If You Are Lucky Enough to Know a Quilter...

Our mask makers continue to add to their stockpiles, and after a week of making them, this was the last pile of mine to be pressed before being packaged up.

I have a few commitments on the go these days so I wanted to be able to wrap these up sooner rather than later so that they would be ready when needed and I could move on to other things. If I need to make more down the road, I will, but as social distancing measures appear to be having a positive impact, my fervent hope is that very few of them get used at all.

This project has been extremely good at helping me use fabrics that have languished for a while (in some cases, quite a while) in the sewing room. You know, those fabrics that you keep running into but have just moved on from and really don't see yourself using much, if at all, but you can't quite find it in your heart to move them out. Now they have a purpose.

Sunday morning I thought that I was headed for making fabric ties but my niece came to the rescue when she discovered a huge cone of elastic, so I was thrilled.

I had been living off the kindness of strangers when it comes to elastic, using bits and bobs that folks were finding. One particularly nice aqua piece came to me so I tried to use fabrics that complemented it. I was happy to be able to use it but sad when it was all gone because it is so pretty.

All told, I think that I have made 97. It was tempting to try and make that an even 100 but by the time I put the stitches into the last one that feeling had passed.

The Official Cookie Tester has been eyeing my production and, while admiring the effort, still questioning their efficacy to some extent, until the other night. He came across an article in the New York Times that said, 'If you are lucky enough to know a quilter, ask them to make you a mask...Quilters tend to use high quality, high thread count cotton. The best homemade masks...were as good as surgical masts, or slightly better, testing in the range of 70-79% filtration.' Case closed. (BTW, how can you not love an article with the words, 'if you are lucky enough to know a quilter'?)

Anne is still in production mode as well. She's found a fellow in town who makes military uniforms and he is offering not only elastic, but to cut fabrics for her as well. Bingo!

And Sandy continues to sew up a storm and is learning lots. The pattern that she is using calls for ironing the ties five times. Nope. She's not keen on burning her fingers anymore and has got it down to two. Quick learner! 😉 She added an inch to the depth of the mask so that it tucks in under the chin a little more; and it makes the tucks less fussy to do too. This batch is ready for “front porch” deliveries today.

The rest that she has in progress will hit the mail or go to folks in their building. They also have a nursing home close by, so next week she will see if they want any.

And the icing on the cake? Ed told her yesterday, "You need to go shopping for fun fabric when all of this is over." Her response? "Yessireeeee!"....M