A Fresh New Year

Hello friends and Happy New Year to you all! Thank you for being so patient with me during my little break from blogging over the holiday season. 

I'm glad to report that my surgery was successful. The surgeon found endometriosis, but it was mild and they were able to remove it through key hole surgery. I have three little scars that I'm sure will be almost invisible in the not too distant future. I got to come home the same day as the operation, which I was really grateful for, it's much more comfortable being in your own bed. I was very slow and a bit weak in the days following, but my recovery has gone well, and I went back to work at the beginning of January. During my recovery time, I got to do plenty of stitching, which was a wonderful distraction to my swollen tummy. 

I've been really enjoying editing the magazine projects to suit my own tastes. I've been working on two pieces lately, one wintery and one Christmas themed. The first one is adapted from card designs by Durene Jones in Issue 326 of CrossStitcher. I liked the modern designs, but not the orange pallette, so I whipped out my thread boxes and started making my own combinations! This one just needs a little more backstitching and it will be complete. Do you think it's too big to be an ornament? The characters remind me of us, so it would be nice to have it up on the tree.

My other project is definitely too big for an ornament! This is Christmas is Coming from Little Dove Designs that was in Issue 324 of CrossStitcher. This was my big project I was working on during recovery, as it was an easy stitch on 14ct ice blue aida and block colours, with very little backstitching. I'm choosing my own colours again for this one, which has meant I could add little bits of metallic here and there for extra Christmas glitz. I've still got quite a few components left to add to this piece, and then I've got to make my mind up about adding the border or not.

I was lucky enough to receive a Sew and So voucher for Christmas and I stocked up on some lovely stash, I'll have to post the picture next time. I got a couple of kits too, one of which I think will be my next project. It will be a lovely introduction to Spring :)

I hope you've all had a wonderful start to the year and had plenty of stitching time this weekend. 

Best wishes,

Bekca

xxx

First finish for awhile

I'm determined to be more consistent with my stitchy posts, even if it's just for me as a way to document my progress with all my projects. I've certainly made good progress recently, as I've got a finish to share! Yes, Sewing Machine is all finished up . . .

I did originally start this piece in mind of keeping it for me and using it to decorate my stitching corner, but I think it would actually be better suited to my mum. She loves quilting and purple is her favourite colour, which really pops in the little flowers. I keep sending my finished pieces to my mum and now she's got quite the collection on the wall - I hope she's not sick of them yet!!

I did get a new cover kit with the latest issue of CrossStitcher and I've made an excellent start on that. It's an ouch weekend for me at the moment, which means painkillers, hot water bottle and plenty of stitching time. I actually think I'll get this one finished in the next couple of days and I've already got someone in mind to send it off to. 

I've started having thoughts about my stitching plans for next year. I think I'm going to do one big stash shop at the start of the year (hopefully with vouchers that I've asked for for Christmas) and then try to use what I've got for the rest of the year. We're currently trying to save up for a house and a big holiday, so I need to save all the pennies I can.

Lastly, in health news, I've finally got a date and I will be having surgery this year. I'm nervous, of course, but I know it's for the best and will hopefully provide some relief from my endo pains. Recovery time means stitching time, so I'm going to kit up some projects whilst I'm feeling well so I can pick them up after surgery. 

I hope you're enjoying a lovely weekend. I'm off out for coffee with a friend in a bit, then Lawrence and I will be cooking a Sunday Roast for dinner tonight - can't wait!

Best wishes to all,

Bekca

xxx

Walking the Long Path

Hello all, I'm back again with all kinds of updates to share. There's been so much going on lately, it's hard to judge where to start!

I finished with the District Nurses on Friday, where I was gifted with an enormous bunch of flowers and a lovely card. I was sad to leave the team, but they're actually all being disbanded in a huge company reshuffle, so it wouldn't have been the same anyways. I started with the Community Discharge team today, and I think my first day went well. They seem like a very nice group of people and the work is slightly more challenging (which is a good thing!) and it's close to Lawrence's work, so some days, we can walk to and from work together :) I think I'm going to be perfectly happy with my new team.

I had my consultant appointment at the hospital last week and I will be having surgery for my endometriosis. I thought this was likely, and I'm glad in a way, because although operations are scary (and this will be my first), it should reduce my overall pain. I'm still waiting on a phone call to confirm dates, but fingers crossed it will be in the next couple of months. I know I'm at the start of a very long path, but I'm not walking it alone. The surgery I'm penciled in for has a two week recovery time, so if my upper body is up to it, that's plenty of uninterrupted stitching time! 

Talking of stitching, I've made progress on one of my projects, and not put a stitch in the other since my last post. I think I'll have to change that soon. Anyways, here's where I'm up to on Sewing Machine:

I absolutely love the colours in this design and I'm really enjoying every stitch. I love Cook's Measurements too, so I really should be showing it some love! Here's a picture just for the sake of it :)

My 123stitch order arrived last week, so I've got all of the threads now to finish both of these pieces. There's no stopping my needle now! 

I hope you're all well and keeping safe from the horrendous hurricanes. My thoughts are with you all, I can't imagine how scary it must be. 

Best wishes,

Bekca

xxx

Endometriosis and Me

I've shared a lot on this blog. I've done posts on holidays, family losses, weddings, graduation and everything in between. So it would be remiss of me not to mention a key part of my life at the moment and one of the reasons that's led me back to cross stitching.

One of my bunches of beautiful Get Well Soon Flowers - I love lilies!

I started getting pains in my hips and tummy in June 2017. In the following few weeks, I went to the nurse and then I went to the doctor and then I had one evening where I was in too much pain to walk. The next day, I had an urgent visit to the GP and left in an ambulance to go to the hospital. I have never been more frightened, I didn't know what they were going to find. After hours in the hospital, many tests and a scan, a consultant came to speak to me. She thought I had endometriosis. She told me to keep a pain diary, keep up with my medication and she'll see me in a couple of months time. 

My necessities during a flare up

I'm sure many of you know about endometriosis and may even unfortunately suffer from it yourself. For those unsure, let me tell you, it's hideous. It's not just period pain, like some naive doctors would have you believe. The endometrial tissues grows outside of where it's supposed to which causes very intense pain around your pelvic area and stomach. You get cramps, headaches, tummy ache, dizziness, drowsiness and you want to cry all the time. This happens for a whole week out of every month. Endo can also effect fertility rates and can have an impact on other organs.

As much as I try to stay positive, having investigations for this lifelong condition really threw me and I'm still struggling with it now. One thing that's really helped me on my bad days is cross stitching. Although I have to keep the lower half of my body still, I'm free to use my hands and arms as I please, so I can at least cross stitch! I'm working more on aida than ever before, because my concentration suffers as a side effect from taking medication. Still, it means I can stitch for longer because I'm not squinting at linen!It's incredibly relaxing, as it always has been for me, but now it has an additional benefit. I'm normally so active and busy that I hate being made to stay still by the pain. It makes me feel a bit useless and a burden. But at least with my cross stitch, I feel like I'm doing something productive and I've got something to show for my days on the sofa. I can't just laze about, feeling sorry for myself, not when there are stitches to be crossed! It's really helping to calm me during this uncertain point in my life. 

I hope I haven't overshared in this post, but I thought it was important to be open and honest about what's going on in my life lately. I know cross stitching has been healing for so many people, so I'm hoping it will have the same magic effect on me :)

Best wishes,

Bekca

xxx