There's also a global pandemic, but this is not the reason I don't have work. I allowed my contract to run out over an ethical problem I encountered with my never-to-be-named employer. Appeals to the powers that be fell upon deaf ears, and that made me as mad as hell. I certainly wasn't going to take it anymore.
So, here I am, stuck at home with a full tank of gas and nowhere to go with it. Luckily I live in a great country, where we are doing our level best to slow this juggernaut down. And you can imagine, in fact you know, just how helpless we all feel in the face of that inexorable power.
So what am I doing with my first full day of freedom, you ask?
I'm making masks.
It started to help my daughter control her anxiety over giving Covid-19 to my mom, with whom she lives. Until two weeks ago E had not one, but two retail jobs, one in a busy mall, where she was in a high risk of contracting the virus from unwitting vectors. She has kept to the basement at Gma's house since then. Her two weeks are up today, but a couple of days ago she got a cold (let's hope that is what it is) which sets her back another two weeks. She really wants to go outside! Once her symptoms are gone, she can do that, and on the off-chance she is anywhere near another human, she can feel a little less like Typhoid Mary when she goes for her solitary walks through the neighbourhood.
The experts say that the main benefit of wearing a mask is to remind you not to touch your face. Even with all that handwashing, you might touch a surface with the virus on it and transfer it to your mucosa. Eww...hate that word. A mask, properly used, can stop that from happening.
For E, it will allow her to feel less worried about the simple act of using the kitchen at Gma's house, provided she washes her hands before and after, and wipes down every surface she has touched.
So, on to the masks....
A friend sent me a pattern by Dean Renwick, a Saskatchewan designer. They're quick and easy to make.
Instructions are here: Mask Patterns and Instructions
Dean Renwick has a video tutorial to help you.
I decided to make my masks with a stash of Liberty prints, with a muslin lining. I adapted the Renwick pattern by encasing a pipe cleaner along the top edge.
They're nice to look at, and fit well. They may not make a fashion statement, but they're a bit less scary-looking than a surgical mask, and for all we know, they may become de rigueur for the next few months. In any case, it's good to have something to do. You never know, it might help.
No comments:
Post a Comment