Masks

I've heard the suggestion that we should pretend we are infected already in order to protect others using preventative measures like social distancing.

I've also heard that we should not be wearing masks unless we are sick.

Question: By this logic, shouldn't we all be wearing masks if we are to assume we're infected?

I understand the healthcare workers desperately need them, but if we already have slightly used masks on hand (like from the wildfires) which cannot be donated, then should we be using them when we are out grocery shopping and the like?

Which brings me to what I've been doing the last couple of days.

Sewing face masks!

It's a great distraction. I've been guilty of obsessively refreshing my twitter page and checking the news wayyyy too much to the point of getting depressed, anxious, angry, panicked.

The DIY mask project, coupled with the food volunteer activities, has been good for my sanity.

It gives me a little bit of power in a seemingly uncontrollable situation. I don't feel as helpless. And I can focus on something other than wondering who I know is going to get sick and die or worry about not finding a job anytime soon since no one is hiring.

I've made 11 masks so far for various healthcare workers, family, friends, and myself. I've run out of elastic though, so the hunt is on to find more (online is a bust), or use ribbon or bias tape for ties. I still have a ton of fabric in my stash.

Now, if you were to ask me about a DIY face mask last a few months ago, I probably would have given you a recipe for a skincare beauty treatment. But we are in pandemic times here. And so.

I predict an explosion of fashionable face masks to hit the US within a year. I think COVID19 is the catalyst for masks to become more common here, like in Asia. Something like this and this. Or, if you're a soon-to-be-bride, this (it could be a sleeker design, but you get the idea). Masks are the new sunglasses.

So if mask-wearing is to become the new norm, what with viruses and fires as we destroy the planet, or if facial-recognition video surveillance is to become a thing here, I've got some design ideas rolling around my head.