Throughout the day, 30-year-old Sarah Hall of Burlington sews.
She typically sews wedding gowns, prom dresses, and similar attire, making alterations between all-out creations.
Then, novel coronavirus or COVID-19 happened, and business dropped off.
Now Hall spends eight hours a day sewing surgical masks, which she donates to local hospitals and other health care workers in need. Some of her masks have been used at the Great River Hospice House in West Burlington.
“Right now, I have a big order for the Keokuk Fire Department,” Hall said.
Hall is a seamstress by trade, born and raised in Burlington, and owner of her own business — Sarah Hall Unique Designs. Due to the virus outbreak, no one is ordering dresses right now, not even prom dresses.
“Everything has stopped,” she said.
Hall has the sewing bug, and her Christian upbringing compels her to use her talents in helping others.
“I sew all day anyway,” she said Monday evening, having just finished 100 masks in an hours-long sewing marathon.
“There’s so much demand (for masks),” she added. “God is pretty much telling me I should be doing this right now.”
Hall has sewed more than 500 masks in the past week, starting with a request for St. Louis Cardinals-themed surgical masks for healthcare workers in Fort Madison.
Since then, Hall’s masks have come in every design, color and pattern imaginable. The visual diversity is for Hall’s sanity (no one wants to sew the same pattern all day), representing positivity in the face of a long-term crisis. She’s a constant at JoAnn Fabrics and asks only for donations to cover the costs of materials.
Hall has a 5-year-old daughter and an 11-month-old son at home and is more worried about her daughter’s lack of socialization than her own. It’s her kindergarten year, and she’s already made plenty of friends.
“She misses them,” Hall said.
Like many of her classmates, Hall’s daughter Genesis understands the situation more fully than many might believe. She knows there’s a sickness going around, and she knows has to stay home to stay healthy. She’s been rewarded with more TV time than usual, which isn’t much.
“We don’t watch a lot of TV in my house,” Hall said.
Hall doubts her daughter will be going back to school this year, given the increasing number of COVID-19 infections breaking out throughout the country. And, despite the arrival of warm weather, the playgrounds in Burlington were officially closed because of coronavirus.
Fresh air, however, is still unrestricted.
“It’s been getting nice, so I’ve been taking the sewing machine outside, so she (Genesis) can play,” Hall said.
Photo by Mack
Sarah Hall of Burlington, a seamstress, spends eight hours a day sewing surgical masks, which she donates to local hospitals and other health care works.