After I ended last week’s post by talking a tiny bit about some of my personal health history, I figured if I didn’t put up something quick each week some of you might worry I was sick or dead. While neither of those conditions currently apply, I am going to keep this shorter and perhaps less artistically nimble for today so that I can make sure I am able to take enough time for myself and my family right now.

My very good friend Gena – hello 🙂 -commented on a picture I posted with the mask I made for Emily a couple of weeks ago, saying that she thought my sewing looked “great” to her. My much treasured friend, you are always very generous and kind with me. I replied to her the truth, which was it was the best of what I had produced up to that point. Since many of you might not have seen that exchange on-line, I figure this week I need to give the Universe its due.

There’s two things I directly attribute as an inheritance from my grandmother: her love for helping others and her sewing skills. Many of the masks I have made up to this point have had some sort of technical problem, but let’s just start out with the first ones I made for myself.

Believe me, I have more examples where those came from, but I don’t want to take up your whole day looking at more examples of a similar nature. The point with all of these masks isn’t to be perfect, it is to protect everyone and slow the spread down enough to keep our healthcare system from becoming overwhelmed. I think one of the most considerate things you can do for the people around you right now is to wear one- even if it doesn’t look perfect. Even if you had to ask me to make one for you (and some of you have)…I am happy to share my sub-par sewing skills with anyone who needs them right now 🙂

You may have noticed Tony isn’t wearing one in the pictures above. As a kiddo with a history of significant sensory issues, Tony really won’t tolerate one, but we are trying desensitization work with one that I purchased from smartknit.com. We’re working on five seconds right now, and only making it to that about half the time. At this time, all public therapy is on hold, so this doesn’t really pose a risk to anybody around us. I am happy to wear one when we are out walking in the community because it increases the desire of others to “socially distance” me as we are walking by… and I’m good with that right now under the circumstances 😉

My honest opinion on the smartknit mask, incidentally in case you need to know for someone you love, is that there are mild fit issues because it’s loose enough not to pull on the ears, and the fabric might not be soft enough to really please our particular kiddo. Because our son has Sotos Syndrome, which comes with a larger noggin generally, his head is definitely adult size at this point, so that isn’t a factor in the fit. There is a filter pocket, so you can add a filter of your own if you would like, but generally the knit fabric that mask is made of isn’t the best choice for a covering of this nature in terms of protection, so I consider this to be something we are using to see if we can help transition him to a mask that provides better protection and filtration over time.

Whatever you wear, I wish you health and safety. Much Love, Ariana