Here are the steps I go through to make masks.
MATERIALS: cotton fabric(9′ x 15′), polypropylene(8′ x 12′), elastic straps (8.5′-9.5′), pipe cleaners, heat bond, threads, toggle beads.
Sew the two sides of the gap. Then take it to the ironing board to iron along seam, shift seam down 1/2 an inch and iron again.
The space you created is where you will glue the nosepiece / pipe cleaners.
I WASH THE WHOLE MASK.
STAY SAFE and STOP THE SPREAD
FLOW on the SEW
I hope you have noticed my absence as The Flower.
I have been dealing with the pandemic in my own way.
Since proper PPE has been so hard to procure,
I have been manufacturing it in my basement.
I have my own cold little “sweatshop” which I call Purgatory.
I have been making masks and sending them where I think they are needed.
I have designed them to be comfortable and beautiful.
I am trying to curb the culling of Covid-19.
This is what I am doing instead of being an epidemiologist.
Flow…biologist turned seamstress.
Who knew? Nobody. That’s for sure.
Flow
These waves
random yet relentless
dark and blue
knock me down
again and again.
I must
fight to stand
over and over.
I wonder
what would
become of me
if I
stayed down
and let
gravity win.
Would I drown
or could I rest
from the wrest?
Hurry spring!
Bring your
bright sunshine
to warm
my face
as it
breaks through
these waves.
Flow
My quest started when I ordered masks for Rose to take to college.
I let her pick out what she wanted.
The masks were delivered.
I was aghast.
Most were only one layer. Most were stretchy.
NONE complied with the CDC and WHO recommendations.
I contacted two of the suppliers and sent them links to proper mask requirements.
They both disappeared off the student website.
A mask is PPE not a fashion accessory.
That is when I started making masks for my family, although I hated sewing.
I did research on the best materials and patterns.
I intended to share this information earlier.
I thought others might find it helpful.
Then I began to notice what others were covering their faces with. It seemed anything would do if it seemed like there was some effort. It occurred to me that maybe folks only wished to APPEAR to comply.
The event that pushed me to the edge of the crazy cliff was a visit from my dead father’s financial advisor. Here was this man, standing over my grieving mother wearing a DIRTY, OLD, USED, WELL-WORN disposable mask. I whisked masks onto my mother and sister and discreetly squirted Germex onto their hands after using his pen. (Don’t mess with my family!)
Ever since that day, I have been broadening the circles of safety around my family and friends.
Which brings me to the POINT.
REAL MASKS have at least three layers. (See links at the end of this post)
It is best to have POLYPROPYLENE in the middle.
Polypropylene is a nonwoven plastic.
Here is what it looks like through a microscope.
I think of it as “virus velcro.” It has a charge that traps and holds the virus.
Not all of it is the same. Here is a thinner version.
This is what the mask filters are made of.
I put two layers in most mask. Some thinner masks get three or four layers.
Real masks only work if worn consistently and properly.
Tired of hearing about masks?
I have friends with a dead parent, huge medical bills or residual health problems.
This virus is real so…
Wear a REAL MASK.
Love Flow
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/more/masking-science-sars-cov2.html
My family ended our holiday with a trip to the White’s to see the lights.
It was the perfect ending.
This is no ordinary light display. It is over the top.
We could see the lights from several streets away.
Their yard is a beacon from the Interstate.
Colored lights flashed, white lights twinkled, stars sparkled.
There was even music tinkling in the background.
This trip was a bright spot in our darkened holiday.
I stood in their driveway, happy to be with my two friends.
I looked up and realized I was under the biggest tree of all.
It lit up the sky above me. I was surrounded in light and love.
Thanks to M and S for the most magical moment in 2020.
Be the light in someone’s darkness. Be the beacon that gets them through.
Let the lower lights be burning!
Send a gleam across the waves!
Some poor fainting, struggling seaman,
you may rescue, you may save.
(Hymn by P.P Bliss 1871)
HAPPY NEW YEAR from Flow and family and friends
In some ways it was the most meaningful holiday ever.
No frills or fuss. No shopping or rushing around.
Just focused on family.
I know what it is like to lose someone I love deeply and desperately.
I will do ANYTHING to prevent that again. ( even wear a little mask)
Mama’s tree was tiny but covered with memories.
Daddy’s chair was empty but we took turns sitting in it.
I am more aware of the breezes. I hear the birds. I marvel at the changing colors of the sunsets.
I am still alive, though with a broken heart.
My treasures have truly changed.
Hold yours closely.
Time is precious and passing.
Pay attention.
FLOW
My friends are retiring and planning the next phase of their life,
but I’m not done.
I never reached my pinnacle, I was busy yawing around.
I never climbed that mountain, my career never got past step one.
I tried teacher, artist, teacher again, writer, blogger…
but I’m not done.
I did the mama thing quite a while, now they are grown,
but I’m not done.
I keep searching for the next mission, after the pandemic,
after the fear leaves me and a vaccination.
I can’t rest or retire because
I’m not done!
I have no idea what I will do next
all I know is…
I’m not done!
FLOW
I will try to decorate my naked tree after I finish this post.
I have not wrapped any gifts. My family has done the shopping.
I have not written the usual cards or Holiday letter.
I do have last year’s Poinsettia in the foyer.
I did buy myself an Ferrari Amaryllis.
One year ago today, my family was knocked down by a huge wave.
The waves kept coming. We barely got up between them.
I have learned a lot during the sad journey. But I have lost a lot, too.
I had planned to re-trace the steps through the coming year
to figure out what all happened as we were being beat down and tossed around.
I have changed my mind about that.
I am not ready nor strong enough to revisit the tragedy and trauma.
There has been no memorial service. Daddy’s ashes are still on the piano.
(I had a nightmare about Daddy sleeping in the snow.)
He is loved and remembered fondly. We miss him desperately.
He was wonderful and full of fun and joy.
We take turns sitting in his chair, so it will not be empty. We put a bird feeder beside that window.
He loved birds. He said if there were jobs in heaven, he wanted to help the birds.
What kind of holiday message is this?
It is a REAL one. It is an appropriate one.
This is the most difficult time in the world’s living memory.
We are all sad, we are all being beat down. We are all scared.
Do not expect all our problems to disappear for holiday cheer.
So during this horrible holiday, my message is simple.
HOLD ON and FACE FORWARD.
Keep your hope handy, give your love as gifts,
smile under your mask and sing into your mask.
Look to the future.
There will be babies (maybe twins) and puppies and bunnies and flowers and birds.
THIS I KNOW.
FLOW
I thought I would splurge on myself this year.
So when I saw it, I knew I should have it.
That sparkle! That racy red!
It has gotten some dust on it.
No matter.
It is just what I need to keep me facing forward.
Rushing fast to a brighter future and ignoring the rearview.
Happy Holidays.
Flow
floweralley 