News: Update and More

Hiya and welcome to a post that I have been writing on and off as energy allows, so it's taken me longer to write than I would have liked. I thought it time to let you in on what's been going on in my personal life as it's starting to impact the blog more than I'd like. This post is VERY picture heavy, please make sure you are using Wi-Fi if you are using a mobile device.


I haven't made it a secret that I have rheumatism - I actually have three forms which all do different things, and because autoimmune illnesses like to travel in packs I'm also diabetic. More recently something else happened right slap bang in the middle of the first stages of the pandemic: I had a micro stroke at the end of March. I lost control of my left hand and typing became very difficult - my left hand did whatever it wanted and at first it was a huge struggle to get more than nonsense written for my posts.

Fortunately spellcheck is a lifesaver - as is my fiancé who dove in and checked my posts made sense right after posting. As it turns out keeping on with stitching and posting was good for me - I forced my brain to work with daily exercises just by doing what I normally do. I still have some troubles with my brain and left hand not working together perfectly but nowadays I just get the occasional typo or a completely different word from the one I wanted to type. I can live with this and it may improve even more with time.

Having had a stroke - small as it was - means other things as well: blood thinners and blood pressure meds to make sure I won't get another stroke of any size. This is where my problems started as I've had some pretty nasty side effects from the blood pressure meds, right now I have had to stop taking the blood pressure meds to do a 24 hour blood pressure test early next month as even with the lowest dose my blood pressure is still giving me issues making it difficult to do much of anything without feeling exhausted and sort of breath.

This is why I've been late with posts, slow with putting links onto Facebook and responding to comments (I'm terribly behind with them - sorry) and worst of all I've been slow/not done things for donators - I'm really sorry I've just lacked the energy to deal with it.

Going forwards I have stopped with links to fb except for information posts - I need to put a post in the main group still because I haven't done that yet. It doesn't take long to do but is one step more for me to do on top of finding the energy to do the posts.

I will continue with the posts though, including the Mini Magical Mysteries!

Making posts is good for me - it means I have to keep typing and training my left hand to do what it's supposed to do (and it's a LOT cheaper than therapy sessions hehehe).

Now as for what I've been doing with the donations... Everyone was *so* generous over Christmas and in the New Year - and beyond! I'm so grateful that you have made it possible for me to buy supplies and help support some of my favourite shops during the early stages of the pandemic.

February Limited edition 18ct Aida and thread

March Limited edition 18ct Aida and thread

April Limited edition 18ct Aida and thread

May Limited edition 18ct Aida and thread

June Limited edition 18ct Aida and thread

July Limited edition 18ct Aida and thread

August Limited edition 18ct Aida and thread

First of all I've been able to continue with the monthly Limited Edition fabric and threads from Jodyri Designs.

February Greek and Roman

March - Greek

March - Roman

April - Greek

April - Roman

May - Greek

May - Roman

June - Greek

June - Roman

July - Greek

July - Roman

August - Greek

August - Roman

I have so far also been able to do the "Year of" monthly clubs - both the Roman and the Greek options as I couldn't choose. At the beginning of the year I wasn't sure I would be able to get it for as long as I have.

I was able to treat myself and buy the Easter "egg"

Emerald Forest 18ct Aida - both plain and opal Aida

Savannah Sun 18ct Aida - both plain and opal Aida

Nevermore 18ct Aida - both plain and opal Aida

Wild Porcini 18ct Aida - both plain and opal Aida

Indian Ink 18ct Aida - both plain and opal Aida

I was able to get some extra fabrics to use for my projects as they are good staples to have on hand - some you have already seen in use - some have yet to arrive as they were ordered more recently. This was part of my support your favourite shop ordering.

I was able to get my hands on some ice dyed test dye threads.

I was fortunate to be able to also order this year's Christmas advent package - I obviously haven't received this yet and won't be able to show pictures till later this year.

The other part of my support your favourite shop ordering was to order some beads from my favourite bead shop Wirwar Kralen. I also got the flip top boxes to put them in and a bead mat for dark beads as the dark bead mat I already have isn't useful for them.

As you can see your support has made it possible for me to do a lot I would otherwise have not been able to do - without your donations I wouldn't able to buy the monthly Jodyri Designs fabrics and threads - or the occasional extra things. My lack of response is not due to me being ungrateful but more a sign that I'm out of energy and just not able to do anything extra.

I shall continue to do what I can when I can on top of the posts that I'll keep going. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for making it possible for me to do so much!  (Spellcheck for this post was "fun" I hope I got all my mistakes)