C19 Masks!

shopping at Winco April 6 2020

Sewing masks has become the thing to do as they are desperately needed around the country for medical use and for the public. I've seen a myriad of ways to make them and a myriad of opinions on how to make them effective. There have even been naysayers who claim masks won't do you a bit of good. That may be true if you wear them thinking they will protect you enough to resume your normal social and work life--that would be a mistake.  However, anything, even a scarf, is going to be helpful even to a small degree.

Though the one pictured above wouldn't pass muster for a medical worker, it's superior to most of the masks I see in public (but am glad anything is being worn). The pattern came from a sewing website. I used good quality cotton fabric. Both the front and the lining have a layer of iron-on interfacing. In between is a layer of heavy non-woven interfacing. Along the nose is a piece of 16-gauge wire so that the wearer can shape the mask to nose and upper face, thereby creating a snug fit. The stiffness of this mask creates a space in front of the nose so that the mask does not become damp from breathing, as does a pleated cotton mask (I wore a pleated one for 45 minutes in the store once, and it quickly became damp, then too warm). The above mask is the cadillac version.

Without venturing to the fabric store to buy a single supply, I made masks for all family members with items from my stash. There was enough fabric, elastic, interfacing, and metal for everyone. It was fun to customize by picking fabric I thought each person would like.

here's some grands with their masks:

other family members wearing my home-sewn masks; the one below got his in the mail just in time for New York's governor to declare masks had to be worn in public (I made some for his roommates also)

An assortment of 2 types of masks. I tried using ties on two of them but didn't like the non-bias ties on the blue mask. The orange ties on the butterfly mask are on the bias and work well, due to their stretchiness.

My favorites, made for the Flynns.

What materials make the most protective face mask?
Here is one local effort to produce masks for local health workers

Even the TP is Quilted!

Sisters, Oregon is a rustic, charming, scenic tourist mecca. Both summer and winter seasons are ideal times to visit Sisters. Old West charm and panoramic beauty invigorate one on a hot sparkling summer day. Hiking and mountain climbing are glorious experiences under clear blue sky that is not often seen further west in Oregon. Brilliant winter snow draws in cross-country and downhill skiers.

view from Sisters

photo: http://www.curbsideclassic.com/blog/the-curbside-classics-of-sisters-oregon/ 

Sisters has another claim to fame. An annual quilt show held every July attracts 10,000 visitors from all over the world. I have gone once expressly to the quilt show, and have passed through a few times on a jammed US 20 while the show was under way. Traffic inches along the two-lane road as through-travelers gape and gawk at the dazzling colors and intricate designs displayed on porches and buildings in the form of artfully stitched quilts. They hang from eaves and rafters, cables and clotheslines, waiting to be ogled by one and all.

quilts fly from every possible space

photo: https://countryheritagetours.com/tour/sensational-sisters-tour/

Truly though, this post isn't as much about the Sisters Quilt Show as about an amusing event that occurred the year I attended with a group of women who love quilting as much as I do. We strolled along the boardwalk eye-balling each quilt from inches away. No touching allowed. We noticed that down the street on an empty lot, a semi-truck had pulled in, and crowds were gathering around it. Lo and behold, the semi was painted with the Quilted Northern logo, the rear door was raised, and the driver was tossing out six-packs of Quilted Northern toilet paper!!

What a brilliant advertising stratagem! In minutes the boardwalks of Sisters were filled with quilters toting packages of Quilted Northern toilet paper tucked snugly under their arms as they continued on their quest to identify their favorite quilt. We quilters love anything quilted, including toilet paper . . .

I couldn't help but wonder what the through-travelers thought as they observed this astonishing phenomenon from their creeping cars. Was Sisters fresh out of TP? Was its slogan "you're welcome to visit but bring your own TP"?  Was Sisters's food so wild and crazy that one must have TP available at all times? Or was there something lurking in the Sisters water supply? I'll never know what travelers thought, but I won't forget the smiles on the faces of thousands of quilters each armed with a six-pack of cushy TP!

Home Sew Extravaganza

The other day I fondly wrote about my old sewing patterns.  B-o-r-i-n-g.

So today I bring you . . . . my Home Sew catalogs!

These Home Sew catalogs bring back sweet memories of a simpler time.   Home-Sew mailed out a 60-page catalog every couple of months.  Free shipping came with a minimum order [$15 ??], and you could subscribe to their sample club which meant you’d get pieces of lace and trim and elastics glued to a card, offered at bargain prices.  Sometimes they offered a generous grab bag of trims or buttons or craft items for 50 cents or a buck.  Coming across a pile of these ancient catalogs brought back happy memories of planning and ordering for sewing projects, then creatively putting together dresses, shirts, jackets, and jumpsuits.   My friend Janet and I sometimes combined our order to get free shipping.

It has been years since I've done the kind of sewing that requires the materials sold by Home Sew.  But hey, guess what?   I just looked for Home Sew online, and it's still there!  And they still have the sample club!   I'll have to take a closer look to see if their prices are still the best around.

Off to the recycle bin, faithful catalogs.  I enjoyed knowing you.

 Home Sew sample club

A Blast From the Past

 some of my children's patterns

It doesn’t happen often, believe me, but I was recently in the mood to clean out old stuff that had been boxed up since our 2009 remodel. One part of the task involved a cardboard box full of ancient sewing patterns. There was a time when it was helpfully economical to sew clothing, and most of my sewing was done for my small children for the simple reason that I could make cute outfits out of marked-down remnants and inexpensive lace, elastic, buttons, and trim bought in bulk from a local outlet and a mail order company called Home-Sew. A little girl dress or boy shorts could be sewn for as little as 25 cents. Even if I broke the bank by creating a 50 cent outfit, it was still a great deal in the 70s and 80s.

Notice in the photo that besides girl's dresses are patterns for very cool boy's short shorts, foxy jeans, and stylish rib-necked t-shirts.

Not shown in these photos are patterns for prom dresses, wedding dresses, a Civil War ball gown I made for Teresa, pioneer dresses, and an American Girl doll pattern.

 Craig was the beneficiary of some of my sewing projects--shirts, robes, pjs, jackets, ties. Clothing is relatively cheap now and fabric more expensive, so I won't be using these patterns ever again!

  I sewed various curtains, draperies and window shades, some of which did not require a pattern.

I'm handing off the old patterns  to my friend ML, who sews costumes in her spare time. Except for one: the first pattern I ever used, which was bought for my 7th grade Home Ec class in 1966. All of us girls sewed an A-line skirt using this pattern. It brings back happy memories of learning to satisfy my creative self.