FNSI begins with great joy!

Friday Night Sew In (FNSI) began with great joy.
Remember my friend who shared her late aunt's sewing stash? Well, she arrived at the door as I was getting ready to leave for Suddenly's house with more stuff and her aunt's sewing machine. I am not kidding, my heart skipped a beat. While I dinner was finishing in the oven, unwrapped the machine. What I found was a vintage (probably around the early 70s) Bernina -- with all the feet possible, the manual, several bobbins and more than a few accessory cases. I didn't have a chance to fire dear Berny up, but I will do that later on today -- and of course, post all about it.
Soon, I was off to Suddenly's place to do that Friday Night Sew In -- although strictly speaking -- I was sewing out...
I finished up some little lavender hearts, put together the lining for my Cath Kidston strawberry bag (revealed in an earlier post), and finished up the little kokeshi stuffy from here:
http://mellyandme.typepad.com/kokeshi%20stuffie.pdf
I chose this project after I made my donation to the Canadian Red Cross for Japanese relief efforts. I love this little doll's cheerful little face. Especially in these worrisome days for the people of Japan.

Stripey hearts, cheerful doll and bag lining 

In the past few days, I have been thinking about all the people I know who live in Japan. There are a surprising number.
There are the girls we met over the seven years my daughter attended a wonderful choir camp. The girls were from a Tokyo girls' school and they spent the last two weeks in August practicing their English, learning lovely liturgical music, and forming friendships that included cultural exchanges of the summer camp variety. All the girls had so much fun together.
Six years ago, we got to know the members of a film crew that were at our house for a day in late September and again in November. They were part of a production company that produced an English language education course for middle school students. My son plays a character in the series. As part of the production, I cooked a full Christmas dinner for the cast and crew. Again, getting to know these folks was a fun and unique experience.
My cousin and his wife lived in Japan for several years. They were English language teachers. They are also concerned for their friends there.
Even with all these things on my mind, it was great creating with Suddenly in her studio. It was cool to think of all the people who were creating right along with us. It is comforting to think of those involved in peaceful pursuits when the world is an increasingly chaotic place.