SEW: MASKS WITH LINKS TO OTHER POSTS 2020 DECEMBER

 October post

November post

Photos of masks from day 1

tee shirt sleeve mask- the most comfortable but does not cover enough of my face- to my liking

various baby blanket flannel ones- impossible to breathe with these. Likely will be window rags.

then the bandanna ones that are likely too thin to be effective but are good in an emergency while out for a walk. Very flimsy.

then the two as mentioned before that I wore steadily every time I was out. Just rectangles but tied and kept in place with a messy bun- they were fine.

Then I got creative with the new material and did pleated ones and form fitting one. Still have to work out some kinks

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New material picked up last Sunday

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December 14 2020

While doing errands this past weekend I come back here and wash all my masks. Wore 6 of them- I was in so many different stores and in lines. As I washed them I noticed one of the ties that was grosgrain was unraveling! yikes. A LOT! So I googled and found this video using a candle! Gonna try it. I was going to machine sew the ends but dreaded that tedious job. And a facebook friend suggested using liquid stitch witchery. I just do not want rough edges near my face- I do have a bottle of that but use it for emergency seam and hem repair.

fixing grosgrain fray

Also noticed that the  purple form fitting mask is the MOST comfortable. I hope I can duplicate it!

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grograin fix

January 11 2021

Made another mask with the outer space theme. Finished looks like it may ride high on my face, I can always alter it

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Made a few masks since the above. This is a sample of the material I use. I buy what I guess are "quilt squares" at Joann Fabrics. They are 100% cotton and 20x20. Perfect size for one mask. plus self ties. This batch had a surprise- no matter how I folded it I would lose a couple of inches of material. grrr

Some of the material is very stiff even after a few washings. Which does help to keep its shape but is not soft on the face. oh well.

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March 4 2021

Made the last purple mask using the yard of material I bought I think it made 4-5 masks. Living dangerously with the thread running so low. But did finished and then had to wind another bobbin and top stitch with white.

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March 29 2021

One mask made from yellow material and using the accordian pleat pattern was almost impossible to wear just to thick and big so I took it apart and remade it.

used rainbow ribbon yarn given to me- then found that too hard to tie securely and ended up making self ties with the same material.

I think I took apart another yellow pleated one. That material was so thick!

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July 14 2021

made a mask with outer space theme again. sewing along merrily and doing the top stitch along the edges and notice loops egads. Had to rip it out and re do the top stitch. either the machine became  un done when I had to thread the needle so many times or the bobbins was upside down. now I know to check THAT each time and the bobbin is supposed to spin counter clockwise.

The harvest table mess too

I have to remember to cut all ties 2 inches wide so I can fold into the center from each side and them  fold in half and top stitch the length. It has taken me at least 20 masks to get that right, hmmm

 July

Material bought for masks. looks Summery

2 masks made in July with ties that do not match on purpose

black and white one feels soft

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September 25

Had to buy a new sewing machine the old Genie failed. timing off and too tedious for me to tackle. While in the store I needles more material for masks, a needle threader and thread.

purple material will be for ties

bonus- those cardboard squares come in handy.

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September 22 2021

made a mask and it takes 50 minutes if it has already been cut out LOL Not a money maker if I did that. But these are just for me. This shows the process of turning it right side out.

October 4

update on mask selections LOL

the lightweights

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October 6

took an hour but made a Halloween mask. machine came unthreaded LOL

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November

trip to Hyannis on errands and picked up some new quilting squares for making masks.

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SEW: blue jeans

 This pair of jeans was bought same time size and brand as the other.

One pair the lighter ones after 2 years got huge- the stretch part of them gave out. Disappointing but they are comfortable when layered. The darker pair fir perfectly but the "season" for wearing them is short- too hot in Summer and Winter they need layering. Wool tights used to be fine under them but! All of a sudden this year they are extremely tight and too uncomfortable to wear they are very tight at the calf. and of course a bitch to button. So what to do. So I decided I would alter them by inserting a colorful material to add 2 inches. Like a brocade. Haven't gotten that far yet and haven't even cut them- but this is how they compare. bummer

after all is said and done- Levis may be sexier but Lees are more consistent. Especially the pockets lined with black material.

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YARN: Helix knitting pattern

 well, I like working this pattern. One way is to start off with all colors and then just switch rows and colors as you go

That is this, which is almost done. It will be either a neck warmer or a doubled up hat for bad weather

Then the traditional pattern the way it is supposed to be done.

