Culture

Making masks during stay-at-home order

|Ellie Fellers|

Instead of making quilts, my favorite hobby, now I choose to make face masks to help protect friends and family who must maintain social distance and refrain from being together to protect themselves during the COVID-19 pandemic that has shuttered many of us within.

My mile high fabric stash has served well to keep me busy each day while I stay in place indoors. I have not had to go shopping for supplies to make these masks.  Everything is surprisingly here. The trail to discovery at home has bright a few giggles when a forgotten fabric is rediscovered, a eureka moment when yards of elastic was rediscovered hidden from sight.  I was amazed to find I had all the essential materials newly rediscovered in these past few weeks. There’s a sense of being connected by helping others as a maker of masks. 

Mask patterns have flooded the Internet with YouTube instruction readily available.  Many of my quilting friends also heard the call to duty and we check with one another showing off our masks trading helpful hints.

My kitchen table easily transformed into a sweat shop where my trusty sewing machine takes command over piles of assorted cotton quilting fabric, cutting tools, pins, ¼ inch elastic, and fabricated ties, a cutting board, ironing board and iron.

Ellie’s mask factory. Photo: Ellie Fellers

This project has brought forth a dedicated corps of makers throughout the country as efforts to keep health safety and distance and hand washing a priority for those who work, go to grocery stores, pharmacy and gas station.   Though it’s an unnatural feeling to keep social distance, technology has helped with Zoom gatherings for birthday celebrations and book club meeting without leaving home and family and friend connecting.

One of my family members chooses to wear lobster designed fabric, and blueberries and moose designs that bring an invisible grin.   He’s an essential worker in Portland and so important to keep him safe with the help of the mask and all the other critical protective techniques.

Favorites of an essential worker in the family. Photo: Ellie Fellers

 Quilting cotton is said to be 70 percent effective for mask making material.

My masks include flowers, cats, dogs, pinecones, strawberries, moose, birds and colorful designs for a novelty aspect for fashion statement masks

This period of vigilant safety hit home recently.  A beloved first cousin in Massachusetts contracted COVID-19 and was placed on a ventilator at Mass General Hospital and died on March 30.   That confirmed how vulnerable we are to this tragic virus that snuffs us out so quickly.

Please do all you can to protect yourself and if mask making is your forte, there’s lots of information available to help.  
Sewing Masks for Maine is seeking volunteers to make masks and there are many drop off areas within Cumberland and Androscoggin County. 

Stay safe.

Ellie wearing one of her masks. Photo: Ellie Fellers
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