A common thread: Providing masks for those in need

If there’s one thing that most quilters and seamstresses have in common, it’s that they have a stash—not a stash of cash, a stash of fabric. So when it comes to filling a need during a crisis or a disaster, they are usually some of the first to step up to a challenge.

As thousands in America are now facing the pandemic crisis of the coronavirus,  COVID-19—with a particularly alarming number in Grand Island —many Catholics from the Diocese of Grand Island who know how to sew are stepping up to the challenge by sewing masks for the vulnerable and anyone else in need.     Ruth Armatys, a parishioner at St. Leo’s Church in Grand Island and a member of the Grand Island Prairie Pioneer Quilt Guild, said she has donated nearly 100 for friends, family and staff members at the church.  “I kind of lose track after awhile,” she said of counting them.

Among those at St. Leo’s who have received masks were both Fathers Don Burhman and Mark Maresh.  “I was pleasantly surprised and grateful for her care and concern. I have received a couple of them so I have one for my office and one for my truck,” he said. “The staff here (at St. Leo’s) uses them daily.”     She said she began making them shortly after the announcement encouraging people to isolate themselves.     Armatys said when the virus first broke out, she found out that not everyone on the administrative staff at St. Elizabeth’s in Lincoln had a mask, including her daughter-in-law.     “She asked if I could make some for her and the girls she works with,” she said.     She did not have a pattern and like many people, looked online for an example.

After a few trial runs, she decided on a rectangular shaped mask with interfacing and a used a pipe cleaner for a nose piece. She finishes the mask with elastic to go around the ears and pleats in the fabric for a better fit.     “Everybody seems to like that style and it works,” she said.      She said she’s been fortunate that she hasn’t had to buy anything to make the masks, including the elastic, which has become hard to find in Grand Island.      “I happen to have a huge stash and some are quite colorful. I was lucky I had a lot of elastic,” she said, “because you can’t get it right now.”

Judy Brott, also a parishioner at St. Leo’s and Grand Island quilt guild member, said she, too, found a pattern online but was able to make only a few masks having only a limited amount of elastic.        JoAnn Sok, also of St. Leo’s and a guild member, said she has made 23 masks for family and co-workers. Since finding more elastic, she said she plans to make more.

St. Mary’s Cathedral parishioner and guild member Jennifer O’Connor said she found a pattern that used t-shirts for ties and bedsheets for the face to make about 25 for her daughter and the staff at Best Western in Kearney. Her husband, Ray, was delivering them Monday morning.     “I used everything I had on hand,” she said. “I hope they work.”

Fellow St. Mary’s parishioner Dr. Missy Girard-Lemons, who owns Animal Medical Clinic and is another guild member, used leftover cotton fabric from her stash, like others, to make masks for all her clinic team members. She used a paper procedure mask she wears for surgeries as a pattern.     “I customized the fit to each person the best I could,” she said. “Some have ear loops made from quarter-inch elastic and others I used head bands cut apart.” She also made some masks with ties and used a paper clip for a nose piece. She added that her mom, Debbie Girard of Osceola, is also making masks for their local county hospital. She is a member of St. Vincent’s in the Diocese of Lincoln.

But those making masks are not all just seamstresses and quilters.  John Beach, a disabled veteran from Kearney, set to work making masks at one of his three sewing machines.     “I’ve never sewn a stitch before making these masks,” he said. “I taught myself.”

He said he enjoys rebuilding things and found each of his sewing machines in different stages of disrepair. When he heard there was a shortage of masks, he wanted to put the repaired machines to good use as well as his time.     “I fought for my country and I got a lot of disabilities for that, but I don’t have to give up,” he said. “I can help. I can give back to my community.” He said he hopes to make two dozen for Regenirex Kearney Pain Treatment Center.

Armatys said she has given masks to neighbors; her niece, whose son has cancer; a sister in Kansas; and friends in Arizona and Oklahoma, who both have underlying health conditions. Armatys said she doesn’t mind the requests, especially since she is retired and has “lots of extra time on her hands.”
“I’m still making them,” she said. “I’m glad I can help.”