BP woman makes nearly 200 sanitary masks

"It is something I can do to help," explains Blooming Prairie woman Nancy Peterson, telling why she has made nearly 200 sanitary masks.
She strongly supports keeping people safe and protected.
Some of those masks have gone to Prairie Manor Care Center in Blooming Prairie, and others have gone to Dallas, Texas; to the Mayo Clinic; to South Carolina; to West Des Moines, Iowa and to Park City, Utah.
Nancy and husband Tom were two of the first ones to wear a variety of masks in the Blooming Prairie community.
Nancy said she is pleased to see more shoppers and workers at the local grocery store, Vandal's Family Market, wearing the protective masks.
At press time, Nancy had made 177 face masks on her sewing machine. Nancy is an avid quilter, active in a quilting group at First Lutheran Church in Blooming Prairie.
Some of her masks have gone to the Petersons' daughter, Laura Houillion, a pediatric nurse practitioner. Daughter-in-law, Randi Peterson, works as a registered nurse at a hospital in Austin and has taken masks with her.
Nancy also sent some masks to a nurse at the Mayo Clinic, working in oncology.
The Peterson-made masks are made of cotton fabric and flannel backing. They have elastic ties. She gets some of her material from her own quilting stash and from other material she has obtained. She said the plastic has become hard to get.
Nancy's masks are washable. Designs on the masks range from Disney characters to baseballs, and from a cowboy motif to ballerinas. She also makes them in plain colors.
Husband Tom has helped with some of Nancy's deliveries to friends. "We are both doing well and wish everyone else the best of health," says Nancy.