How do you stay sane during a global pandemic?

Friends and family have often told me I should start a blog. A young woman I worked with once said “ You always have something interesting to say, I would read your blog”. Part of me thinks they were trying to tell me I talk too much, but I took it in stride.
So to answer my opening question: “How do you stay sane during a global pandemic?”
For me, it all started as a response to our current situation: a mask making endeavor for myself and my family. I researched on the internet, tried out a few prototypes, and decided on a pattern for the masks pictured below:

I’ve since made some changes to the “ties” ( which are made from T-shirts cut horizontally into 1.5” strips and work really well.)

A key point I learned was that it is desirable to add a “non-woven, bonded lining” to a cotton fabric mask, to give it a certain element of filtering capability. We were already on a “shelter in place” notice, so where the heck was I supposed to get the “lining”?

Enter the humble fabric interfacing. And I just happened to have a bit in my stash, yay!

I like to use “Pellon” brand, as I find the quality high and consistent.

I was able to make enough masks for my immediate family, and mail them out, with the interfacing I had on hand. As I write this, I’m still waiting for my new bolt, I think it’s been almost 3 weeks. FedEx says “ it’s on the way”with no details available . 

If you want to make your own masks, check out this website: Craftpassion.com

So now what do I do while watching the news? Sewing always relaxes me, so I had to come up with something. 

I live outside of Chicago, in a small vintage apartment, and therefore don’t have a lot of storage. But I love to sew and craft, and can’t stand to throw away precious little scraps of fabric, yarn, trim thread...you get the idea.

I applied this philosophy to my current conundrum and added the idea of incorporating the mask fabric scraps as a memorial to our current state of affairs. I didn’t have any predetermined notion of what to make, or for whom, but rather looked through all my sources of inspiration and what follows, is what I’ve made to date. First off, is “The Hussif”, a portable sewing kit. 

Here is where I got my inspiration if you want to make your own ( and learn a bit about where the term “hussif” comes from.) The Hussif Tutorial

Here’s the inside, with scissor and needle holders, a tiny pincushion and six sweet little pockets for your threads and embroidery floss. The four square patches and the bias trim come from my mask making scrap, the lace and linen are from my “collection”. This was a good opportunity to practice my embroidery. I added the little hedgehog from some embroidery I did awhile back ( sorry the picture is a bit blurry).

Since I had already started planning a couple of  roll-up pencil cases and sketchbook holders in my head before the pandemic,I knew what I wanted to make next. As usual, I start out with a pretty good picture in my mind, and then just let the fabric “speak to me”.

While I initially had someone in mind when I started making the “Hussif”, but changed my mind as I got into the process, this next project had a very specific recipient in mind, which provided some inspiration.

The main fabric is from my collection and the patchwork includes fabric from my mask making.

Here’s the inside:

The left side pocket holds a sketch pad, the running stitches create 3 pencil holders, and the pocket on the right is for your small art tools. I added the recipients initials and a little bit of embroidery as a nod to their artwork. This was supposed to be a surprise.. “Surprise!”

I made a roll up sewing case for myself from this tutorial and used it for some general guidelines:

Sustainable Stash busting Roll-up pencil case

I recently discovered “Helen’s Closet” on Instagram. She’s an Indi pattern maker from Canada, and I really enjoy her posts. She’s got a podcast as well. Her patterns look great, I love how she’s size inclusive in her designs and might give a pattern a try.

My next project is the “Lichen Duster” from sewliberated.com. I’ve never used one of her patterns but really liked the look of it. I sent the pattern all the way to England to be properly printed.These days I’m not leaving the house, so delivery is essential. I did experience some slight sticker shock when placing the order on “Patternsy”, but I figured I was doing my part in supporting independent businesses. I hope it arrives soon, I’ve got some lovely ginger colored, heavy linen waiting.

Sew Liberated is another new friend from Instagram, she’s got a style that resonates with me, and some pretty mean guitar playing and singing skills! Instagram is so interesting, I may try posting there soon, so far I’m just enjoy “following”.

One more picture before I go: another little stress busting, scrap busting project, sewn by hand, which I really enjoy. I’m always amazed at the way each stitch creates a moment in time, connected to the next stitch, and eventually, to the whole.

This is a “Sarubobo” a traditional Japanese figure. Here’s the tutorial: mairuru.blogspot.com

She keeps track of my sewing and embroidery needles, which have a way of getting mixed up with all my pins on my bigger pincushions.

I hope you enjoyed my first post as much as I enjoyed creating it.

Wishing everyone peace and well being during these trying times.