Monday 23 July 2012

on the other side


it was a bit hard getting away
Miss Martha was not best pleased


and made no secret of it


cattle class on the plane was even more vile than usual
the tubby gentleman occupying the seat next to me had seven elbows
and an overly liberal attitude to the passing of wind
- thank goodness for the adjustable air thingy

i stitched a lot
to try and get my dress ready for here


not quite Alabama Stitch Style
but i'm thinking it will need those strong surface elements
if it is to carry off a forest floor of leaf prints


 when i finally reached San Francisco
after the obligatory hour-long shuffle through LAX
[not a criticism, i quite understand the need to be cautious about letting gypsies like me cross the borders]
i was delighted to find an exquisite exhibition
at the airport
all about the acoutrements of hand-sewing. 
i decided it was a SIGN.

i headed for the great outdoors
and a glorious day, full of happy bouncing dogs
weather that played peekaboo with the Bridge
between bouts of brilliant sunshine


i wandered a long way
to make up for hours in the sardine can


found a lovely burgundy-leaved form of Agonis flexuosa
which would be a joy in the dyepot
yielding lovely colour as well as a delicious peppermint fragrance
[i think i shall be checking the pavements near here
when i'm ready to dye that frock]
  

found an abundance of rust

 

some lovely stones to stack
and more irresistible images
[using the polaroid filter on the batfone]

words of wisdom from William Blake


and finally
just to make certain that i really was in the right place
i found the 'four winds'
marked on the pavement
near Fort Point

13 comments:

  1. Dang,
    I saw that photo of the chain and remembered that today I had planned to use a chain in one of my shibori pieces and completely forgot about it. Oh well, tomorrow is another day.

    You are only 2000 miles away instead of half a world. Welcome to your home away from home!
    ;-) Pat

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  2. so all is well then
    ...or a good day at the office

    great pix

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  3. my old stomping grounds, thanks for the visit via photos.

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  4. and that frock..............cant waith...........

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  5. What a delightful day (after the flight that is)

    Thank you for taking me along! I had fun through your eyes.

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  6. Welcome to my continent... though you are still worlds away! Lovely pics, especially the two of the bridge and mists.

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  7. Glad you had a safe journey. Your description of plane travel was hilarious, but oh so true!
    Enjoy your stay here in the States.

    xo

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  8. Ahhhhh San Francisco! Enjoy!!!!!!

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  9. My daughter will be there on holiday in about 2 weeks time. I will tell her to bring me some rust back!Ha! glad you had a freat outdoor walk after your plane ride!!!x enkoy your time in the States, love lyndax

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  10. Great to trace your steps while in the States, India. I thought of you this morning and wondered if you had watched Martha's TED talk. Having read the book on holiday I enjoyed the recap.
    http://tedxtalks.ted.com/video/TEDxSanDiego-2011-Martha-Beck-T

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