I, and my quilting group, have been making masks for about a month. We give these to friends, neighbors, family, the local homeless warming center (which has stayed open past their intended close date here in Minnesota in order to keep the guests safe), nursing homes, assisted living facilities ... basically anyone who needs them. Our biggest “order” to date has been a nursing home which asked for 100 masks and we delivered – 100% free of charge!
As quilters, we all have a stash of fabric on hand that we use. We've experimented with several different patterns and have used homemade ties, pony tail bands, cording, and elastic to fasten them. We're all doing this from our own homes, and we share information and ideas through a text thread that we're all in. We have each eventually come to be making our own style of mask, and most of us want to use the elastic rather than ties as they are easier and faster to make and we feel that they are easier for the wearer to use. However, we've had a difficult time finding that elastic.
That shortage of elastic is where my advice comes in. Anyone who has been making masks is probably well aware of the shortage of elastic. Two members of our group had ordered elastic in late March or early April, but the anticipated delivery date was mid May, so we were stuck on where to get the elastic we needed.
I was told by someone that he had been told that you can just go to Etsy, order it, and get it within a few days. I was skeptical, especially since he had not tried out this hearsay information, but I immediately went to Etsy and found a lot of elastic! Most of the vendors had it on hand and would ship it within a day or two. I noticed that a lot of it was from China, which I figured would take a fairly substantial amount of time for shipping, and we needed it quickly. So, I looked for sellers that were based in the United States, hoping I would get the elastic much faster. I found one in Southern California, ordered it on Sunday, and received it on Friday of the same week! I ordered 155 yards, and we're almost out of it already! Another member of the group went to Etsy a couple of days ago and purchased more, so we're hoping that arrives as quickly. Anyway, my advice is that if you're looking for elastic, check out Etsy!
We've been so busy making masks that a couple of the group have had their sewing machines go down. One has a couple of backup machines so she could use one of them. Her husband still had the other to use to sew the ties! The other was able to borrow a machine from another member of the group, so she could continue, too. Her husband does most of the cutting for their masks. The member from whom she borrowed it has a husband who does just about anything he can to help get the masks made. He's made trips to Home Depot to get electrical wire to use for the nose area to allow it to be molded and fit better and the cording that she's been using for ties. The guys are not members of our quilting group, but they sure have stepped up to help get these masks made.
It's been quite an endeavor, but we are all committed to getting them made because we know we're making a difference and probably saving lives!
First thing I did was cleaned things up. LOL! Pruned my rose bushes, move one hydrangea bush to a new location and planted lots of plants (Chamomile, Shasta Daisy, African Daisy,Japanese Painted Fern, Fantabulous Plantain Lily and more... I have to keep up the maintenance and it's a lot to do. The results are rewarding and my garden is so beautiful. I love it!
