as much as the DMC size 8. It was not as easy to work with as the size 8 as it WOULD twist and knot easily but it was easier than the DMC size 10. Having learned my lesson with the size 10 I used shorter lengths of thread to sew with. With this thread there was an average of 11 stitches per division which means I did 330 total stitches (11 * 10 divisions/color * 3 colors).. From the third row of pictures, below you can see the design does look good if not better than the Size 8 and certainly better than the size 10  because with the finer thread the thread detail is less visible and you see the over pattern more.  I would will use this cotton again because they also have a good color selection.

• Lizbeth Cotton Size 80: This is a not a marketed as a perle cotton but it does have a multi thread twist that is not meant to be divided like a floss would; it is sold as a tatting thread and I purchased it directly from Handing Hands Tatting. This cotton is very very fine/thin and because of that. It was not as easy to work with and I went t a much smaller needle so the thread would not slip out of the eye of the needle.  It would also twist and knot easily but having worked my way to this small a thread had taught me to hold the thread as I putted the stitch through the base to prevent twisting and knotting.  With this thread there was an average of 14 stitches per division which means I did 420 total stitches (14 * 10 divisions/color * 3 colors). From the fourth row of pictures, below you can see the design is does look good if not better than the Size 8  because with the finer thread the thread detail is less visible and you see the over pattern more.  I would will use this cotton again because they also have a good color selection but using this size thread means more time sewing. It should also be noted that this size is the closest to the Japanese silk in size, if not a bit finer.

The very last picture show all the Yubinuki size by size so you can really see how the threads compare from the largest on the left to the finest on the right.

The next Yubinuki post will be the evaluation of SILK threads with this same pattern and colors. 

I have prepared 4 bases, as they are called in Japan, I was calling it a core which I guess is wrong and I will probably make a few more since there are some more silk threads for me to try, on the way. 

I used the same sized mandrel for all of the bases and I cut everything the same - the paper, the fabric lining and even the pattern paper and marked them with 30 divisions. I then took the silk I had, from my spinning supplies, to add the padding. To make sure all the patterns matched up I had to add a bit more or a bit less silk as I wound it around the base. 

The 4 bases are now ready for sewing, which I will cover in Part C and I will start with a size 8 Perle cotton.  

So I bet you are wondering WHY I am doing this. Well the answer is that I tried to sew this pattern with the Japanese silk and made an absolute mess of it. The silk kept twisting and knotting and I could not undo them so I had to cut the thread; my divisions, using the 15 per the original pattern and not the 30 I am suggesting you use, were all off and not evenly spaced;  and so I got frustrated with it and set it aside. 

That is when I had THIS idea to try different thread material and work my way down to finer threads.

This tutorial is a follow on to the The Hunt for Silk post from a few weeks ago. This tutorial will be made up of several parts that not only cover the pattern and sewing but I will sew the same pattern with different sized threads  - yes, I am making the same Yubinuki at least 4 times in cotton and 4 more in silk.  

So let's discuss the pattern (show below), here are the details

• Colors: 3 shown with Blue, Green and  White (shown as Grey)
• Needles: 3
• Divisions:  30

Sewing Notes: Each color is sewn, in order: once around in Blue, once around in Green, and once around in White. This is why you need 3 needles because using one needle and constantly re-threading the eye after each round would be extra steps. The sewing continues until all spaces are filled.

Note that after the first stitch at the top edge is taken, the second and all even numbered stitches, on the bottom edge is 3 divisions marks over.  The original pattern had 15 divisions and the second stitch was to be placed half way between two division lines, so I decided that to keep the sewing more even, it would be better to double the number of divisions; which makes the placement of the even stitch numbers much more accurate.

So what does the completed Yubinuki look like? Below the pattern are several images (used without permission) from the various Japanese books. 

So prepare your bases to follow along. 

Note: You may have to zoom in on the picture to see the lines, which are the threads, because with 30 divisions, I had to shrink the image to fit on the page.

And here is the completed Yubinuki

I love, Love, LOVE, LOVE sewing with silk
My love of silk began with sewing clothing and then when sewing hand embroidery and now I am looking at Yubinuki.

Yubinuki are traditionally sewn with silk and to date, the tutorials have been using perle (or pearl) cotton.  I have done this to gain skill and not waste an expensive thread on something that might not look so as I learned.

So the question is what size silk thread does one use and where do you get it. Soon after getting my Yubinuki books from Japan, I was looking at the images of the supplies and they showed a silk thread on a cardboard bobbin marked KNK. 

