Hello, never in a million years did I ever think I would be explaining a pattern for a face mask to help combat a virus for a world wide pandemic.  These are trying times we live in, but by keeping busy and social isolating we can do our part.
 I am posting this tutorial because I think we are all trying our best to combat this terrible virus affecting everyone in society and  we have a genuine wish to help.  To date I have made 33 of these masks.
This mask does not  replace the N95 mask.  
There are conflicting  reports out there about mask wearing.
We were told as a community not to buy masks to prevent a shortage for medical professionals.
What we do know is there are medical professionals in our community that are now asking for people to send them hand sewn masks. 
​ Please see drop off and contact info for masks at the bottom of this post
As it relates to mask wearing as a  whole community, I found this article:  "It’s really a perfectly good public health intervention that’s not used,” argues KK Cheng, a public health expert at the University of Birmingham. “It’s not to protect yourself. It’s to protect people against the droplets coming out of your respiratory tract.”
About this mask :

•  It has a wire piece to snug it up tight around the nose.
•   There are elastics to hold it to your head around the ears.
•   There is a hidden pocket on the backside for the wearer to place an additional filter. (hepa filter, coffee filter or paper towel for added protection)  
•  It has pleats making it expandable to go over the chin and nose.
•  I have been told that this style of mask is worn by health care professional on missions in other parts of the world where N95 and  other medical masks are not available.

What you will need:

• There is a step by step written version of the below pictorial tutorial here for free download.
• 1 piece of tight weave quilting cotton or good quality cotton 15"long  x 7."wide.
• 1 piece of wire (pipe cleaner or very bendable wire)  approximately 6 1/2".
• 2 pieces of fabric 3.5 long x 2 wide for elastic casing.
• 2 pieces of  1/4" elastic , 9 3/4" long.
• As a precaution it is recommended to wipe down your sewing machine with antibacterial wipes and wash your hands thoroughly before proceeding to sew.

How to make the mask - see the steps in caption below the pictures:

Step 6- Turn your fabric to the right side.
Step 7-Top stitch close 1/8” to fold and seam line through one layer of fabric- see in photo below.

Please Note: if you wish to add straps you would extend the trim piece to 36 " centre it on the sides and top stitch without elastic. See photo below:

It's that time of the year again when I am finally finished with classes, long arm quilting, trunk shows and writing to attempt some of my own Christmas preparations. 
By no means am I complaining the "quilting" world has been excellent to me in 2019. Thanks to all who have booked me to teach or do trunk shows and to those  with whom I have had the privilege to quilt their quilts.  Also, Thanks to QUILTsocial who has hired me to write their blog posts x 4 weeks this year.  I say it all the time, I love my job and it does not feel like a job.
I just wanted to share what I have been up to for fun this time.  It is not all quilting related but it is definitely crafty/cooking/quilting prep for the Christmas season.  See my photos below:

I made the above wreath out of loop it yarn and $store brush trees, so easy! 5 minutes to make seriously, maybe I will post a tutorial later???

We made some gingerbread houses for upcoming Christmas decor and just for fun. Can you tell by the look on my crazy husbands face and the smile on mine that this was an absolute hoot.  Everybody else's gingerbread house stood up tall and mine is so crooked and goofy looking!  I'd say it probably matches my personality.  But never mind, we had so many laughs.

I have made 3 sets of the above double ended oven mitts for add ons to gifts as I absolutely love mine.  The free download for the pattern is available here.

I always joke in my Free Motion Class that practise makes perfect and that students should be giving everyone a pot holder for Christmas so that they can practise their free motion stitches.  I was not kidding :) the above is one of mine.  Practising meandering/warming up my fingers. For the above pot holder as you can see I just used a 10 x 10 square from a gorgeous Christmas panel that I had.

That's all for now I am sure I will be getting into more crafty trouble before Christmas get's here and will share ideas as time goes on.
Until then, stop and listen to the music, enjoy the season and just breath. 🎄

 I will post pictures of the finished quilts once I get my hands on them! 
Oh and did I mention I am teaching almost every weekend (especially in November).
Need a teacher or trunk show artist? 
​Check out my teaching schedule here to book and contact to email me.
Never a dull, boring or uninspired moment.
Always creating, yes I am unapologetically  obsessed. 
Happy Wednesday! 😊