March 2020 was supposed to be a month of preparing for the Guild’s big fundraiser, welcoming grandchildren for March break and, with any luck on the weather front, tidying up the flower beds to prepare for spring coming. That was the plan. The reality was that a global pandemic of an influenza-type illness descended on our community, forcing the cancellation of all public events, shuttering schools and forcing everyone into their homes for the foreseeable future.
Once the initial impact of the pandemic settled us into our new normal, with staying at home number one on the list, the freedom that this allowed was, well, almost as daunting as dealing with the daily news of the disease spread. What to do, what to do …first? There was a list of things to do, (there’s always been a list), and a pile of unfinished (but not forgotten…😳😉) projects that was calling my name, but did any of those get started? Of course not…
Just as the pandemic imposed a new daily regimen, the call to make face masks for those in need usurped any personal plans. Soon, my box of neatly folded fat quarters of quilting cottons became a pile of washed and dried chaos…
Soon, my box of neatly folded fat quarters of quilting cottons became a pile of washed and dried chaos…
Four YouTube videos later on how to create a non-medical face mask, the unruly mess devolved into a pile of pressed pairs…
…pinned and waiting to be matched with…
…hair elastics (5 inches of perfect elastic when cut…👏🥰)!
Then on to the sewing, with my trusty but hardly ever used 40-year-old Kenmore. The first twenty masks were an experiment, given away to my family.
The next eighty were much better and were given to friends…my friends, friends of my family, friends of their friends. It also soon became apparent that many people had no one to sew for them, so we (a little neighbourhood group who donated material, cut sizes, sewed and packaged) started giving them away…
Everyone said how thankful they were, and what could they pay? ‘Pay it forward’ they were told, because we’re all in this together…
So far, so good, but all that cutting of fabric left a rapidly expanding pile of scraps that were too big to throw away but too small for even kids’ masks. What to do with them…?
Right…! Little scrappy quilts…a perfect opportunity to practice running stitches…
…many little scrappy quilts…
…for mini bunnies…🐇💕 Stay safe out there…😉😷👋🏻
