Rosemarie is not one of those people that can just relax for hours upon hours; she needs to be doing something, and while in self imposed semi-isolation here in Sanibel, it’s either crafts or drive Jack crazy, and we are both happier when it is the former.  The great thing is that she has her hands in so many different pots (and mostly has the equipment and supplies for all of them stuffing every corner of the RV) that there is always something to choose from. 

A couple years back Linda gave Rose her sewing machine, but with the exception of stepmom Marcia fixing it, one group sewing event in The Keys, and a lesson from Deb in Michigan, it has seen little use.  Part of that is a function of how many interests Rose has, but it is also a result of our market schedule: she spent almost all of her crafting time making things for our markets.  Now that those are off, she has time to explore new areas, and sewing was one of her first choices soon after we hunkered down here on the island. 

So far she has done three different projects, producing multiple versions of each one.  It started with the microwave cozies; batting in between cotton cloth and sewed to achieve a concave, bowl-like shape.  This allows one to place a bowl or cup in the microwave-safe cozie, heat it up, and take it out of the science oven without burning your hands.  I had never heard of these things until last year, but apparently they are quite popular.  She made a few, but we also bought some very high quality ones from a vendor during our Koreshan State Park crafting even last Fall.  Drawing inspiration from those, she gradually improved until she felt comfortable enough with her quality such that they would make suitable gifts.

She made about a dozen of these, but we only kept a couple of them.  The rest were donated to other park RVers back in April.

Next up she downloaded a template to make hair bands.  Rose wears a lot of bandannas in various styles and methods, but these incorporate elastic and provide her additional options. 

When it became clear that mask wearing was going to be a big part of our lives for the foreseeable future, she watched a few videos and downloaded a pattern for them as well.  After a couple of adjustments to make them fit our faces properly and comfortably, we have our customized masks: two pieces of cotton cloth that allows a paper mask to be slipped between the layers for better protection.

Time to head to the bank.  

The sewing is but one of many things Rosemarie has been working on here in Sanibel; I’ll detail a few more projects in a coming post, but next up: April wrap up.