TRENDS Diary: Sewing Masks for Neighbors

Karen Hoskin sews masks in the Wild Sage community room

TRENDS Diary, a project of the Community Foundation of Boulder County, is a place for Boulder County residents of all ages to share personal experiences that relate to a pressing community need. The focus, for now, is on our shared need to connect and solve problems, despite the increased isolation we’re all experiencing during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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TRENDS Diary: Sewing Masks for Neighbors KGNU News

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Dear TRENDS Diary,

I live in Wild Sage co-housing in North Boulder. There are a few of us in the community that sew, and there are people who have fabric stashes. We created a sewing circle, following recommended rules: Six or fewer people at a time, spaced six feet apart and no guests, only community members.

We did a production line. We’re not going shopping: we’re using the resources we have. We’ve sewed about 25-30 masks so far.

The first plan was to make enough for everyone in the community. One of our resident’s wife volunteers at the shelter. I made her a mask, and she got some comments from people she was serving there. And I had a dream about handing masks out to unhoused people, so it seemed meant to be. I took a half-dozen masks and gave them to the folks on the streets by the shelter.

Cohousing is a hedge against isolation and loneliness. We’ve been doing social distancing happy hours, now with our masks. We’ve been able to check in on one another, celebrate birthdays, help each other.

We are not social distancing. We are physically distancing but staying socially connected.

Not everybody can create the classic co-housing community, but you absolutely can take the secret sauce and spread it on all kinds of neighborhoods. One of the main ingredients is knowing your neighbors, saying hi, being an observer of somebody who is in danger of being isolated.

Just be a neighbor: When you’re going out to your car or checking your mail, say, ‘I’m going to the store later, do you need anything? I have an Instacart account, do you want me to order you something?’

– Karin Hoskin, as told to Shay Castle