Sorry folks

May 13, 2020

I am sorry I failed to blog yesterday, it got a bit full on. Between quilting I am pushing to finish, training the dog and some bonus weeding of the fruit bed I didn’t end up with much “free time”. That is in quotes as all my time seems to be allocated to something these days. The time that was allocated to blogging did get used for something worthwhile. I have been researching mask fitting.

I am sure I have taken a lot longer to address this subject publicly than you may have expected, and now I think is the time to explain why. I have been researching and answer questions privately for weeks, and that led me to stay quiet here as long as possible because there was one big message I felt was critically important but that might change how people behaved. Now the government have actually made the issue public I feel free to talk masks.

The big thing you need to know about masks is we will be wearing them to protect others. Your mask provides little to no protection for you but a lot for others. Equally their masks protect you. BUT…..yes that is a big but, if you mess up mask wearing you increase the risk to everyone. Wearing a mask well is a skill, and it is one we all need to learn. I think we are going to gain another level of respect for those who do it daily. However know how many people do do it, should tell us this is completely learnable. The main thing we have to learn is that once we put it on the mask is contaminated, worse than that it is heavily and dangerously contaminated. If we touch it we WILL spread germs and in quantity. So we need to learn to put it on, and leave it alone until we take it off and secure it for washing. We need to clean our hands immediately after taking it off and try to avoid touching the dirty mask. Most of that should be pretty straightforward. Most of us are now used to dealing with everything as though it is contaminated. The hard part is not touching the mask while we are wearing it. Sorry folks no lifting it for a quick drink or a smoke. On is on off is off. This also means many people will need multiple masks. If you wear a mask to work on public transport, you need a clean one to wear to come home and a secure container for the dirty one from the morning. Wear it during work and you need to change them when they get damp, and they will we breath out a lot of moisture. You need to change it if you stop for a drink then need a mask again. This is all possible, but we need to think, plan and I would suggest practice wearing a mask at home to get the hang of things.

Today is a day of deliveries, so rather than longarm and miss things I will be making a mask or two. Then I will be able to share my findings. I am starting with a well fitted mask for me. Oh yes that’s another factor, a mask needs to fit, and seal as well as possible to your face at it’s edges, that was the main point of yesterday’s research. Once I have a pattern that is good for me I will do the same for Tet. I Will then move on to some one size fits no one perfectly masks to give away. Watch this space.