I have a batch of small amounts of fingering or sock yarn- very thin. A lot of it. I was going to do an illusion scarf but not enough colors to pull that off. So I started to just knit one color and got to 6-8 inches and pulled it all out thinking it was too dull. yikes.

So I refreshed my memory and started the traditional way using 3 colors to start. Cast on 72 stitches and work in the round knit 2 purl 2 for about an inch using one color. Then add a color at 24 stitches then add the 3rd color at the next 24 stitches. That went along fine sort of until this morning when my hand jerked and dropped 2 stitches. Well ordinarily I would pick up the stitches but this went into another colors and I ended up ripping it all out yet again. I will do an illusion after all it just won't be an illusion- it will be strips of color and fuck it if no one has a sense of humor about it LOL

Here's what got ripped out.

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I will see if I can remember to post what the first one looks like when finished!

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December 13 2020 

completed neck warmer

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SEW: Mask making- see December post

 November 17 2020

Back in March it was mandated that everyone should wear a mask in public if you could not social distance- and definitely wear one inside in a business like grocery store.

Since I only have the truck for transportation on Saturdays and Sundays I scrambled around in here for materials to use to make my own. Also the fun of researching ways to make a mask was interesting.

The rules seems to change weekly but I see this as a forever thing. Many people still do not wear the mask correctly and have their nose showing. And numbers climb still.

so starting at the last one yesterday. In making this mask the needle on the sewing machine broke. Also ran out of bobbin thread and the bobbin winder, a separate machine, malfunctioned and I had to rewind from THAT bobbin to another because the red on off button stuck. I never ends.

Broken needle- in 60 years of sewing this was a first!

The mask- promise I am smiling behind it.

so Just realized I have not taken a photo of the "pattern" I cut out for the latest designs- that will wait for another sunny day!

First two I made were using material left over from me making a quilt from old blue jeans and colorful squares. Most pieces were too small I needed 12 inches by at least 9 inches.. But these two were fine with self made ties and I wore them over and over for at least 7 months straight.

I experimented with cotton flannel baby blankets- they were nice and soft on the face- same as using t shirt material but so hard to breath with them on. Also I was running out of ribbon ( thought I had an endless supply) and strips of material long enough. Needed 15 inches if attached at ends and needed 4 for each mask. Or a strip of cloth 40 inches long  if attached at top and bottom of a mask.

So those were not practical unless I want to suffocate

Went on amazon looking for bandannas. Not all are created equal as I soon found out. They got here quickly as did the incense I ordered at the same time. But the yarn ( for a separate project) and purple ribbon took longer to get here. As soon as all was as it should be I made some masks. I washed the material thoroughly and ironed it before using. The bandannas are NOTHING like the ones I have that I bought in person either at Baker's Hardware in South Chatham or AC Moore in Hyannis ( no longer in existence). The bandannas are thin and poor quality and they smell weird. Even after being washed. So what is left over is for neck kerchiefs only. and the colors and patterns were nothing like the photo shown on amazon. good grief. But here are the 4 I made. oh and the ribbon was a mistake that does not stay tied. ho hum- but love the purple.

So then in September or October I forget when I went to Joann's Fabrics in person and bought sample quiltpacks- which is what I call the 18x18 inch squares they sell for less than 2 bucks each. Then I stood in line behind  2 people together that were buying what seemed like craft supplies for an entire year if not a lifetime of things to be cut. I needed the bolt of cotton and a bolt of purple fleece cut. More to this story but I will not get into that again. Just suffice it to say- stores should have someone pop in and help especially during covid times and pick up the slack so an old fuck like me is not standing for 20-30 minutes.

phew

these are what I made with those supplies. pleated designs.

Then bored with the pleats as they are heavy on my face I searched youtube for a form fit pattern. Link below

Mask pattern form fit

link to youtube pattern needs some tweaking but eventually I will get it right :)

hope this works- blog no longer allows to test first!

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YARN: Knit wind catchers

 I have done this for a few years with various results. I knit icords with either 3 or 4 stitches to a length of at least 12 inches. shorter ones are just using up weird scraps. But that is the purpose - to use up yarn and add color to life. I did one multi colored purple one that was at least 60 inches long. Fun!

So these are photos of them. They cling to the rough cedar wood siding of the building.

The one hanging from light fixture has buttons and beads at the end and make quite a racket in a storm.

new one hung to the left of kitchen door. Looks unsure what to do LOL

They do finally catch on to what they are to do- we have plenty of wind here.

December 27 2020

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