Crazy Cut Ups sew 1,500 face masks for Montezuma students

Members of the Crazy Cut Ups, a Montezuma-based sewing club, pose for a photo with the facemasks they made for Montezuma Community School students. Pictured are, from left, front row: Barb Long, Deborah VanArkel, Nancy Gray, Judy Roorda, Merna Duffus, Lola Willrich, Norma Gosselink. Back row: Carol Simmons, Sherri Spain, Bonnie Keller and Cecily Unruh.

  The Crazy Cut Ups, a Montezuma-based sewing club, went the extra mile for the students at Montezuma Schools.
   The group cut and sewed 1,500 facemasks over a seven day period earlier this month.    
  The project was finished on Wednesday, Aug. 12. The facemasks were given to the students on the first day of school, Aug. 25. Each student received three masks.
   In May, the group made more than 1000 gowns for Montezuma Family Dentistry and a dental office in Denison. They also made a dozen gowns for the Montezuma Specialty Care Center.
   Community Hope Church in Montezuma donated the space and utilities to the group to complete the project.
   The sewing club was formed in 2007. Some past projects included making 75 Quilts of Valor for the World War II Veterans of Poweshiek County. They also have made and donated baby quits to the “Babies” Room in Grinnell and to the Women’s Abuse Center in Prairie City. They made and donated weighted blankets for autistic children, which provides each child with a sense of security. And in 2016, the sewing group made and donated 30 quilts to nursing centers in Brooklyn and Montezuma.
   The Crazy Cut Ups consist of Bonnie Keller, Nancy Gray, Deborah VanArkel, Barb Long, Judy Roorda, Carol Simmons, Merna Duffus, Norma Gosselink, Lola Willrich, Sherri Spain and Cecily Unruh.
   “We are trying to keep our kids safe,” noted a spokesperson for the sewing group.