Bapatla diary 14

One morning, while the children were in school, we piled in the car and headed to Chirala, a small city about a half hour's drive from Bapatla. We were headed to the Chirala Handloom factory. We arrived and were ushered into a room filled floor to ceiling and wall to wall with shelves full of handwoven fabrics of every imaginable hue. Some of the fabrics were screen printed with gold borders or embroidered. Some had tiny mirrors sewn in, others were block printed. Such variety.

We looked and looked and ooohed and aaahed. We were served tiny cups of tea. We were given gifts of fabric by our hosts. Such generosity.

Then we walked across the courtyard between buildings and entered the factory area.

Yes, folks, it is all done by hand. The dying of fibers, the threading of the enormous looms, the weaving, the printing. My pictures don't do the experience justice. My camera card got full halfway through the time in the factory. Poor planning.

But I have many pieces of beautiful fabric from that trip. And I'm looking forward to creative endeavors with it as an extension of this summer's amazing times.