LYNN — Karen McPherson spent her first eight months with the North Shore Fabric Group sewing masks for essential workers across the state and people in Haiti; now her creative reflection on the project will be on display at the Topsfield Fair.
When the pandemic hit, the drastic increase in the need for personal protective equipment (PPE) limited the availability of masks nationwide.
News segments showed communities coming together during the pandemic to make masks and other PPE for essential workers, and this fabric group is doing its part to help.
The group made and distributed more than 40,000 masks, as well as some scrub caps, which were delivered to the Lynn Community Health Center, local hospitals, nursing homes, and others in need.
Throughout the process of making these masks, McPherson collected the scraps from the colorful fabric because she knew she wanted to use it to create something else.
These fabric pieces were put to good use in the creation of her quilt, which depicts a woman sewing masks during the pandemic, and has been entered into a quilting competition at the Topsfield Fair.
“The quilt is a story of the North Shore Fabric Group, who came together to make and send masks to every place that needed them,” McPherson said. “We were in a crisis. We had no masks.”
Heather Staples-Heitke began the group in late March of 2020 after hearing about the shortages of PPE. She created a Facebook page, North Shore Fabric Masks for Health Professionals, which quickly grew to more than 600 members in about a week.
McPherson, who is a retired registered nurse and a longtime sewer and crafter, heard about the group from a friend and decided to join in on the action.
Some of McPherson’s other friends joined in the mask sewing as well, networking with others in the community to pick up and drop off materials and masks.
After several months of sewing masks, McPherson turned her focus to using her collected scraps to create a quilt to commemorate the volunteer work that all of the sewers in the group did.
She first drew out a woman to put on the quilt, then spent more than 50 hours hand-stitching on details and turning to her sewing machine for the rest.
The quilt took about three months to complete, which McPherson referred to as a labor of love.
In addition to doing her part by sewing masks, McPherson also came out of retirement to distribute COVID-19 vaccines at the Lynn Vocational Technical Institute Field House vaccination site.
“It was so rewarding to do my part to help,” McPherson said.
McPherson was motivated to create the quilt, and then enter it in the quilting competition at the Topsfield Fair, because of the hard work, dedication, and compassion she witnessed from the North Shore Fabric Group during the pandemic.
She said entering the competition isn’t about winning for her; it’s about sharing the story that she, and many others, were a part of.
“The story is so powerful,” McPherson said. “During such a difficult time, it was amazing to see people come together the way they did.”
The Topsfield Fair opens on Friday and runs through Monday, Oct. 11. Tickets can be purchased online at www.topsfieldfair.org/plan/tickets.
