The Dolores Mountain Quilters have made and contributed nearly 2,000 face masks to hospitals and first responders, according to a news release from the group.
Recipients include hospitals in Cortez, Shiprock and Crownpoint, the Montezuma County Sheriff’s Office and Sheriff’s Posse, the Cortez Police Department, Veterans Outreach Center, The Bridge emergency shelter and Ute Mountain Victim Advocates, group president Suzanne Butterfield said.
Members also made masks for personal use and for family, friends and neighbors, she said.
“Our ladies are sending their masks nationally as well to countless first responders ... and I, myself, have sent some to Kirkland Air Force Base,” Butterfield said in an email.
Calling the effort “purely altruistic,” Butterfield said she wanted the community to know how the guild’s members “are trying to save human lives.”
“Maybe more people need to know how they can save their communities,” she said in a follow-up email to The Journal. “Think about that.”
As supplies in individual members’ stashes became depleted, the guild received fabric donations from Stitch of Durango. Cortez Quilt Co. kept hours by appointment to further resupply sewing supplies, she said.
“These masks have been primarily made from our own supplies and some donated fabric from Stitch, the quilt store in Durango,” Butterfield said. “So this has been an incredible public service.”
To help by sewing or providing supplies, call Butterfield at (404) 374-6558 or Jan Mussler at 565-9122. Tightly woven 100% cotton fabric, such as Batik, and 1/4 inch wide elastic are needed. “Light gauge covered wire and pipe cleaners are useful for forming a tighter nose seal,” Butterfield said.