Fife festival stalwart sews 200 facemasks for town charity

Anne-Marijke Querido started out as part of a project at the start of lockdown- and kept going.

A regular on the Pittenweem craft scene, she was part of an initiative to sew the masks and raise funds for ENCEPT - East Neuk Community Emergency Planning Team.

Such was the demand, she decided to keep going.

The masks were sold at the Pittenweem Hub – the village’s local one-stop pharmacy, newsagent, Post Office and grocer.

For the past 10 years, Anne-Marijke has coordinated the Community Craft Project for the Pittenweem Arts Festival, raising thousands of £s for local charities.

But with no event this year because of the pandemic, she decided to throw her creative energy into something different.

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Sewing around eight masks a week, she reached her milestone of 100 in August and has now almost reached a staggering 200 for charity – more if you count the ones for family and friends.

“I never intended to sew 200 facemasks,” she said, “but I got into the swing of it and now it’s a regular part of my week.

“I choose fabrics that are colourful and fun – like material with liquorice allsorts or a seaside pattern. Finding unusual fabrics is part of the enjoyment and means sewing a mask never feels the same twice.”

To date, the masks have raised just over £1100.

Iain Rooney, pharmacist and manager of the Pittenweem Hub, said, “We are extremely thankful to everyone who has contributed masks over the past few months and we’re delighted Mrs Querido is continuing to make them.

“Her facemasks sell like hot cakes. No sooner has she dropped them off or they fly off the shelf again.”

Anne-Marijke is now looking forward to creating masks with a Halloween and Christmas twist.

“Facemasks have become part of our everyday lives so I think we may as well make them a bit of a feature and something that makes us smile,” she says.

The facemasks are available at the Pittenweem Hub, 7 Market Place, Pittenweem, KY10 2PH.

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