Meet Cathy!

Cathy served in the Army for 30 years. She is glad to be back as a part of a team mobilized to meet a challenge. She joined Masks for Tampa Bay Workers because she’d heard about the need for masks and she knew Hope personally. Cathy loves feeling like she can make a difference, even if it’s only to a few people. She also loves doing something to connect to others during this time when she feels isolated and apart. 

Cathy Joins the Team

When she first joined the group, Cathy worried which mask pattern to follow. She didn’t know which would be most useful, or which the health providers would want most.

Thanks to Jessica’s video, now she feels more confident about what pattern to use. Still, sewing the tucks can be very frustrating; they never seem to be even. She regularly reminds herself this isn’t heirloom sewing. Her tucks don’t have to be perfect. She consistently strives, however, to make them better. 

In her work with this group, Cathy hopes she can give some health care workers useful, practical masks. She thinks it’s important they know someone is thinking of them. This group gives her a sense of purpose and community during this challenging time. She has never before done anything on this scale. She has contributed quilt blocks to things like The Call for Blocks to support Australian fire victims, but has never done anything with such direct, local impact. 

Cathy’s History in Sewing

She is, however, no stranger to the art of sewing. Cathy’s first sewing project in 7^th grade home economics was a black A-line skirt. She needed one for a school activity, and decided to make it herself instead of buying one. From then on, Cathy enjoyed sewing, amazed that she could make a lovely piece of clothing out of simple cloth. Her mother never sewed, so she found the transformation absolutely wonderful. Over time, she ended up teaching her mom how to sew.

In 8^th grade home economics, however, disaster struck. She cut a huge hole in the center of an adorable dress she had almost completed. She ran to her teacher, Mrs. McClure, in a panic. Mrs. McClure calmed her down and came up with a solution. First, Cathy had to patch the hole with extra fabric. Since the dress design included a sash, Mrs. McClure suggested extending the sash into a gathered piece across the front of the dress. This would make it look like the sash went all the way around.

Cathy’s other interests

Years later, Cathy wrote a story about that incident. Parade Magazine published a small snippet she wrote about Mrs. McClure online in a piece about favorite teachers.  For, in addition to sewing, Cathy likes to write stories—both fiction and memoir. She is thinking about diving into a novel if she can think of a sufficiently compelling plot. 

Cathy used to do a lot of cross-stitching, but quilting has taken over her crafting time. She has many works in progress. Cathy sews with small groups of friends, and is a member of the Piecemakers Quilt Guild in Brandon. She put the word out to her quilting group asking if some of them would join in this project. She is overjoyed that they have! 

Cathy encourages anyone who is on the fence about joining this group to give it a try. She says, “You sew well enough to help. Your tucks don’t have to be perfect, just like mine aren’t. With more of us helping, we can do more for those who need us. The need may go away in another week or two if N95 masks start being produced, but we need your help now.”

Teamwork is Everything

Think of it this way: When in the Army, Cathy’s 40-person team had to build a pre-fabricated bridge (picture a big erector set made of steel). The team thought they were finished, but soon realized they had left out some connecting pegs. Without them, the bridge wouldn’t work. Her team had a choice. They could take the entire bridge apart and rebuild it, which would have taken hours more, or they could lift up the bridge while someone put in the connectors. The problem with the second solution: the bridge weighed tons.

Cathy was small, so the team gave her the task of scurrying around the bridge, putting the pegs into place while the rest of the team lifted the bridge. Even with forty people, lifting a multi-ton bridge wasn’t easy. Her team needed to rest from time to time, and Cathy had to rush out from under the bridge so she wouldn’t get crushed. Though she got faster with every pass, her teammates had to hold the bridge up at just the right angles to correctly line up the holes for the pegs. Cathy spent a lot of time shouting “higher” and “lower” as the rest of her team yelled with exertion—but they got it done! 

This project can be done, too-with just as much teamwork (but hopefully with a lot less yelling and scurrying). Everyone can make a difference. Everyone matters. And in a way, what everyone is doing here is building bridges between people-which is the best work of all.