Face Masks
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting critical shortage of protective equipment for healthcare workers, we have put the production of Harriet & Ginger’s lavender eye pillows on hold until further notice. Instead, we are putting all of our resources, energy, and time into sewing and donating face masks for healthcare workers.
After a lot of research, trial and error, and experimenting, combined with personal experience with face masks as an immunocompromised patient, Becky designed this face mask pattern. You can go here to learn how to sew these face masks. We highly encourage you to please dust off your sewing machine, visit this website, and learn how to make Becky’s face masks. Then - sew, sew, sew! Our healthcare workers are so desperately in need - if you can, please sew and donate as many as you can to those on the frontlines of this crisis.
A note from Becky:
I am completely indebted to so many healthcare professionals after a decade with cancer. I literally would not be alive without them.
Right now, they need our help. Please join the effort.
I am completely indebted to so many healthcare professionals after a decade with cancer. I literally would not be alive without them.
Right now, they need our help. Please join the effort.
On a more personal note (as if my cancer isn’t personal. Ha.), as most know, I was hospitalized twice with sudden onset severe pneumonia + sepsis twice in the last few months. So, I am, of course, completely terrified of COVID-19.
That said, I am actually more worried about the people I love. My most amazing friend, Bonnie, RN, works tirelessly on the frontlines, despite a limited supply of protective equipment. Her hospital, like many hospitals right now, are struggling to meet the need for Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). COVID-19 has depleted PPE supplies everywhere, causing a critical shortage in the equipment needed to keep our healthcare workers safe.
I actually hesitated to write the sentence, “My most amazing friend, Bonnie, RN...” because I think of Bonnie as so much more than a friend. Bonnie is family. We jokingly-but-not call each other platonic soulmates. She gave me the most incredible gift by asking me to be her children’s godmother. And then she went and topped that gift by choosing my name as her daughter’s middle name. I cannot explain how much she means to me.
Here is a pretty good example of one of the reasons why I love her so much: When I was first diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer, Bonnie very seriously told me that if I ever needed money for any type of treatment, she and her husband would give me everything they had, because “what’s the point in having money if I don’t have a best friend?” She is one of the most selfless, empathetic, caring, giving people I have ever met. The thought of her risking exposure to a deadly virus because she remains dedicated to helping others despite not having adequate protective equipment - it’s too much.
I want to say, “Please help me protect Bonnie.” But in truth, every single person working on the COVID-19 frontline is someone’s Bonnie. Please help me protect everyone’s Bonnie.
You can find my face mask pattern & instructions here.
If you are unable to sew face masks but are still interested in helping, you can sign this petition, and/or make a donation to Harriet & Ginger. To inquire about making a donation, please contact us here. Thank you!
That said, I am actually more worried about the people I love. My most amazing friend, Bonnie, RN, works tirelessly on the frontlines, despite a limited supply of protective equipment. Her hospital, like many hospitals right now, are struggling to meet the need for Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). COVID-19 has depleted PPE supplies everywhere, causing a critical shortage in the equipment needed to keep our healthcare workers safe.
I actually hesitated to write the sentence, “My most amazing friend, Bonnie, RN...” because I think of Bonnie as so much more than a friend. Bonnie is family. We jokingly-but-not call each other platonic soulmates. She gave me the most incredible gift by asking me to be her children’s godmother. And then she went and topped that gift by choosing my name as her daughter’s middle name. I cannot explain how much she means to me.
Here is a pretty good example of one of the reasons why I love her so much: When I was first diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer, Bonnie very seriously told me that if I ever needed money for any type of treatment, she and her husband would give me everything they had, because “what’s the point in having money if I don’t have a best friend?” She is one of the most selfless, empathetic, caring, giving people I have ever met. The thought of her risking exposure to a deadly virus because she remains dedicated to helping others despite not having adequate protective equipment - it’s too much.
I want to say, “Please help me protect Bonnie.” But in truth, every single person working on the COVID-19 frontline is someone’s Bonnie. Please help me protect everyone’s Bonnie.
You can find my face mask pattern & instructions here.
If you are unable to sew face masks but are still interested in helping, you can sign this petition, and/or make a donation to Harriet & Ginger. To inquire about making a donation, please contact us here. Thank you!
Our socially distant compliant hang out.
Also - a giant, public THANK YOU to my amazing mom, who is not only far better at sewing than I am (in fact, she taught me how to sew. Well, first my 8yr old niece did, then my mom expanded my skills), but she has taken this project on completely and totally. She helped me refine the design, she was so creative with materials, and since we started this, she has been sewing masks every single day. She single-handedly sewed enough masks for an entire pediatric urgent care unit while I was busy typing up the sewing instructions and writing this. She is the best, and I am so grateful.
