More Masks--

First mask ready to cut

A friend sent me an e-mail last week asking me for "Terry Masks" for her family. She said she had recycled t-shirts into masks. She wanted to be able to slip an additional filter into the mask for extra protection. Her pattern didn't allow for that function and she had seen the ones that I had made for my family.

She doesn't sew. She wrote, that her family would be happily surprised to get out of the "Seattle Grunge" kind  that she had created! I chuckled over that comment! I decided that I would need to stitch three pair of masks for males and two pair of masks for females.

I have little fabric that "speak" male. I won that red fat quarter several years ago. I don't remember what I made with it initially, but, it was the perfect fabric for this purpose!

The view at the mid-point

Over a couple days, I stitched 10 masks. Friday, my husband mailed the package to my friend who lives in Washington State near Seattle. Those of you who have stitched that many masks in a morning or an evening. My hat is off to you! I don't have that type of production in me!

I used a twist tie from the grocery store as the nose wire in most of these masks. I found that a nine inch by thirteen scrap was large enough to make a mask. I used more packages of my grandmother's bias tape. I now have all of the bias tape in one drawer.

There is the outer fabric, the lining and a muslin facing in this project. I used 1 3/4 yard of fabric. I have now used 35 3/4 yards from my stash in projects this year. This project was an addition to my finish a long goals so I won't be counting it as an "official" finish.

10 finished masks

Regarding Covid--
Worldwide:
4.02M confirmed; 1.38M recovered, 979K deaths
U.S.:
1.34M confirmed; 210K recovered, 76,696 deaths
Oregon:
3,160 confirmed, 71460 negative, 120 deaths

The Oregon Governor is allowing Oregon to slowly begin to open. In counties where there is little Covid activity, the county can apply to open boutiques, jewelry stores, furniture stores and art galleries as early as May 15. Kids summer camps also fall in this category.

Some outdoor parks opened on May 5 for people to be able to walk and hike. Social distancing and masks are to be used. Gyms might be able to open around the first of June.

Rice is still hard to find as is flour. We may have meat shortages; but, so far Bob has been able to purchase the items on the grocery list. We have quite

Readying the clippers for cutting hair

a bit of meat in the freezer so we should be okay for six months or more with what we have on hand.

Growing up, we canned and preserved foods in the summer months that we ate in the winter months. Our pantry was well stocked. In my married life, we've continued to keep a stocked pantry and have always had the space to do it.

Yesterday, I cut my husband's hair with dog clippers. In my life, I've trimmed horses, cattle and dogs but, I haven't trimmed human hair. I was nervous about clipping his ear or gouging his scalp. The first time, I used the shortest guards that came with the clippers. While the haircut felt better to Bob, it wasn't short enough for him.

He encouraged me to take the guard off and to cut it again. I took a deep breath and I recut his hair. I drew no blood. The results are good. I think it looks like he did see his barber. I trimmed his eyebrows, ears and nose too. He loved his hair cut. I hope that by the time he needs another hair cut, the barber will be open. Although I would cut his hair again if needed.

After the hair cut

I was surprised at the pile of hair that came off of his head. It was a windy day. We decided the best place to cut hair was outdoors so the hair was blown away before I could photograph the pile! I'll also admit, I hadn't seen his "curls" in many years. I did like seeing them!

He said he would do clip my hair for me; but I politely declined his offer. My hair can continue to grow. I can braid it if it bothers me too much!

We are still encouraged to shelter in place as much as possible. On Monday, I have a chiropractic appointment and that will be my first outing since March 19. She was the last place I visited. I will be wearing a mask during my appointment. Thursday and Friday, I will be teaching CPR skills at the hospital. I'll be wearing gloves and a mask the entire day.

Today, is Mother's Day. My mom dropped by for an unexpected overnight yesterday. She was on her way from Woodland, Washington to Bend, Oregon because she wanted to check on her Bend house. At 82, she lives her life according to her rules.

Happy Mother's Day to all moms. Moms of fur babies count too!