strange times

I wrapped up April 2020 with an afternoon in the studio. I got a lot of progress done on the next set of pineapple quilt blocks, but first I made some face masks for Dave and I. Strange times indeed. I have resisted this for a while, perhaps out of a little bit of stubbornness and hope. At this point we have had our shelter in place extended through the end of May and it seems that while health authorities are mostly recommending masks rather than requiring them, a lot of businesses will be requiring patrons to wear masks. That's fine, we'll do it. We even have N95 masks from fire season last year that we've already been wearing when we go out. I have found it difficult to breathe with my N95 plus seasonal allergies, so today I decided to make myself an alternative. The other thing I like about these masks is that I can throw them in the wash frequently. If we have to wear them often and over the long term, that's a good thing. 

Mom sent me a couple of patterns, this being one of them. It wasn't at all difficult and was pretty fun to pair up fabrics for both me and Dave. I picked a cheery peace-love-owls print and Dave chose a blue ikat. I settled on this orange flannel bike print for the lining. It should be nice to have the flannel against our faces and there's the practical point that orange won't show rubbed off makeup quite as much... The ties got weird but I think they'll work. I know having elastic on my ears would end up in all kinds of rubs and sores, so I don't even want to go there. Instead I found some random scraps of bias tape in my stash, sewed it together at the open edge, and threaded the pieces through the channels meant for the elastic on this design. We just have to pull tight enough to tie our strings so the masks don't bulge out funny on the sides, but the way I see it pulling I believe the elastic would have made it do the same thing. 

If we have to go out in masks, why not have some cheerful prints on our faces? It may seem incongruous given the (understandable) general stress that seems to have descended over the folks that are out and about, but maybe that's just the point. 

Stan seems to have no problem with this whole situation, though I'm not certain he is wearing the masks in an effective configuration. May we all have his sense of confidence and unflappable calm in the weeks to come.