baby bear's covid mask

in which our plucky heroine perseveres...

I've been experimenting with a different mask pattern, partly because I had a few mask requests, and partially because I keep hoping for something with a good fit around the outside edges and also something that doesn't collapse into my nose and mouth while wearing. One of my online sewing friends has had good luck with this pattern.

The first one I tried in size L was too small. The second one I tried size XL was better, but I feel that getting a good seal is important, and without a nose wire, there were gaps on either side of my beaky nose... So, I added a channel for the wire to the top edge of version 3 and it seems like a win. I will be wearing it outdoors tomorrow when I go out for a walk, as a IRL test. Even if it is cold and rainy, I am going out anyway.

I think that getting a (homemade) mask to fit well is comparably complex to getting a good fit in a bra. Each person's face is not only itself a different width and depth, but also has both different contours in different directions, and different proportions and sizes... some have higher cheekbones, some have larger or smaller chins, noses vary widely in size/shape/depth, etc... Experimentation is the only way to find options that work for a particular face. I already know that while my head is not excessively large in circumference, my face is wider than average; I had similar difficulty in finding a good selection of eyeglasses frames.

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beauty in the time of isolation - day 272:

white camellia
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~ 100 day creativity challenge - day 75 ~

I took the cuff of my worn out Miyazaki sock and turned it into two biscornu, to be used as miniature floor cushions. The one I sent next door got me a delighted text message saying that Samie and Gwen love Kiki's Delivery Service!

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December SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	tiny patchwork	Nandina's nose	recycle bin
2	2 Kiki biscornu	worm bin rebedded	yard waste bin
3	2 sample masks	-	yard waste bin
4	-	-	recycle bin
5	-	-	-
6	x	x	x
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x
10	x	x	x
11	x	x	x
12	x	x	x
13	x	x	x
14	x	x	x
15	x	x	x

today's gratitude - I suggested a read-aloud to my Madrona Tribe pals, and we have six people that are will be taking turns each day reading a chapter (and I am not the only one who loves Susan Cooper's writing). We are reading The Dark Is Rising, as was a tradition in a household I lived in years ago, to read aloud in the Solstice season. Yesterday Mickey volunteered to read, and I was so delighted and charmed with how wonderfully he reads aloud, and can change his voice to suit the different characters. It was a treat.