Let's Play Quarantine Bingo!

My husband and I have been social distancing and quarantined a little longer than most. Ohio enacted our COVID-19 shelter in place order the second week of March but we were sticking closer to home the week before that.

In other words, we've been in quarantine for 6 weeks and as for how much longer nobody really knows. Which makes it difficult to come up with ideas and tutorials for you. Do I go business as usual with regular DIY and crafting projects or something else? Let me know in the comments below.

Really the only thing that has my attention right now is sewing cloth face masks for friends and family who don't sew. I'm in limbo on that very helpful mental health project until my sewing machines come back from the repair shop. I am so thankful sewing machine repair is considered an essential service. I have people counting on me.

Cloth face masks!

Homemade Cloth Face Masks and Friday Favorites Week 524

Projects keep me sane during stressful times and while I'm a little grateful for the distraction I wish my latest sewing project wasn't so desperately needed right now. The cloth face masks I'm making are not surgical grade, N95, or medical PPE. They are type the CDC has asked everyone to wear when they are outside to keep our (potential) germs to ourselves.

The Game of Thrones fabric is my favorite.

A family member asked me to make her some and the ball started rolling from there. I guess saving every scrap of leftover fabric has its advantages in an emergency.

Time to link up your fantastic and creative craft and DIY projects, recipes, and ideas!


Let's Party!

8 Reusable Cloth Face Mask Tutorials

When I visited Japan it wasn’t uncommon to see people wearing a simple face mask when out and about because in Japan (and other Asian cultures) when you are sick with the cold or flu. In Japan it is polite to wear a mask when you are sick and  out in public so you don’t accidentally pass it on to anyone else around you. That is something I wish we had in American culture (how many times has someone given you their cold because they weren’t wearing a simple face mask?)  but I really hate that we have to go through a deadly global pandemic to adopt it.

As of April 7, 2020 the United State Centers for Disease Control (and well as the Governor of Ohio) recommends that everyone wear a cloth face covering when out in public. The idea behind wearing a face mask in public is not what a someone yelled at me for falling for “pandemic panic” or a “false sense of security.” My reply was just as less than kind because I'm battling an allergy related sinus infection that never seems to end and don't want to pass this misery to anyone else (unlikely but I get horror looks when I sneeze with and without the mask.)

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The idea is that by wearing  even a simple, non medical grade cloth face mask when you are in public is so you may be less likely to unknowingly pass a virus to someone else when you aren’t showing symptoms and don’t know that you are sick. This precaution leaves the medical grade and N95 filtering face masks and respirators to our front line COVID 19 heroes who need to be protected from known viruses in the air around them in a front line setting. 

How to Sew a Reusable Cloth Face Mask

How to Clean Furnace and Air Conditioning Ducts at Home

While doing a deep dive, move every piece of furniture that isn’t nailed down Spring Cleaning I noticed several of the heating and central air conditioning ducts had a black soot like dirt or dust collecting around the register grill on the wall and ceiling.   I vacuumed them with the brush and hose on my vacuum sweeper and made a mental note that I need to add this task to my deep cleaning  checklist.

A few days later it was back.

So. Gross.

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Why do I have Black Stuff Around my HVAC Registers?

Cute Quarantine Dogs and Friday Favorites Week 523

How are adjusting to our new normal of self  isolation and social distancing? 

My husband is working from home again. Lacey got a promotion from Office Manager to CCO - Chief Cuddle Officer.

Lacey really need to work on the distancing part of social distancing though.

Ohio closed pretty much everything down earlier than most. We've had a a stay at home order in place since the first week or so of March.  My spring allergies have had me home and inside for longer than that and all I have to say is thank goodness for  library ebooks, social media, and streaming media while I start that long someday I want to do this project list. I've hit the point when I need to unplug from the 24/7 news cycle in the evenings and focus on something completely unrelated. What about you?

Time to link up your fantastic and creative craft and DIY projects, recipes, and ideas!


Let's Party!

How to Make a Quick and Easy Quilted Petticoat or Skirt

I figure the best way to fill my unexpected time off is to work on some of the sewing projects I never got around to doing because a paying gig came along and knocked it further down my priority list.

The first Quarantine Costuming project I made is a quilted petticoat to wear under my historical skirts in cold weather, just like the ladies of yore used to do – as the temperature when down the number of layers (in this case skirts)  goes up.

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A traditional quilted petticoat would be made out of cotton fabrics and hand quilted similar to a blanket quilt.  If you look at quilted petticoats in museums some of the quilting makes elaborate designs on the solid fabric which are gorgeous but incredibly time consuming! I didn’t want to put that much work quilting something no one is going to see but me when I wear it.