It was a beautiful day here in Pittsburgh today, filled with sunshine that now, as evening approaches has given way to clouds and wind. I'm sitting on my front porch using my toy computer. Carol complained I haven't been writing; I'm trying to do better.

I've begun working on my Japan book. I spent too much time on the China book; Japan seems very far away. I'm trying to work on the cover at the same time I layout the contents. I plan to use photo transfer and stitchery again, putting it all on a piece of the beautiful gray obi. I'll be going to NYC soon and I can take the cover with me. 

This is the picture I will probably use, stitching the tree, the bits of grass lower right and a bit of the red leaves in the background. I am also considering the following two pictures.

BTW, I wasn't sure what the obi fabric was. My stitchery teacher pronounced it silk without a moments hesitation, but having  paid only ten dollars for it, I was not so certain. I took a small sample with me when I went to San Francisco and asked one of the sales people in Britex what she thought. She first guessed cotton, but then did a flame test on it and proclaimed it silk. I read about flame tests but don't think I would have determined anything if I had done it.

I'm reading a book about a woman traveling alone in Japan in 1878: Unbeaten Tracks in Japan by Isabella Bird. It actually tells more about British prejudices of the time than it does about Japan. Of course, she didn't travel alone: she had a young Japanese man as her companion. That's obviously what I need if I go again.