Made a total of 40 more masks fro my daughter. This time I finally figured out the pleating. Was not very good at it before so daughter had to do the pleating for me. But I think I did a good job on these ones. Trick was to do the top and bottom pleats first and then the middle one last.
She came over to pick up the masks in the afternoon. The girls tried out the new bean house that my daughter-in-law (Jaye) made. Will be even better once the beans grow up the vines!
I think face masks are going to a necessity from now on. My daughter and I have been busy sewing masks. She is selling them on Facebook or giving them to friends. Not as easy as they look to make! We finally got a warmer day so we took the machines out on the deck and spent the day sewing out there. Was nice to spend some time together (yes, we were socially distanced). Last year I did a lot of sewing on the deck and really enjoyed it. The weather is not cooperating so far this year, we have not had many nice days. But I am sure it will get here.
Using up some of my stash doing these masks. One way to deplete it :) Although we can't get elastics for the masks. My smart daughter has been using hair elastics instead. They work well, but are harder to sew in as there is less width to connect with with sewing. But we are making them work.
So far, she has sold enough masks to pay for an overlock/serger machine she has been wanting for a while. Good for her. Although, I seem to be doing a lot of the work and supplying the fabric! But now the proceeds are going to go towards a Kitchen Aid stand mixer for me. Although I think we will be running out of flannel for the liners soon.
Covid-19 has changed life as we know it. So many people are out of work. I am glad I am retired, although investments are taking a hit with the markets. But we will make it through. Catching Covid-19 is a real threat and scares me. Trying to stay as safe as possible and have only left the house a couple of times in over a month. Ordering groceries on line and my kids pick up anything else I need. Kids are all working still, so that is a blessing. Although it scares me that my daughter-in-law is working in retail. I don't think life is ever going to get back to normal as we knew it. Will have to adapt to a new normal. Finding that as I get older, it is harder to adapt to change.
These were fun baskets to make. Made the first one (batik squares) according to a post on Pinterest. Used regular batting and found the basket didn't have enough form. The second one I did with batik strips and used a stiffer interfacing instead of batting. Worked much better. Also did the edging around the top different. Used the same technique for what I do for quilt bindings instead of using the lining. That way I did not have to turn the basket inside out. Liked the finish look better and the stiffer interfacing worked really well. The next two where made out of fat quarters. Sometimes the fat quarters are not all cut the same :) There are some minor measurement differences. So I cut the largest bag I could out of them, only varied by an inch at the most. As long as you cut 6" squares out of the quarters, it works. I guess you could cut a smaller square and get a slightly different shaped bag. I like the size of the 6" ones. They hold fat quarters really well.
I am saving the 6" squares that I cut out for these baskets and will make a scrap quilt out of them. Need to make a lot more baskets for that to happen! Maybe it will just be a doll quilt :)
Sewing these during Covid-19. I am blessed to have such a large stash so I don't need to worry about buying fabric. Did have to get some more thread as I was running low on that. Using up all those partial spools when it doesn't matter what color you use. Won't be able to sew too many more of these baskets as running low on the interfacing. Showed them to my daughter and now I am missing a basket!
