Sew Distracted

I'm sure many readers living in the UK are enjoying the fabulous series The Great British Sewing Bee.  I'm really loving it again this year.  It's wonderfully inspiring like the Bake Off - I watch an episode and it literally makes me want to get the sewing machine out and Make instead of Bake!!  I wish I had free access to their haberdashery!

I've been doing quite a bit of sewing lately - re-establishing my love of the sewing machine - my first creative outlet.  You may remember that I decorated Little Lady's bedroom last year.  I knew that her pastel blind would need changing and chose some gorgeous teal butterfly fabric from John Lewis.  I have had the fabric around 6 months (procrastination is a weakness) but after the Sewing Bee last week I finally felt motivated to make a new blind!!  It is a basic manual roll up design backed in blackout lining.  It has a simple pole sewn into the top seam and hooks hold it in place at the window.  I think it is a simple yet pretty solution - unique and very cost effective too as it is a large window!

The photos aren't fabulous as I'm taking them into the light but it does look sweet and coordinates well with the decor.  Of course the main critic - my lovely girl, cast her eye over it - and success, she was delighted! It looks a little gathered along the pole in the photos but you can just pull this out to the sides - then it lays straight - I just didn't realise while I was taking the photos!

I've got a long list of sewing projects to complete around the home and am hoping this new motivation will help me tick some of them off!  In all honesty though I'm struggling a bit this past week with my pain levels. I've decided today to listen to my body and give in, in order to help it rest a bit.  Hopefully this flare will then calm down and my pain levels will become more manageable.  I often use craft as a way to distract my mind from the pain I'm experiencing but the last couple days I've just covered the chores and could find no energy for anything more.

A couple of readers have contacted me about the accident that I sometimes refer to, progress on my on-going pain management and how I manage my family life.  I've stayed away from discussing this too much as I'm sure you understand this is a difficult topic for me and I don't want this space to become negative and heavy.  This blog after all came into being after journal-ling Project Gratitude to help with my emotional recovery.

However, I feel that it is really important to discuss disability so that it does not remain a taboo subject or that negative misconceptions on ability continue to prevail.  I think it's important to stress at the outset that I would be talking about my own experience and situation - disabilities are wide ranging and specific to the individual so by no means am I seeking to be an expert on anything but my own impairment.

Over the coming weeks, I have decided to break the subject of my 'disability story' into three elements:

• My Accident - Injuries and their Impact
• My Physical and Mental Journey 
• A Reflection on Things I've Learnt

In so doing I will not exaggerate, will keep medical details minimal, factual and concise focusing mainly on the road to recovery rather than dwelling on things that cannot be changed.  These posts will be interspersed with my normal crafty / homey posts as I don't want to overload any readers who do not wish to read this type of post.  Please do bear with me if this does include you - I don't wish to alienate anyone but on the other hand I would have appreciated this type of post if I'd found it when I did need it.

Finally, welcome to my new followers - it is wonderful to have you here.  I hope you have a fabulous week,
J9 x