Where disability politics, feminism and craft collide.
One of the most important coping skills for living with a chronic illness is self-management. When your energy is so limited that you have to ration it for each daily task, self-management provides the tools to do so. It plays an even larger role when your illness has no other treatment available, such as ME/CFS.
Continue reading “Self management and blame with chronic illness”
Testing fabric markers: I know, exciting stuff right! But how you choose to mark your fabric can be a contentious issue, particularly in the quilting community, where some commentators see the use of Frixion pens as making some sort of colourful pact with the Stationery Devil. There isn’t as much written about fabric markers for garment sewing, so I decided to test the fabric markers I had on hand (Frixion Erasable Gel Pens and Crayola Ultra-Clean Washable Markers).
Unrest, the pivotal documentary made from bed by ME/CFS sufferer Jen Brea, is now available for preorder on iTunes. You may remember Jen’s TED talk,“What happens when you have a disease doctors can’t diagnose”, which I summarised on the blog earlier this year. Her movie proves to be just as honest, heart breaking and educational as her speech.
Continue reading “Unrest film available for preorder on iTunes”
Content warning: contains discussion of dietary restrictions
You know when you’ve been putting something off for so long that you just can’t ignore it any longer? That was me and FODMAPs. There were so many reasons I couldn’t do it: it’s complicated, it’s expensive, I don’t have the brainpower, I can’t cook (!). A few weeks ago, I finally reached the tipping point where my desire to not be in constant, crippling abdominal pain overwhelmed all these reasons, and I gave the low-FODMAP diet a go.
Usually my POTS* is content to take the back stage and let ME/CFS run the show, but recently it has been asserting itself in a rather forceful manner. Sitting on raised chairs, showering and just existing seems to send my blood rushing from my head to my feet, leaving me spending a lot of time on the floor or against my dresser with my legs up to get that pesky blood back where it belongs.
Just a heads up that I’ve had another piece published, regarding racism in the AFL. You might recall I wrote about footballer Adam Goodes earlier in the year – how his unapologetic stance against outrageous racism from fans and players cost him his position in the AFL. Another player, Héritier Lumumba, has recently had his career cut short by similar racial abuse. The fact that he stood up against racial slurs, sexism and homophobia in the sport made him a prime target for those who believe minority groups should be seen and not heard.
Read Héritier Lumumba and the AFL’s problem with race on Independent Australia.
Way back in summer 2016 I set myself the goal of knitting a few basic, wearable jumpers for the following winter. My first was the Merino Blank Canvas Jumper, and this is the second: Andi Satterlund’s Armande cardigan, free from Knitty, worked in Knit Picks Wool of the Andes Superwash.
