AT-HOME PROJECT — Marilyn Robran exhibits one of the hand-sewn quilts, for which she is well known. (Star Eagle photo by Melanie Piltingsrud)
By MELANIE PILTINGSRUD
Staff Writer
Marilyn Robran of rural Hartland hasn't had any trouble keeping busy during Minnesota's 'stay-at-home' order. Robran is a well-known seamstress, whose talents already landed her picture in these pages a couple of years ago when she donated a quilt to a church bazaar in honor of her late son. So when the Alden Fire Dept. needed face masks for their crew during the COVID-19 pandemic, they knew just who to contact.
Using a pattern she found on Facebook, Robran uses cotton or cotton blend materials to cut out the masks, and then irons on interfacing to add a modest amount of stiffness. Then, she sells them for $3 each.
Sewing the masks is a breeze, but Robran had to think outside the box store to find material. She had cotton fabric already on hand, but Robran couldn't get to Jo-Ann's to look for extra thin interfacing, so she went to A-Best Sew & Vac in Albert Lea, which keeps interfacing in its inventory for projects like machine embroidery. “He got me a roll of the thinnest they had,” said Robran.
So far, Robran has sewn nearly 60 face masks, including:
• 12 for the Alden Fire Dept.
• 12 for the Manchester Fire Dept.
• 12 for her cousin in the Twin Cities
• 10 for her sister
• 5 for her husband's sister
• 1 for their local postal carrier
• 1 for the office postal worker in Hartland
• 1 for a Manchester telephone technician
• 2 each for herself and her husband
• 1 for this reporter while I took photos
“I do a lot of sewing,” said Robran. In between babysitting her first great granddaughter, who is one, and her seventh grandchild, who is 2½, she finds time to alter and hem bridesmaid dresses, sew zippers into coats, and whatever else is needed. “I just hemmed up my granddaughter's prom dress, which probably won't be able to be used,” said Robran.
We at the NRHEG Star Eagle will rejoice when Robran can stop sewing face masks, and go back to sewing hems that will swirl above the dance floor.