​Thus began my hunt to find this thread/chord and/or equivalents. I am now ready to share what I have found.

One place I went looking was high-end needle-point and embroidery stores. There I found the Au ver Soie Perlee (3rd from left above, which is RED), which is translated, a silk perle.  I have made one yubinuki with it (2 colors) and found it very slippery but the sheen and colors wonderful.  This 2 color yubinuki will be the next tutorial so stay tuned.

Then I went to the Houston Quilt Fest looking for other sources and I found Treenway Silk (1st on left, variegated Red/Orange) and Fiber on a Whim (2nd on left, variegated Blue/Green). These two are slightly thicker than the Silk Perle and are described as a silk chord. 

4th (Purple) and 5th (Pale Pinks) in the image are NOT silk but size 20 and size 40 cotton used for tatting. These are shown for size comparison but you might want to sew a few yubinuki with this size before tackling the REAL Japanese silk which is  the far right in Green. 

Now it is time to get to it - the elusive Japanese Silk. I have found two manufacturers of the size shown in the books; they are Fujix and Kanagawa. I spent weeks Googling and trust me I am a good Google-er; it took time but it has come to light that for traditional yubinuki silk the thread marked #9 is what should be used.  There are many a websites (Etsy or Amazon) selling #16 button hole twist thread but trust me, #16 is even finer than #9 and it is not what "we" want. I also discovered that you can, with time, find a random bobbin of #9 on eBay and on Amazon but not the full assortment of colors. 

I did purchase a bobbin of each thread via Ebay so I could do more research.

After finding the companies and their websites, I used Google translate navigate and find the pages for not only the individual bobbins of thread, but their thread sample books that show ALL the colors; at least 100 from each company but there was no way to place an international order. The KNK on-line order forms also assumed you were in Japan and they don't take credit cards OR Paypal, only checks or bank transfers. I then used their "Contact Us" for to send an email to ask HOW can I order.   It took over 10 emails of: what I wanted to purchase; where to send it in the USA; where to send the money, in Japan; and bank transfer information but the deed is done - I have paid for the order. 

So what did I get?

• kits (thread on bobbins, silk for the padding, a pre-made base and instructions in Japanese, and extra paper and fabric to make another base)
• an assortment threads
• pre-made bases (which I also call a core)
• silk padding
• fabric
• paper
• and the thread colors card. 

I hoping that I will be able to sell these items soon, here on this website, stay tuned for that!

As I stated earlier, the next tutorial will be with the Au ver Soie Perlee. After than I will do an experiment using the same pattern and sized bases but with different sized threads. This comparison will allow you and me to find out what it is like to use these threads, and what the finished Yubinuki looks like, when compared side by side.

Links to  thread sources in the USA if you want to use these other silks and cottons

• Treenway Silk :  This silk is listed as a button hold twist but depending on the company, the size can vary. 
• Fiber on Whim : Silk Chord equivalent to size 8 and 12 Perle Cotton
• Au ver Soie Perlee: A silk perle that is 3 ply and equivalent to a 12 Perle  Cotton. 
• Lizbeth Tatting Size 20 Perle Cotton
• Lizbeth Tatting Size 40 Perle Cotton

The 6 pictures below are of the threads, as I purchased them. The last two are the Fujix and the KNK.

Having returned, relaxed, from my mini vacation and submitted all my pictures and paper work for my Level 1 Temari Certification I decided to take a break and make some Temari for fun. 

I started my projects in the beginning of November with a temari that was a  stitch-a-long challenge in the Temari community I belong to.  After I finished the first one, I did another challenge temari and was it! The mari was not ROUND so marking a C-10 was difficult since some of the pentagons were not symmetrical nor were they all the same size.s. I solved the issue by making a few of the pentagons smaller, on opposite sides; and I hoped for the best.   In the end it worked and it looks pretty good. Then I made 2 more temari, of the same pattern - one for me and one is a present. 

​Here are all the pictures!

In Tutorial 6, the yubinuki was sewn on an odd number of divisions and thus the thread for a round overlaps the thread from the prior round, let's recap that pattern and then go over the pattern:

• Thread Colors: 1
• Needles: 1
• Divisions:  11

To expand on your knowledge of reading patterns, notice that there are 11 divisions, one color and ONE direction that the sewing is done in. The image below also shows how the first part of stitching ends back at division 1 but on the opposite side from where the stitching started

In the next tutorial, we will start with the pattern and then sew it!