I haven’t sewn anything in months. In fact the last time I tried to sew something my machine seized up.  This was kind of the last straw with this machine which had driven me crazy from day one with it’s bad attitude.  Anyway, long story short, thanks to my friend Rabecca, I have a new-to-me sewing machine. And a couple of deadlines.

The first deadline is Sakura-con which is this weekend!  woot!  Okay, I’m kidding.  But my daughter isn’t.

She is beside herself with excitement. This will be her first Sakura-con (anime convention) and she and two friends are going as characters (cosplay) from Hetalia.  If none of this makes sense, join the club.  I get to be the designated mom – because of the, ahem, mature content of some anime, no one under 18 is allowed in without an adult.  Now, bless their hearts, the mature content is kept behind closed doors and in the great hall will be the Miyazaki fans, Hello Kitty, Hetalia, etc. etc.

Most of Rozii’s costume came from thrift store and army surplus stores.  But she needed a capelet.  A military style cape, not a frilly woman’s cape. So I kluged a pattern for a Sherlock Holmes style coat and it worked pretty well  Here is a picture of Rozii (on the left) as Poland, and her friend as Great Britain.  Yes, they are boys. Circa 1945.

I have to admit, I’ve had a lot of fun helping her to get ready.

Second of my deadlines was to finish a tote bag for a silent auction at the Kirkland Arts Center. They are having a kick-off party for the Kirkland Artists’ Studio Tours and part of that is a silent auction.  I had printed some of my woodcut vegetables onto canvas and since the theme is “Locavore” I thought thought it would sew up nicely into a market bag. 

I used a mix of canvas, linen, ric-rac, and the plasticized cotton. The whole thing is lined with the plasticized cotton so it can be used for muddy or wet veggies straight from the Farmer’s Market.  I also hand embroidered the word Locavore in amongst the veggies on the print.  I think it’s quite nice and Parker (as always these days), wants me to keep it.